There were a whole bunch of friendlies plus two qualifiers just after the November rankings were released, plus a friendly between Poland and Bosnia&Herzegovina on 10th December. Looking at the results of these games, I predict:
Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina drew 2-2, but won their earlier friendlies against Ivory Coast (19) and Slovakia (18) respectively, so both teams should gain. Their opponents will lose out.
England will probably fall in points, though maybe not position, as will Germany. France should gain after beating England.
Portugal beat first-placed Spain 4-0, incredibly. That gets them the maximum possible points for a friendly game - 600 - and may result in them even overtaking England (dare I say it). The Netherlands, who beat their opponents Turkey (29), might even go top. But that's less likely.
Expect Luxembourg, Romania, Northern Ireland and Belgium to do well after draws. Northern Ireland's was with a poorer team, but they maintain good form.
Finally, Georgia beat much better opponents in the form of Slovenia (15), and will also gain.
Showing posts with label Georgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Georgia. Show all posts
07/09/2010
Euro 2012 Qualification: 7/9/2010 Results
Poor-tugal
More surprises today, especially from Portugal and Georgia. France, however, improved and won a match. Here's the top five surprising results:
1. Georgia (110) drew with Israel (38). There's a difference of 72 places in their world rankings, but this is the second time that Georgia have drawn with a good team this weekend.
2. Montenegro (73) beat Bulgaria (43). Perhaps Bulgaria's 4-0 defeat to England was sagging their spirits.
3. Albania (70) beat the Czech Republic (31)!
4. Norway (22) beat Portugal (8). Portugal are supposed to be a world class team, and should easily defeat their opponents in most situations. This is disappointing.
5. Scotland's (41) draw against Liechtenstein (141) was bad, considering the 100-place difference. Should have been a win for the Scots.
In the British Isles, England and the Republic of Ireland both won (no games today for Wales or Northern Ireland), and Scotland continue to be mediocre. Full group summaries to come over the next few days.
Next weekend: Premier League football, and the Italian Grand Prix.
15th September: FIFA update the world rankings!
More surprises today, especially from Portugal and Georgia. France, however, improved and won a match. Here's the top five surprising results:
1. Georgia (110) drew with Israel (38). There's a difference of 72 places in their world rankings, but this is the second time that Georgia have drawn with a good team this weekend.
2. Montenegro (73) beat Bulgaria (43). Perhaps Bulgaria's 4-0 defeat to England was sagging their spirits.
3. Albania (70) beat the Czech Republic (31)!
4. Norway (22) beat Portugal (8). Portugal are supposed to be a world class team, and should easily defeat their opponents in most situations. This is disappointing.
5. Scotland's (41) draw against Liechtenstein (141) was bad, considering the 100-place difference. Should have been a win for the Scots.
In the British Isles, England and the Republic of Ireland both won (no games today for Wales or Northern Ireland), and Scotland continue to be mediocre. Full group summaries to come over the next few days.
Next weekend: Premier League football, and the Italian Grand Prix.
15th September: FIFA update the world rankings!
03/09/2010
Euro 2012 Qualification: 3/9/2010 Results
There are always surprises
These matches will be summarized properly after the Tuesday games, when I will go over each group and the points scored in individual posts. However, here are the surprises of Friday's football:
1. Northern Ireland (59) beat Slovenia (19) giving them 1357.5 FIFA points, which is the most points achieved today by a team.
2. Belarus (78) beat France (21) giving them 1342.5 points. This would be more spectacular if France had not done so badly in the World Cup and had several players banned for today's game.
3. Georgia (110) drew with Greece (12) 1-1! Greece are an odd team who sometimes do well, and sometimes badly.
4. Cyprus (63) scored well against Portugal (8), and ended up drawing 4-4! That's going to hit Portugal hard.
5. Moldova (89) beat Finland (51) 2-0!
In the British Isles (including the Republic of Ireland) there were some good games. Only Wales lost, and England's Defoe scored a hat-trick against Bulgaria. England have now matched their home games winning streak record of 11 games. In total 55 goals were scored today.
Tuesday: More international football.
Next weekend: F1 from Italy, and the Barclays Premier League.
These matches will be summarized properly after the Tuesday games, when I will go over each group and the points scored in individual posts. However, here are the surprises of Friday's football:
1. Northern Ireland (59) beat Slovenia (19) giving them 1357.5 FIFA points, which is the most points achieved today by a team.
2. Belarus (78) beat France (21) giving them 1342.5 points. This would be more spectacular if France had not done so badly in the World Cup and had several players banned for today's game.
3. Georgia (110) drew with Greece (12) 1-1! Greece are an odd team who sometimes do well, and sometimes badly.
4. Cyprus (63) scored well against Portugal (8), and ended up drawing 4-4! That's going to hit Portugal hard.
5. Moldova (89) beat Finland (51) 2-0!
In the British Isles (including the Republic of Ireland) there were some good games. Only Wales lost, and England's Defoe scored a hat-trick against Bulgaria. England have now matched their home games winning streak record of 11 games. In total 55 goals were scored today.
Tuesday: More international football.
Next weekend: F1 from Italy, and the Barclays Premier League.
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