The draw is December 2nd Euro 2020 Seeding Pot 1 Portugal, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Poland Pot 2 Germany, Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Denmark, Russia, Austria, Wales, Czech Republic, Sweden Pot 3 Slovakia, Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Norway, Serbia, Finland, Scotland, Bulgaria, Israel Pot 4 Albania, Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Lithuania, Montenegro, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania Pot 5 Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Gibraltar, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, Faroe Islands Pot 6 Andorra, Latvia, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Malta Top 2 teams go on. Playoffs determined by teams that didn't qualify but finished highest in their Nations League group. For Example Italy finishes 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th in their qualifying group but Portugal won theirs so Italy would take the highest spot in League A group 1 and could face say England, Switzerland and Netherlands in a 2 game playoff tourney ASSUMING those teams also finished outside of the top 2 in their qualifying group. Basically there's an insurance spot for us in the playoffs if we fail in qualifying.
Personally I want: Portugal, Germany, Ireland, Estonia , Gibralter. Why I want Germany is we need a test and also we have to try to get that monkey off our back and currently they are not as sharp so it's now or never. Plus If the rest of the group is fairly weak even 2nd place would grant direct access. if we fail there then we hope the favorites all qualify direct and we face an easy mini tourney.
I have no idea why you want us - there's no way that you're going to win again 7:0 or whatever. Honestly as estonian i guess i'd be happy with that group i'd imagine as long as Ronaldo comes to Tallinn for the first time since 2005, Germany for the first time since pre-world war II and so on ...
I just randomly picked Estonia out of that group. All those teams are winnable with the right mentality and we can easily draw or lose if we walk in to Tallinn thinking 3 points are won before the game starts.
wow group of death for us i think? Group A: England, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Kosovo Group B: Portugal, Ukraine, Serbia, Lithuania, Luxembourg Group C: Netherlands, Germany, Northern Ireland, Estonia, Belarus Group D: Switzerland, Denmark, Rep of Ireland, Georgia, Gibraltar Group E: Croatia, Wales, Slovakia, Hungary, Azerbaijan Group F: Spain, Sweden, Norway, Romania, Faroe Islands, Malta Group G: Poland, Austria, Israel Slovenia, Macedonia, Latvia Group H: France, Iceland, Turkey, Albania, Moldova, Andorra Group I: Belgium, Russia, Scotland, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, S Marino Group J: Italy, Bos-Herz, Finland, Greece, Armenia, Liechtenstein
Nah I think we can handle that group with the talent we currently have. Should be a good test. Although if we win the Nations League this becomes irrelevant right?
Aside from the fact we will be entering hostile territory and playing in 'scary' places, lol.. i dont see this group as much of a challenge.
Serbia and Ukraine are certainly no pushovers, but I see this as a relatively straightforward group. Enough of a challenge to keep the boys sharp, but not enough of a challenge to make anyone sweat.
Portugal's group isn't particularly easy nor particularly difficult, given the context. Serbia is dangerous and will probably be Portugal direct opponent, Ukraine is decent, Luxembourg can be uneasy and Lithuania is very far. Portugal will have to take each game seriously to avoid unpleasant surprises. That said, Portugal not reaching qualification in this group would be a flat out disaster.
I agree with all your assessments 100%. Luxembourg is not as shit as they used to be, lol. This SHOULD be a straight forward group. I am not going to repeat what you said. You said it all perfectly.
Here's the way I see it: Since the top two teams in each group qualify directly for Euro 2020, I'm mostly concerned with who the third-best team in the group. Portugal could've drawn Germany from Pot 2 and it wouldn't have mattered much as long as Pot 3 presented a weaker side. Unfortunately, Portugal drew the only team in Pot 3 that was at the World Cup. It could've drawn the likes of Bulgaria or Finland, yet it got a World Cup-quality Serbia team. Ukraine is solid, having just won promotion to UEFA Nations League A over Czech Republic and Slovakia (after just missing out on a 2018 WCQ playoff spot from the most balanced group), Serbia was at the WC and also won its Nations League group, AND this is only a five-team group. Why does that matter? It matters because if Portugal does stub its toe by dropping points at home to anyone or anywhere to the two weak teams, there are few matches for Ukraine and Serbia to follow suit and drop those points in matches Portugal isn't involved in. We've all seen Portugal sitting in second of a qualifying group it needs to win because it dropped points early to a team that just kept winning and winning and pulling three points out of its butt late in matches against weak teams. Unfortunately, when there are only eight matches to play, there's little room for error and fewer chances to make up lost ground. There is pressure on Portugal to start fast because in March it hosts Serbia and Ukraine. If it drops any points, it'll be behind the eight ball throughout qualifying. The silver lining, of course, if that even if Portugal did finish outside the top two it'd get a playoff spot. But even that is a dicey proposition because the playoffs are four-team tournaments, which means you have to win two consecutive matches to get to Euro 2020. It's a lot easier to lose one match that must have a winner than it is to lose a two-legged playoff, especially against an inferior opponent. Anyway, straightforward my ass. This is a tough group.
Euro 2020 Qualifying March 22: Portugal v. Serbia March 25: Portugal v. Ukraine Nations League Finals June 5: Portugal v. Switzerland June 9: Portugal v. Netherlands/England Euro 2020 Qualifying Sept. 7: Serbia v. Portugal Sept. 10: Lithuania v. Portugal Oct. 11: Portugal v. Luxembourg Oct. 14: Ukraine v. Portugal Nov. 14: Portugal v. Lithuania Nov. 17: Luxembourg v. Portugal
Im surprised by the optimism in the forum, it’s not a regular occurrence in here hehehe. I actually think this group is pretty difficult. Ukraine and Serbia both have quality squads, not at Portugal’s level but Portugal have faulted against lesser opponents. I believe with our current talent and Santos as coach that we will definitely finish in the top 2 but those first three games Two of which are away are pretty full on
This is the team for next weeks 2 Euro qualifying games. I like it a lot Guarda-redes: Beto (Goztepe), José Sá (Olympiakos) e Rui Patrício (Wolverhampton). Defesas: João Cancelo (Juventus), Nélson Semedo (Barcelona), José Fonte (Lille), Pepe (FC Porto), Rúben Dias (Benfica), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund) e Mário Rui (Nápoles). Médios: Danilo Pereira (FC Porto), Rúben Neves (Wolverhampton), William Carvalho (Bétis), Bruno Fernandes (Sporting), João Mário (Inter), João Moutinho (Wolverhampton) e Pizzi (Benfica) Avançados: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), João Félix (SL Benfica), Gonçalo Guedes (Valencia) Rafa Silva (SL Benfica), André Silva (Sevilha), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Diogo Jota (Wolverhampton) e Dyego Sousa (SC Braga).
Only 3 central defenders is a bit strange. But overall its a good call up, surprised Dyego Sousa got a call but he has been the in form striker in Liga NOS. No Bruma or Renato either. Will be interesting to see if Felix plays with Ronaldo.
I am not too surprised at only 3 cb's being called up, as you may recall Fernando santos was only going to bring 3 to the world cup before Danilo got inured, he is essentially the 4th CB for Fernando Santos, I remember him saying that after the world cup squad was announced. Ferro should probably be the 4th centreback in the next qualifiers. He doesn't have much experience yet so I understand him not being called up. Pumped to see Joao Felix alongside Ronaldo, I think that could be a special connection. My squad for these two games Patricio Cancelo Pepe Diaz Raphael Carvalho Neves Fernandes Bernardo Ronaldo Felix
---------------------------Patricio-------------------------------- --------------Pepe-------------------------Dias------------------ Cancelo-------------------------------------------------------Gurreiro ----------------------------Neves----------------------------------------- ------------Moutinho-----------------William------------------------------- --------------------------B.Silva------------------------------------------------- ---------------------Felix-------Ronaldo---------------------------------------- You know Santos will use the familiarity of Neves/Moutinho in midfield. Bruno Fernandes and Danilo are great options off the bench, and in attack we have Guedes/Rafa/Andre Silva who can come on.
On your first point I think Danilo will be that utility in the squad which Santos can utilise. CB apart from GK is the lowest rotated spot in both starting lineups and substitutions, I’m a fan of only bringing 3 specialists in this are so props to Santos. Once Ferro establishes himself Fonte will drop out and Pepe will be the senior on the bench IMO. I really like your first XI however I would prefer to see a 4-3-2-1 Christmas tree formation. With Felix and Bernardo in behind
Dyego Sousa (SC Braga), is 30 years old and I have not seen much of him, but could be a short term solution, Rafa, Félix and Fernandes (less so Jota) have been playing really well but will struggle to get playing time as these two games are both qualifing games. -------Patrício------- Cancelo--Pepe-Dias--Rui ------Danilo---Moutinho --------Fernandes--- --------Bernardo----- ------Ronaldo---Silva---- More of a vídeo game formation but would be interesting.
I dont understand why everyone is penciling in Joao Felix.. he has played well for Benfica.. ok? and.. these are qualifying games. We are not going to put Joao Felix into meaningful games when we have other options, more importantly.. more experienced options. This isnt the time to experiment with Joao Felix because he is killing it in the PORTUGUESE LIGA.. Pretty confident when stating the front 3 will be: Ronaldo--A.Silva..B.Silva Midfield will consist of Neves, William and probably Moutinho (as someone stated due to his familiarity with Neves at the Wolves) Has anyone noticed Joao Cancelo playing LB for Juventus? why not utilize this option at the NT? would really add to the team by allowing Semedo to play RB..
I agree about Cancelo and Semedo. I would like to see that. I agree - everyone is excited about Felix (and Jota). But it's true they are young and have zero experience playing with the rest of the crew so there's little chance they'd start next week - a tough game no less. But... Andre Silva has been ubber cold for months now. He's lost his starting spot and hasn't scored in weeks. Whereas at least Felix and Jota are starting day in and day out and killing it. Jota goal against Man U yesterday shows that he brings something we don't have anywhere else on the squad - toughness/killer instinct in a small package. He's like an Aguero or Tevez player. My guess is that we might start A. Silva and then have Felix/Jota ready to sub him in.
Jota has a much better chance to start than Joao Felix has. Your right. 100%. Jota brings something we lack, a small gritty player with a bundle of talent capable of scoring a goal out of nothing. A.Silva isnt that type of player, and while he hustles and makes the defence work to get the ball out of their back line, he is a striker who now in his prime is still only capable of really scoring goals near goal, within 6-8 yards and is also a hot head which can and has gotten him in some trouble in the past. In simple terms, i am and always have been open to Jota starting.