Group A: Netherlands, France, Sweden, Bulgaria, Belarus, Luxembourg Group B: Portugal, Switzerland, Hungary, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Andorra Group C: Germany, Czech Republic, NORTHERN IRELAND, Norway, Azerbaijan, San Marino Group D: WALES, Austria, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Moldova, Georgia, Group E: Romania, Denmark, Poland, Montenegro, Armenia, Kazakhstan Group F: ENGLAND, Slovakia, SCOTLAND, Malta, Lithuania, Slovenia Group G: Spain, Italy, Albania, Israel, Macedonia, Liechtenstein Group H: Belgium, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Greece, Estonia, Cyprus Group I : Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine, Turkey, Finland LOL and Wales' and Romania's group. We have no excuses, easier group couldn't have been possible.
Fantastic group for a young core to present themselves. Hope we get Switzerland and Hungary still in 2016, so we can still use some of the old guns and let the youngsters enter this squad itha very good scenario. Also, my picks: France, Portugal, Germany, Wales, Poland, England, Italy, Belgium, Croatia. Netherlands, Spain, Denmark and Czech Republic on playoffs
Not sure if anyone else here was watching live, but I got awfully nervous when they started to draw the Pot 1 names, which came last. I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief when Netherlands was called first and then hoped Portugal would get called soon after, which happened. Honestly, the only potentially better draws for a Pot 1 country on paper are Germany in Group C and England in Group F. I wanted no part of either five-team group; there's not enough room for error for my liking. Switzerland is dangerous, but Portugal has to win this group. One thing I hate after seeing the schedule is that Portugal opens at Switzerland right after Euro 2016 and doesn't host the Swiss until the final matchday - thanks UEFA.
Well, if you look at a good way, we might get them with some of our experienced guys still there, and in Switzerland. A win, and we got 4 games in a row that can make us do 15 points (Andorra (h), Faroe Islands (a), Latvia (h), Hungary (h))
Groups D,E and I will be fun to follow. Everything up for grabs. Group G is a matter of who goes to the playoffs (then qualifies anyway) Realistically the only game we can lose in our group is vs the Swiss. But I will call it now: We won't lose 1 game in 2018 WCQ.
Good point. The opportunity is there for a great start that can all but wrap up first place. I guess I'm just apprehensive about Portugal's prospects for that first match since recent qualifying openers include inexcusable performances and points dropped to the likes of Cyprus and Albania at home. Portugal has either dropped points immediately to a weak side and/or lost to its first legitimate opponent in every qualifying campaign from the 2006 WC through Euro 2016. Portugal just finds a way to start slow in these things, so I wish they started with a country that would give it more room for error.
yes we seem to have an easy draw but we are literally capable of dropping points or losing to just about anyone, as the years have shown. I am very confident we will be there in 2018 but I wouldn't be surprised if we made this qualification a lot harder then it should be.
Not this time. Our U21's proved they can get the job done in everything except a final. These kids are going to be featured a lot and we will be playing our late 90's early 2000's style, or maybe even better.
i remember Portugal playing Switzerland in the past it was like a home game for us their stadium used to be full to the rafters with Portuguese, do not know what it will be like now
It will be a home game for Portugal wherever they play in Switzerland. I have a cousin living near Geneva and she tells me there are pork chops all over the place there. The big difference with the Portuguese in Switzerland is that most of them still have dream to return to Portugal one day so they remain ultra patriotic and most likely will be pretty hard core.