England v Poland Match Thread

Second place can give you either Iceland or even France as they will be unseeded. My advice would be to hang on and win tonight

 

The Ireland match finished 3-1.

No injury to Richard Dunne.

 

We've got a ginger R at Wembley in the Dennis shirt.

 

I'd say Gerrard has been the best English player for the past 10 years

 

Game, set, match and a trip to Brazil - finally, this was as stressful as watching us play - what a relief!

 

Am I the only one who thinks the Arsenal/Polish keeper was absolutely crap for that Gerrard goal??

Talk about flapping at thin air.

Well done England. Enjoy next Summer in Brazil.

 

It's easy when you know what you're doing


Well except for that donkey Srurridge.

 

Great stuff.....Raised our game this week. Haven't enjoyed watching england for a long time.

 

England will win the world cup, or will they? Honestly, england was the best country in their group and totally deserved their world cup place. They won their group with a 31-4 goal difference and yet get massive criticism all round....

 

Phew! What a relief! England go to Brazil, Woy stays in the job, the FA keep their hands off Arry... and Dunne comes through unscathed for Ireland.. Happy days!

 

9 teams came second how do the play offs work

 

Wellbeck is not a natural finisher that's for sure, but his work rate in the 2nd half was unbelievable. Isn't wasteful in possession like Sturridge too.

Rooney was absolutely fantastic tonight. Superb header and brilliant all round performance. He has done it under immense pressure and is finally coming of age as a World class England player!

 

The worst second place team out of the 9 misses out on the play offs.

 

That's Denmark then, thanks

 

Almost finglas, the team with the worst point average out of the second placed teams miss out. Because of uneven numbers in the groups, some play 10 games and some 8.


Seeded:
Portugal
Greece
Ukraine
Croatia

Unseeded:
France
Sweden
Romania
Iceland

 

Just realised Iceland are in the play offs.

I am sure they will be the team all the others want to draw in the play offs.

I hope Iceland qualify. Just to be in the play offs is a great achievement for a country of their size.

 

They had 3000 supporters in Oslo tonight, 1% of their entire population.

Imo they are better than Romania at the moment.

 

So................England play two huge massive games in the space of 5 days and play very, very well. We played some fantastic attacking football and that is the way forward for England, as defensively we're not as strong as we have been in the past. Baines was fantastic going forward, BUT he is nothing like as good on the ball in tight situations as Cole and he lost possession a lot in those situations in the 2nd half. On balance though, I'd go for Baines now ahead of Cole.
Townsend was sensational going forward, but nearly all Poland's breaks were a result of Townsend not tracking back down our right. He MUST do that. Wellbeck, for all the criticism of him on here was superb at tracking back to help Baines all night long!
Hart made one vital stop and looked back to somewhere near his best, whilst Rooney and Gerrard were simply sensational. What a finish by Gerrard!!
With Wilshire and Walcott to come into the side England now have a good blend of experience and youth, with fantastic pace going forward. Sturridge needs to be more careful in possession and keep the ball much better, but his pace and skill is a huge asset.

I'm certainly not getting carried away, but that's the best I've seen England play as an attacking force, over the two games, for many a year!!

NB: France in the play offs........I'd laugh my bollocks off if they don't qualify!!

 

Worldwide, this BBC article provides a good explanation of the 2014 World Cup qualification process:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24502387

 

So would I. Particularly if Iceland beat them.