Yep. It is all madness. The Ireland results will count for nothing if the three teams all end up with five points. A 2-2 will mean that Spain and Croatia scored more goals than Italy - in the matches that did not involve Ireland.
I can see an argument for the "head to head" system in the qualifying rounds where teams could run up cricket scores against the likes of Andorra, The Faeroes, and San Marino. (But even that doesn't happen much. Didn't England scrape a couple of 2-0s against Andorra?). But in the final rounds we are supposed to have, near enough, 16 of the best teams in Europe, so goal difference should be good enough to settle it.
I prefer the head to head. It can seem harsh, but I'd rather go out knowing it was because we failed to beat that team rather than it being down to not beating Ireland by more than 3 goals.
No. I wouldn't say that at all. Notts County didn't deserve promotion from League 1 last season - they didn't get enough points. Same goes for Russia. They only got enough points to leave it between them and Greece. Greece won that head-to-head match, which took place at a stage when they both knew the consequences of the various results, almost knockout stage. Would be a shame for Greece to go out to a lesser (ie. team they beat) when they finished equal on points. Switzerland aren't world champions. Russia are out. And rightly so too imho. It's a good point though. I think it's a difficult balance, but think UEFA have it right. Only change I'd make is that if Italy beat Ireland 3-1 and Croatia draw 1-1 with Spain, the decision between who goes through out of Italy or Croatia comes down to their UEFA coefficient. Fair play should come in before that. Higher ranked nations get enough advantages (seeding in qualification, seeding in playoffs, seeding in the group phase)
Mental... Whilst 2-2 is better than 1-1 in an attacking sense, its not better in a defending sense & both attacking and defending make up the game of football. It should come down to goal difference and that should be the end of the argument!
In Spain, league placings are always decided on the global basis when teams are tied on points (gets to be a real headachewhen four teams are tied at the end of the season and the reults between them are a mish mash, but to be honset, I like the idea. I've always gone with the idea that whoever finishes top of the league after playing everyone home and away deserves to be there, but in the case that two tie on points, if one got a win and a draw against the other they should finish top regardless of some silly 7-0 win the other team ran in against a mid table crowd.
When you think how much is riding on it (my office sweepstake ticket) this Spain vs. Croatia game is dire beyond belief.
Must admit, despite what people say, Spain are the most boring team on the planet.You can pass ten thousand times around the half-way line, but FFS someone have a shot on goal. I saw Spain v Portugal in WC quarters in Cape town in 2010,and it was the most boring game of football i had ever seen. No wonder English Premiership is shown throughout the world.
Thought Italy were ordinary. Can't believe they were top of the group until the 85th minute If England get to play them, I'd expect you to get through fairly easily. Not ruling you out against Spain either. Best of luck tomorrow
But as Eddie pointed out earlier, you have the best 16 teams in Europe competing, so if a side does score 7 in one match then they fully deserve the benefits of a good GD. I can see the thinking in a league of 20 teams where one side is going to be utter dross, but not in a round robin of four sides. The amount of different outcomes is just madness and even the pundits etc struggle to get to grips with it all. The rules should be simplified for such a small amount of matches. To think that Italy could have gone out if they had beaten Ireland 10-0 and the other two drew 2-2 is lunacy of the highest order.
Not meaning to be pedantic, but it isn't the best 16 as the host nation/s get automatic qualification.
But they are not exactly whipping boys, SuperC. Poland and Ukraine are unlikely to get beaten heavily. If Wales and Northern Ireland were co-hosting then I would probably advocate such a system.
Italy have a habit of doing just enough to get through the group stages. I think this would apply whatever the format.
Worthy of Nick Grey at his best, Ponders. Do you remember his 'World Cup Seeding System' post? Hilarious.
