An International Knockout

mark wilson27 · July 18, 2016

Using FM15 with newest update. English League Two and above. All European teams and International players have been loaded onto a large database including 30,000 players. To pick which nations you get I have used Random.org to pick who you get.

July 2014:

Right before we start the games we will get to see which nation each of you will get. The qualifying tables for the European 2016 Qualifying Groups have already been drawn.

The Gaffers: (Part One)

mark wilson27: Yours truly has been given the job of Northern Ireland who are currently ranked 91st in the World. They have been drawn in Group F with Faroe Islands, Finland, Greece, Hungary and Romania. It'll be a tough group to get out of and they might have to rely on a best third place spot

Gavrenwick: Gav you have been given the task of leading no.72 in the world Bulgaria to glory. You have been drawn in Group H with Azerbaijan, Croatia, Italy, Malta and Norway. Another tough group but good results against Croatia and Norway could see them get through. Runners up third place is realistic

BenArsenal: Our Singaporean whiz-kid has taken over Republic of Ireland who are currently ranked 70th in the World. They have been given a tricky group with Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Poland and Scotland. Ireland have a realistic chance of qualifying in the runners up spot.

tenthreeleader: The one I call “sir” has been given the task of taking over World no.61 Poland. They are in the same group as Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, BenArsenal's Ireland and Scotland. We could have a real battle going off between these two. Poland have also a good chance of the runners up spot. If Ireland do beat Poland lets hope that tenthreeleader doesn't hand an infraction down on BenArsenal

EvilDave: EvilDave has been given the opportunity to take Czech Republic to glory. They are ranked 35th in the World and on their day can beat anyone. They have been placed in Group A with Holland, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Turkey

salkster2102: Our scouse friend is taking over World no.54 Norway. They hare placed in Group H with Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy and Malta. Norway need results against the lower teams in the group and hopefully grab a point or two against Italy and Croatia to stand a change of progression

CFuller: Mr.Fuller has been given the nation of Austria took look after. His side are ranked 43rd in the world and are in Group G with Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia and Sweden. In truth a reasonably even group which could see Austria on their day qualifying with ease

sherm: sherm has been awarded the fun job of manager of Turkey. The Turkish are ranked 32nd in the World and have been drawn in Group A with Czech Republic, Holland, Iceland, Kazakhstan and Latvia. A runners up spot or third is very doable for sherm's side. Lets hope sherm can cope with the Turkish fans “Welcome to Hell”

chesterfan2: Our number two Chester fan has been given the easiest team so far as they have been drawn World no.14th Italy. Italy are in Group H with Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Malta and Norway. In the fans eyes automatic qualification is a must for the Italians, anything else could see him lose his job

Terk: Our own FMS Moderator Emeritus has been handed the job of Bosnia & Herzegovina. They are ranked 19th in the World and have been drawn in Group B with Andorra, Belgium, Cyprus, Israel and Wales. Looking at the group and World Rankings you would expect a runners up or third place spot.

mark wilson27 · July 18, 2016

The Gaffers: (Part Two)

Celtic_1967: Our Scottish friend has been given the task of getting Iceland to the Finals. They are currently ranked 47th in the World. The Group they have been drawn in is Group A with Czech Republic, Holland, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Turkey. In truth noone is giving them any hope but Celtic_1967 tenacious approach could see them as the surprise package. A best Third place is the more realistic option of qualifying

WLKRAS: Our Dutch gaffer might not be too happy with his draw as he has been given the job of World Ranked 26th Denmark. His side are in Group I with Albania, Armenia, Portugal and Serbia. By rights they should qualify from this group. If he doesn't he could be the first to get his P45

neilhoskins77: neil has been handed Israel for his job. They are currently ranked 68th in the World and have been placed in Group B. His side will be facing Andorra, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cyprus and Wales. Israel have been given no chance by the media and in truth by most fans. Lets hope he can prove us wrong

edtheguy: ed is the unfortunate one of the group as he has been handed World no 104 Lithuania. His side are in Group E with England, Estonia, San Marino, Slovenia and Switzerland. It could be a battle for the wooden spoon with San Marino for this tournament. Sorry ed, lets hope you prove us all wrong

sherwinga: Serbia is sherwinga's nation. They are ranked 31st in the World and have been placed in Group I with Albania, Armenia, Denmark and Portugal. A top three spot is a must. It could be between his side and Denmark for the runners up spot

ChileanRanger: Your task for this game is Romania who are ranked 28th in the World. Romania have been draw in Group F alongside Faroe Islands, Finland, Greece, Hungary and Northern Ireland. It will be a tough group to get out of and your side should be fighting for one of the top three spaces

git2thachoppa: You have been handed the highest ranking side with World no 5 Belgium being your destination. You have been placed in Group B alongside Andorra, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cyprus, Israel and Wales

mark wilson27 · July 19, 2016

Euro 2016 Qualifying Round Tables:

Group A:

| Pos   | Inf         | Team           | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 1st   | EvilDave    | Czech Republic | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     |[/b] 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |             | Holland        | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 3rd   | Celtic_1967 | Iceland        | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | [/b]
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |             | Kazakhstan     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |             | Latvia         | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 6th   | sherm       | Turkey         | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     |[/b] 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group B:

| Pos   | Inf           | Team                 | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |               | Andorra              | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 2nd   | git2thachoppa | Belgium              | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | Terk          | Bosnia & Herzegovina | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| [/b]
| 4th   |               | Cyprus               | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 5th   | neilhoskins77 | Israel               | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |               | Wales                | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group C:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Belarus       | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | FYR Macedonia | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Luxembourg    | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Slovakia      | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Spain         | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Ukraine       | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group D:

| Pos   | Inf            | Team      | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |                | Georgia   | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |                | Germany   | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |                | Gibraltar | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 4th   | BenArsenal     | Ireland   | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   | tenthreeleader | Poland    | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|[/b] 
| 6th   |                | Scotland  | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group E:

| Pos   | Inf      | Team        | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |          | England     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |          | Estonia     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 3rd   | edtheguy | Lithuania   | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | [/b]
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |          | San Marino  | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |          | Slovenia    | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |          | Switzerland | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group F:

| Pos   | Inf           | Team          | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |               | Faroe Islands | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |               | Finland       | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |               | Greece        | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |               | Hungary       | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 5th   | mark wilson27 | N.Ireland     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   | ChileanRanger | Romania       | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     |[/b] 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group G:

| Pos   | Inf     | Team          | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | CFuller | Austria       | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |         | Liechtenstein | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |         | Moldova       | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |         | Montenegro    | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |         | Russia        | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |         | Sweden        | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group H:

| Pos   | Inf          | Team       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |              | Azerbaijan | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 2nd   | Gavrenwick   | Bulgaria   | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | [/b]
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |              | Croatia    | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 4th   | chesterfan2  | Italy      | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | [/b]
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |              | Malta      | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 6th   | salkster2102 | Norway     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     |[/b] 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group I:

| Pos   | Inf       | Team     | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |           | Albania  | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |           | Armenia  | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 3rd   | WLKRAS    | Denmark  | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     |[/b] 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |           | Portugal | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 5th   | sherwinga | Serbia   | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     |[/b] 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

There you go lads now lets get going

mark wilson27 · July 19, 2016

Just to let you know, this will be the last post for awhile on all my stories as I have some personal cack to sort out my side. I will still be around on the forums but posting stories will have to take a back seat for now

September 2014:

September 3rd: (Friendly Matches)

Northern Ireland: (mark wilson27) The first game of the International season sees mark wilson27's N.Ireland losing 2-0 to Venezuela in a friendly, his side went down to a 9th minute goal from J.Martinez and a 63rd minute goal from Miku.

Bulgaria: (Gavrenwick) Mexico was Gavrenwick's first opponents but his Bulgarian side never really turned up. On the 22nd minute Mexico went a goal up as R.Jimenez beat the offside trap to score. Eight minutes later C.Fierro headed in to make it two nil. It took till ten minutes into the second half for the next goal to be scored as M.Kamburov fired in for Bulgaria. However on the hour Mexico regained their two goal advantage as C.Fierro scored

Republic of Ireland : (BenArsenal) BenArsenal's debut was one to forget as git2thachoppa's Belgium side beat his Irish side 3-1. Belgium took the lead on the 26th minute as R.Lukaku fired in from close range. Three minutes later it was 2-0 with R.Lukaku doing the honours again. The second half was five minutes old when K.De Bruyne tapped in to make it 3-0. With four minutes remaining in the game Ireland pulled a goal back as S.Long curled in from the edge of the area

Poland: (tenthreeleader) A feisty game for tenthreeleader's debut as his side faced a home friendly against Croatia. The first half didn't produce a goal but it produce four yellow cards for each side. Ten minutes into the second half Croatia took the lead as M.Mandzukic headed in from a corner. The lead didn't last long as on the 64th minute A.Milik fired in from close range. Both sides though are likely to be warned about their behaviour with thirteen yellow cards in all. How noone got sent off I don't know

Czech Republic: (EvilDave) Another friendly thriller as EvilDave's Czech Republic played out a five goal game with Algeria. The opening goal was scored in the 11th minute as N.Ghilas grabbed a well struck effort which gave Algeria the lead. Eight minutes later L.Vacha equalised for Czech Republic with a low effort. The next goal was scored on the 40th minute as M.Suchy gave Czech Republic the lead with a thunderous effort which gave the keeper no chance of saving. The second half was all Algeria and three minutes into the half H.Soudani headed in the equaliser. On the 74th minute Algeria's I.Belfodil inflicted a first defeat on EvilDave

Norway: (salkster2102) salkster2102 will be slightly disappointed with his sides second half showing against Slovenia. His side had dominated the first half and took a two goal lead with goals from S.Johansen on the 4th minute. The next goal was scored by M.Moller Daehil just after the half hour. The second half saw Slovenia pulling the two goal deficit back with R.Beric grabbing a goal on the 68th minute and T.Matavz equalising on the 83rd minute.

Austria: (CFuller) A friendly with France was the first game for CFuller's Austria and in truth they didn't compete at all with the French. France opened the scoring on the half hour as L.Remy made a mockery of the Austrian defence with a brilliant run and shot. The second half was all France and on the 73rd minute L.Remy grabbed the second goal of the game. The one good thing that CFuller could take from this game if that his Austrian defence did do quite well to only let in two goals

Turkey: (sherm) sherm's first game in charge ended in a win as his Turkish side beat Uruguay 4-1. O.Ozyakup opened the scoring on the 9th minute and this was followed by a goal six minutes later by H.Calhanoglu. They continued to dominate but on the 55th minute C.Stuani pulled a goal back for the South Americans. Twelve minutes later though Turkey grabbed another goal with D.Yilmaz heading in from a corner. With nine minutes remaining in the game O.Ozyakup grabbed his second of the game with a fine strike

Italy: (chesterfan2) Italy made light work of Ecuador in chesterfan2's debut match as manager. His side beat the South American side 3-0 with goals from S.El Shaarawy in the 9th minute which was followed by a 10th minute goal by M.Balotelli. The third goal was scored by the enigmatic one M.Balotelli on the 63rd minute but he was duly booked for his celebration

Bosnia & Herzegovina: (Terk) Terk's side made light work of Moldova in this friendly. The first goal took till the 37th minute as A.Mahmutovic tapped in from close range. The second half was all Bosnia and on the 65th minute E.Bicakcic slotted home to make it 2-0. Nine minutes later it was 3-0 with a wonderful strike from S.Salihovic. Straight from kick off A.Mahmutovic nodded home his second of the game to give Terk's Bosnia side a 4-0 win

Iceland: (Celtic_1967) Iceland took an early lead against Finland on the 4th minute M.Vilhjalmsson tapped in for Celtic_1967's side. However the game pretty much petered out till the 70th minute as M.Vilhjalmsson headed in for Iceland. With ten minutes remaining in the game it was three nil with H.Fridjonsson curling in. On the stroke of full time Finland pulled a goal back as R.Riski headed in past the Icelandic keeper to make it 3-1

Denmark: (WLKRAS) It will be mixed emotions for our Dutch manager WLKRAS as his Danish side lost 3-1 to Holland. A.Robben gave the Dutch a 9th minute lead but Denmark did equalise on the 37th minute thanks to a M.Braithwaite goal. The second half though saw the Dutch side upping the gears and on the 56th minute R.van Persie curled in to give the away side the lead. On the 76th minute R.van Persie got his second of the game with a well struck effort from outside the area

Israel: (neilhoskins77) Israel were the better side throughout and on the 34th minute I.Shechter gave neilhoskins77 side the lead against Hungary. However a lack of concentration at the back saw K.Vadocz equalise soon after. The second half was all Israel but they just couldn't break down the stubborn Hungarian defence

Lithuania: (edtheguy) Lithuania started the better but they struggled to break down the Ukrainian side. The second half though saw edtheguy's side take a 59th minute lead with a powerful strike from F.Tchernykh. Seven minutes later M.Devic equalised for Ukraine. On the 73rd minute Y.Rakitskyi gave Ukraine the lead with a low shot and on the 87th minute Ukraine added a third goal with E.Khacheridi doing the honours. Lithuania pulled a goal back on the 89th minute with D.Matulevicius heading in. Not a bad performance in truth

Serbia: (sherwinga) Serbia were alittle too relaxed in sherwinga's first match. They took an early lead with F.Djordjevic heading in on the 5th minute and this was followed eight minutes later with M.Jojic tapping in. However instead of battering the Kazakhstan side they started to show boat and on the 72nd minute Kazakhstan pulled a goal back with T.Nuserbaev firing in. Serbia were thankful for the referee who ruled out a late Kazakhstan goal. sherwinga's side will have to up their game if they are to progress in the qualification round

Romania: (ChileanRanger)A thriller for the fans as ChileanRanger's Romania beat Sweden 3-2. It was Sweden who opened the scoring as E.Forsberg barged into the area and fired under the keeper. On the 21st minute though Romania levelled the scores as C.Marica slotted in from close range after running into the area unmarked. Two minutes later it was two one with L.Sanmartean giving Turkey the lead from outside the area. It wasn't till the second half that the next goal was scored as G.Grozav gave Romania a 3-1 lead. The Romanians though relaxed and on the 79th minute E.Fejzullahu pulled a goal back but they couldn't get the equaliser afterwards

Belgium: (git2thachoppa) git2thachoppa's debut was one to remember as BenArsenal's Republic of Ireland side were beaten 3-1. Belgium took the lead on the 26th minute as R.Lukaku fired in from close range. Three minutes later it was 2-0 with R.Lukaku doing the honours again. The second half was five minutes old when K.De Bruyne tapped in to make it 3-0. With four minutes remaining in the game Ireland pulled a goal back as S.Long curled in from the edge of the area

mark wilson27 · August 9, 2016

September 7^th: (Euro 2016 Qualifying)

Northern Ireland: (mark wilson27) / Romania: (ChileanRanger) The first meeting of two FMS managers saw mark wilson27's N.Ireland face up to ChileanRanger's Romania. It was Romania who grabbed the early lead as C.Marica headed past the Irish keeper. However just after the half hour N.Ireland equalised with S.Davis doing the honours from just outside the area. mark wilson27 will not be happy with his defence as two minutes before the break L.Sanmartean easily beat the defence and fired under the Irish keeper. The second half was pretty even with only the one goal as K.Lafferty equalised for the Irish to give the two sides and managers a share of the points

Bulgaria: (Gavrenwick) Gavrenwick's side easily beat Azerbaijan 2-0. Bulgaria took the lead on the 14^th minute as M.Kamburov curled the ball in from the edge of the area. Bulgaria were battering the Azerbaijan side and on the 82^nd minute they got the killer goal as D.Makriev tapped in from six yards to give Gavrenwick a winning start to his campaign

Norway: (salkster2102) salkster2102's Norwegian side faced their first Qualifying match as they faced Malta. Malta however made his side work for victory as they took the lead in the 3^rd minute with E.Herrera opening the scoring for Malta. On the half hour Norway equalised as T.Elyounoussi thundered into the area to slot home a loose ball. Norway struggled to get through the defence but on the 87^th minute they finally got the winner as F.Gulbrandsen tapped in to give Norway and salkster2102 all three points

Italy: (chesterfan2) chesterfan2's Italy didn't get off to the best of starts as on the 13^th minute they were reduced to ten men after G.Chiellini was sent off for a two footed lunge. Croatia made the most of this and on the 27^th minute A.Kramaric headed in past the Italian keeper who was slow to react. Croatia were controlling the game and on the 59^th minute M.Mandzukic fired in past the keeper after breaking clear of the defence to give the Croatians a two goal lead. With four minutes remaining in the game M.Mandzukic made it three nil and inflicted a poor first qualifying game defeat for chesterfan2

mark wilson27 · August 11, 2016

September 9^th: (Euro 2016 Qualifying)

Poland: (tenthreeleader) / Republic of Ireland : (BenArsenal) Poland had home advantage but it was the away side that grabbed the lead as A.McGeady headed in a corner which silenced the Polish crowd. The rest of the half was a real tactical battle with neither side giving much away. The second half was a minute old when Poland equalised as N.Blackman showed great pace to beat his marker and fired past the Irish keeper. Poland were starting to control the game and with six minutes remaining in the game R.Lewandowski fired in to give tenthreeleader's Poland all three points and save BenArsenal an infraction

Czech Republic: (EvilDave) EvilDave's Czech Republic got off to a cracking start in their match with Kazakhstan as they scored with twelve minutes as M.Vydra hit a thunderous effort into the top corner. On the 27^th minute it was two nil with J.Chramosta tapped in a dropped cross by the keeper. Czech Republic were all over the home side. The second half was much the same but on the hour T.Nuserbaev slotted home for Kazakhstan after the Czech defence seemed to fall asleep. It didn't get much better for EvilDave's side and on the 79^th minute S.Ostapenko headed in the equaliser for Kazakhstan to secure them a shock point

Austria: (CFuller) CFuller's Austria made a good if not convincing start to their European campaign as they played Liechtenstein. They opened the scoring in the 11^th minute as A.Ivanschitz ran through the defence with ease and fired under the keeper. Austria controlled much of the game but struggled to breakthrough the Liechtenstein defence. It took till the 77^th minute for them to grab the second and final goal of the game as A.Barnes headed in from close range. If Austria are to progress they are going to need to smash teams like this

Turkey: (sherm) sherm's Euro campaign started against much fancied Holland and they did pretty well as they managed a 1-1 draw. It was Holland who grabbed the lead as on the 33^rd minute A.Robben curled in a free-kick. However on the 48^th minute Turkey were reduced to ten men after G.Tore was sent off for a second yellow card. This seemed to give Turkey a kick up the backside and on the 67^th minute they equalised as B.Yilmez ran through the Dutch defence with ease and fired under the keeper. Holland tried their best to grab the winner but the Turkish defence held firm

Bosnia & Herzegovina: (Terk) Terk's Bosnia were a goal down within eleven minutes after Cyprus's D.Christofi beat the offside trap and fired under the Bosnian keeper. However their lead only lasted a couple of minutes as A.Mahmutovic rounded the keeper to slot home into the empty net. Bosnia dominated the game after that and on the 39^th minute E.Dzeko headed in to give them the lead. The second half was much the same with Bosnia controlling all the play and with five minutes remaining in the game E.Dzeko grabbed his second of the game and Bosnia's third to give Terk a winning start to his European Campaign

Iceland: (Celtic_1967) An early goal by M.Vilhjalmsson settled the Icelandic nerves in their qualifying match with Latvia. On the 37^th minute it was two nil as H.Fridjonsson fired in a curling effort from 25 yards to silence the few fans that were watching. The second half was a dull affair but Iceland had done enough in the first half to secure all three points and get Celtic_1967 off to a good start

Serbia: (sherwinga) / Denmark: (WLKRAS) Not a great start for WLKRAS's side as sherwinga's Serbia outclassed them completely. On the 14^th minute Serbia opened the scoring as F.Djordjevic beat the offside trap and fired past the keeper. Serbia were all over Denmark and with two minutes remaining in the half N.Gudelj added a second. The second half was all Serbia and on the 74^th minute A.Ignjovski completed the rout with a low effort past the Danish keeper. A great start for sherwinga but not for WLKRAS

Israel: (neilhoskins77) neilhoskins77 Israel couldn't cop with a rampant Wales side and on the 23^rd minute J.Williams gave the Welsh the lead with a rasping effort which gave the keeper no chance to save. Six minutes later Wales added another goal as S.Church ran onto a through-ball and slotted in under the Israeli keeper. Wales continued the domination in the second half but on the 78^th minute E.Zahavi pulled a goal back but in truth it was a poor error by the Welsh that gave away the goal

Lithuania: (edtheguy) edtheguy's first group game was against the other minnows of the group San Marino. It was a pretty drab affair with some very poor quality passing and general play. However on the 73^rd minute the winning goal was scored as M.Kalonas slotted home from close range to give edtheguy's Lithuania all three points

Belgium: (git2thachoppa) git2thachoppa's Belgium side made light work of Grp B minnows with a convincing 6-1 win. However things didn't get off to a good start as on the 8^th minute M.Garcia gave the Andorrans the lead. Their lead didn't last long though as on the 12^th minute R.Lukaku headed in the equaliser. Ten minutes later K.De Bruyne made it 2-1 with a rasping low shot. Just before the break Belgium made it three one as E.Hazard fired in a free-kick from 30 yards after a poor challenge. The second half was as expected all Belgium and on the 55^th minute K.Mirallas added another goal with a slotted shot from ten yards after beating the defence to a loose ball. Six minutes later K.De Bruyne scored his second of the match with brave header. The final goal of the game was scored by K.Mirallas who had ran through the defence unmarked to head in a curling free-kick from E.Hazard

EvilDave · August 12, 2016

We dropped points to flippin' Kazakhstan?! I thought the Czechs were supposed to be a decent outfit...

mark wilson27 · August 12, 2016

To be truthful Dave, their has been some surprising results in the Qualifiers. In some of the other International saves I've got running on FM16 some of the lower nations have faired pretty damn well in qualifying etc

October 2014:

October 10^th: (Euro Qualifying)

Bosnia & Herzegovina: (Terk) Wales were the opponents for Terk's Bosnian side and despite his side controlling large majorities of the game they failed to break down the Welsh defence and had to settle with a 0-0 bore draw and a point

Denmark: (WLKRAS) WLKRAS will be happy with his Danish sides performance as they controlled the game with ease. However despite their domination they couldn't get through the Armenian defence in the first half. The second half was much the same but on the hour they took the lead as king N.Bendtner fired in from outside the area to send the crowd wild. Denmark carried on the forward pressure and on the 83^rd minute they killed the game off as L.Schone tapped in to make it 2-0 and give WLKRAS all three points

Israel: (neilhoskins77) A good away win for neilhoskins77 Israel as they beat Andorra 4-0. The opening goal was scored in the 3^rd minute as T.Hemed ran through the defence with ease and fired under the onrushing keeper. Eighteen minutes later it was two nil with E.Barda heading in a corner after running into the area unmarked. On the 25^th minute they made it three nil with E.Barda as he beat the offside trap and fired over the keeper who was slow to react. The second half was alittle quieter due to Israel being reduced to ten men ion the 49^th minute after H.Ezra was sent off for a two footed lunge. Israel grabbed a final goal on the 85^th minute as E.Barda completed his hat-trick with a fine strike which gave the keeper no chance of saving

Lithuania: (edtheguy) Lithuania sat back and defended their hearts out as Switzerland piled forward with attack after attack. edtheguy's defence held firm but on the 77^th minute Switzerland finally broke through as F.Frei slotted in under the Lithuanian keeper

Serbia: (sherwinga) (Friendly) An exciting game for the fans if not the two managers. Serbia grabbed the first goal of the game as A.Mitrovic headed in past the French keeper with ease. However on the 12^th minute D.Payet curled in a free-kick into the top corner. Ten minutes later France took the lead as K.Benzema ran the length of the pitch and fired in under the Serbian keeper. With four minutes remaining in the half Serbia levelled the scores as A.Ljajic tapped in from close range after the French keeper flapped at what should have been an easy cross. The second half was end to end but on the 79^th minute the winner was scored as A.Griezmann headed in a corner which gave the Serbian keeper no chance of saving

Belgium: (git2thachoppa) Belgium dominated their game against Cyprus and on the 19^th minute they took the lead as J.Vertonghen headed in from a corner. Soon after they made it two nil with M.Dembele slotting hone from six yards after breaking free into the area. However for some reason Belgium sat back and treat the rest of the match as a training game. git2thachoppa will not be the happiest of managers

mark wilson27 · August 16, 2016

October 11^th: (Euro Qualifying)

Northern Ireland: (mark wilson27) A real drag of a game with the majority of the game based in the middle third of the pitch. The first half didn't see a single effort on goal from either of the sides. The second half was alittle better as both sides tried to venture forward more and on the hour the winning goal was scored as W.Grigg rose above the defence and headed in a looping corner to secure mark wilson27 all three points

Bulgaria: (Gavrenwick) Gavrenwick's side gave the fans an entertaining game to watch. On the 6^th minute the first goal was scored as V.Bojinov headed past the keeper from close range after running free into the area. However on the 14^th minute T.Vella levelled for Malta. Bulgaria upped their game and controlled much of the half but failed to add to their tally. The second half was eight minutes old when V.Bojinov grabbed his second of the game with a fine strike which gave the keeper no chance of saving. On the 57^th minute though Malta equalised again as M.Mifsudi beat the offside trap and slotted in under the keeper. Eleven minutes later Bulgaria retook the lead as D.Makriev curled in a long range effort past the keeper after running onto a loose ball in the midfield. With three minutes remaining in the game Bulgaria made it 4-2 as S.Slavchev tapped in from six yards to give them all three points

Romania: (ChileanRanger) It was Hungary who grabbed the early lead as A.Szalal ran through the defence with ease and headed in a great free-kick. However Romania recovered and with seven minutes remaining in the half C.Lazar tapped in from close range to silence the Hungarian crowd. The second half was pretty tight in truth but on the 83^rd minute the winning goal was scored as C.Marica jinked into the are and slotted in past the keeper to give ChileanRanger all three points

Italy: (chesterfan2) / Norway: (salkster2102) The first half was a real tight affair with little separating the sides. The second half was a different story as the Italian players reacted the better to their team talk. Three minutes into the half S.El Shaarawy fired in a thunderous effort past the keeper from outside the area to give the Norwegian keeper no chance. On the 69^th minute it was two nil with M.Destro heading in a corner after the keeper flapped at the ball. With six minutes remaining in the game D.De Rossi scored the Italians third and final goal with a low shot which gave the keeper no chance of saving

BenArsenal · August 17, 2016

Ireland, eh? All ye wee Paddys, if we qualify I shall buy ye lot a round of Guinness down at the pub!

mark wilson27 · August 21, 2016

We'll have to see if you qualify then, could cost you some money mate

October 12^th: (Euro Qualifying)

Republic of Ireland : (BenArsenal) Ireland made light work of Group D whipping boys Gibraltar. They opened the scoring on the 3^rd minute as R.Brady beat the offside trap and fired under the keeper. Straight from the kick off it was two nil as D.McGoldrick headed in a cross from the byline. It was far too easy for Ireland and on the 28^th minute S.Long added another goal with a low shot which beat the keeper to the near post. The second half was three minutes old when S.Long grabbed another goal with a brave header which nearly saw his head taken off by the keeper. On the 73^rd minute Gibraltar were reduced to ten men after R.Gado Brianco was sent off for a second yellow card. Four minutes after the sending off D.Meyler made it 6-0 with a curling effort from the edge of the area after running onto a loose ball. The final goal of the game saw D.Meyler running into the area unmarked to slot home a low cross

Poland: (tenthreeleader) An emphatic performance by tenthreeleader's Poland as they beat Georgia 5-0. They started the scoring early as R.Lewandowski headed in on the 5^th minute after running into the area unmarked. However it took till the 28^th minute for the next goal to be scored as L.Obraniak slotted in from close range after running onto a through-ball. With two minutes remaining in the half R.Lewandowski grabbed a second goal with a thunderous long range effort which gave the keeper no chance of saving. The second half was eleven minutes old when A.Matuszcyk beat the offside trap and dinked the ball over the keeper. It was far too easy for Poland and with ten minutes remaining in the game R.Lewandowski grabbed his hat-trick with a bullet of a header to complete the rout

Czech Republic: (EvilDave) A day to forget for EvilDave's Czech Republic as Holland outplayed them with ease. Despite their complete control it took till the 38^th minute to open the scoring as M.Depay rattled in off the upright from 25 yards to send the Dutch crowd wild. The second half was much the same and on the 59^th minute A.Robben grabbed Holland final goal with a thunderous effort which gave the keeper no chance of saving. If it wasn't for the Czech keeper this could have been an embarrassing scoreline

Austria: (CFuller) A dominant performance by CFuller's Austrian side against Moldova saw them put four goals past the side. On the 14^th minute M.Hernik headed in after a great free-kick into the area. It took till five minutes before the half time interval for the second goal as J.Baumgartlinger ran through the defence with ease and fired under the keeper with ease. The second half was much the same and on the 69^th minute M.Hernik. With three minutes remaining in the game C.Fuchs completed the scoring with a brave header

Turkey: (sherm) Turkey started the better and seven minutes into the game H.Calhanoglu hit a powerful effort low past the Latvian keeper. Soon after they made it two nil with O.Sahan tapping in after the Latvian keeper flapped at a simple cross. The second half was all Turkey and on the 70^th minute H.Calhanoglu added his second of the match with low drive into the far corner to give sherm's side all three points

Iceland: (Celtic_1967) A poor start for Iceland saw Kazakhstan's S.Khizhnichenko head in on the 10^th minute. The lead didn't last too long as on the half hour B.Bjarnason levelled for Celtic_1967's Iceland. After the goal Iceland piled on the pressure but it took till the 74^th minute for the winner to be scored as B.Sigurdarson curled in from outside the area to give them all three points

mark wilson27 · August 29, 2016

October 13^th 2014: (Euro Qualifying)

Serbia: (sherwinga) An early goal seemed to settle the the Serbian players down as on the 9^th minute L.Markovic headed in from a curling free-kick. Serbia were controlling the game and on the 36^th minute A.Ljajic made it two nil with a daisy cutter from 30 yards which the keeper fumbled at and let into the net. The second half was more of a training match for Serbia but it was Armenia who grabbed the final goal of the game as A.Sarkisov tapped in on the 78^th minute

Denmark: (WLKRAS) A good overall performance in truth for WLKRAS's Danish side didn't let Portugal dominate them. The first half saw little in the way of the attacking action but Portugal did manage one effort on goal as they broke through the Danish defence but the keeper saved well. The second half was a minute old when the only goal of the game was scored as B.Alves beat the offside trap and curled the ball past the Danish keeper. Portugal were reduced to ten men with eight minutes remaining in the game as W.Carvalho was given a second yellow card which was followed by the red

Lithuania: (edtheguy) The game was twelve minutes old when R.Sterling gave England the lead against edtheguy's Lithuanian side. However the lead didn't last long as on the 16^th minute E.Cesnauskis headed the equaliser. Straight from kick off Lithuania grabbed the lead as V.Luksa intercepted a loose ball and fired under the English keeper. The second half was all England though and on the 79^th minute they grabbed the equaliser as A.Lallana hit a thunderous effort past the keeper to give them a share of the points

Bosnia & Herzegovina: (Terk) Terk's Bosnian side played pretty well throughout the game as they dominated possession without really threatening the Andorran side. The first half saw no goals and in truth no efforts on target for either side. The second half was alittle better however on the 65^th minute S.Kajkut was sent off for a second yellow card. The game seemed to die a death but with six minutes remaining in the game M.Mujdza slotted home from the edge of the area to give Terk's side all three points

Belgium: (git2thachoppa) / Israel: (neilhoskins77) A great game which saw both sides share seven goals. The first goal was scored on the 3^rd minute as M.Dembele headed in for git2thachoppa's Belgian side. Two minutes later Belgium grabbed another goal with R.Lukaku hitting a powerful effort past the keeper. Belgium were controlling the game and on the 43^rd minute it was three nil as E.Hazard curled in a free-kick from 25 yards. The second half was much the same and on the 52^nd minute E.Hazard made it 4-0 with a low shot past the Israeli keeper. Six minutes later though L.Pedro Cavanda was sent off for Belgium after sliding through an Israeli player. On the 62^nd minute neilhoskins77's Israel pulled a goal back as D.Barda headed in from close range after the Belgian keeper flapped at the ball. Straight from the kick-off though M.Dembele added another goal with a powerful effort which beat the keeper. The final goal of the game saw B.Kayal tapping in from close range for Israel. However a 5-2 loss for neilhoskins77 doesn't look good on his CV

mark wilson27 · August 29, 2016

Euro 2016 Qualifying: October

Group A:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team           | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Iceland        | 3     | 3     | 0     | 0     | 7     | 2     | 5     | 9     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Holland        | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 4     | 1     | 3     | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Czech Republic | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 6     | 4     | 2     | 4     |
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Turkey         | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 5     | 4     | 1     | 4     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Kazakhstan     | 3     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 3     | 5     | -2    | 1     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Latvia         | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 0     | 9     | -9    | 0     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group B:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                 | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Belgium              | 3     | 3     | 0     | 0     | 13    | 3     | 10    | 9     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Bosnia & Herzegovina | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 4     | 1     | 3     | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Wales                | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 3     | 3     | 0     | 4     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Israel               | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 7     | 7     | 0     | 3     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Cyprus               | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 3     | 6     | -3    | 3     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Andorra              | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 1     | 11    | -10   | 0     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group C:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Spain         | 3     | 3     | 0     | 0     | 9     | 1     | 8     | 9     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Slovakia      | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 7     | 3     | 4     | 7     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Ukraine       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 4     | 5     | -1    | 4     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Belarus       | 3     | 0     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 5     | -3    | 2     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | FYR Macedonia | 3     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 2     | 4     | -2    | 1     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Luxembourg    | 3     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 1     | 7     | -6    | 1     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group D:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team      | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Germany   | 3     | 3     | 0     | 0     | 11    | 1     | 10    | 9     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Poland    | 3     | 3     | 0     | 0     | 10    | 1     | 9     | 9     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Georgia   | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 3     | 11    | -8    | 3     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Ireland   | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 8     | 5     | 3     | 3     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Scotland  | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 5     | 7     | -2    | 3     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Gibraltar | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 0     | 12    | -12   | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group E:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team        | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Switzerland | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 10    | 1     | 9     | 7     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | England     | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 5     | 2     | 3     | 7     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Lithuania   | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 3     | 3     | 0     | 4     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Slovenia    | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 2     | 3     | -1    | 4     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Estonia     | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 1     | 2     | -1    | 3     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | San Marino  | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 0     | 10    | -10   | 0     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group F:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Greece        | 3     | 3     | 0     | 0     | 10    | 0     | 10    | 9     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | N.Ireland     | 3     | 2     | 1     | 0     | 6     | 2     | 4     | 7     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Finland       | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 4     | 2     | 2     | 6     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Romania       | 3     | 1     | 1     | 1     | 4     | 4     | 0     | 4     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Hungary       | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 2     | 10    | -8    | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Faroe Islands | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 0     | 8     | -8    | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group G:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Sweden        | 3     | 3     | 0     | 0     | 10    | 1     | 9     | 9     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Russia        | 3     | 3     | 0     | 0     | 7     | 1     | 6     | 9     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Austria       | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 6     | 2     | 4     | 6     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Montenegro    | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 5     | 5     | 0     | 3     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Moldova       | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 1     | 9     | -8    | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Liechtenstein | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 0     | 11    | -11   | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group H:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Croatia    | 3     | 3     | 0     | 0     | 10    | 1     | 9     | 9     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Italy      | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 9     | 4     | 5     | 6     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Bulgaria   | 3     | 2     | 0     | 1     | 7     | 8     | -1    | 6     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Azerbaijan | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 2     | 5     | -3    | 3     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Norway     | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 3     | 8     | -5    | 3     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Malta      | 3     | 0     | 0     | 3     | 3     | 8     | -5    | 0     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group I:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team     | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Serbia   | 2     | 2     | 0     | 0     | 5     | 1     | 4     | 6     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Portugal | 2     | 1     | 1     | 0     | 1     | 0     | 1     | 4     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Denmark  | 3     | 1     | 0     | 2     | 2     | 4     | -2    | 3     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Albania  | 2     | 0     | 2     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 0     | 2     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Armenia  | 3     | 0     | 1     | 2     | 1     | 4     | -3    | 1     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

neilhoskins77 · August 29, 2016

46 minutes ago, mark wilson27 said:

However a 5-2 loss for neilhoskins77 doesn't look good on his CV

I got a return ticket when you sent me out here, right?.......

ChileanRanger · August 30, 2016

Wait, Romania lost?! When?!

mark wilson27 · September 5, 2016

November 2015: Part One

Northern Ireland: (mark wilson27) Not a great start to the month for mark wilson27's N.Ireland side as they lost 2-1 against Greece in a Grp F qualifier. Greece controlled the majority of the game and on the 17^th minute they took the lead as D.Salpingidis barged into the area and fired under the keeper. N.Ireland weren't getting close to the ball and on the 68^th minute S.Papastathopoulos headed in to make it two nil. Greece were passing it around with ease but N.Ireland managed to pull a goal back on the 84^th minute with J.Evans heading from close range.

Northern Ireland made hard work of their friendly with Macedonia. It was Macedonia who took the lead as on the 27^th minute A.Jehovic rose above the defence and headed in from close range. The second half was twelve minutes old when the next goal was scored as K.Lafferty showed some pace to run onto a through-ball and equalise for the Irish. On the 79^th minute N.Ireland grabbed the winner as K.Lafferty tapped in from close range after an error by the Macedonian keeper. Not a great performance by N.Ireland

Bulgaria: (Gavrenwick) Bulgaria were easily beaten by Croatia in this Grp H clash. It took the Croatians ten minutes to open the scoring as L.Modric hit a curling free-kick from 25 yards. On the 18^th minute M.PJaca made it two nil with a low shot which the Bulgarian keeper could have done a better job with. Six minutes later it was three nil with I.Rakitic doing the honours with a thunderous effort. Just before the break it was four nil as M.Mandzukic rise above the defence to head in a corner. The second half was all Croatia but with fourteen minutes remaining in the game V.Milnev pulled a goal back for Bulgaria but it wasn't good enough for Gavrenwick's side.

Bulgaria now faced a friendly with Saudi Arabia and they didn't start well as they struggled to get going. On the 17^th minute Saudi Arabia took the lead as M.Al-Balawi beat the offside trap to dink the ball over the keeper. With two minutes remaining in the half Bulgaria pulled a goal back with Diego slotting home from six yards after beating the keeper and defence to a loose ball. The second half was all Bulgaria as they finally upped the pressure and on the 71^st minute the winner was scored as Marquinhos curled a free-kick in from 25 yards after being fouled on the way to goal.

Republic of Ireland : (BenArsenal) BenArsenal's Irish side faced a local derby as such as they faced Scotland in the qualifiers. However it didn't go to plan for our Singaporean manager. On the 19^th minute S.Naismith gave Scotland the lead as the Irish defence failed to deal with a simple cross. Scotland were all over the Irish side and on the 48^th minute R.Snodgrass curled in a brilliant free-kick from 30 yards. With ten minutes remaining in the game Scotland grabbed their third and final goal as R.Snodgrass jinked through the defence with ease and fired under the keeper.

Ireland now had an away friendly against Liechtenstein and they dominated without really getting forward. On the 14^th minute Ireland took the lead as S.Long beat the offside trap to fire in under the keeper. Ireland never gave Liechtenstein a sniff of the ball but it took them till the 73^rd minute to kill the game off as R.Brady headed in to give BenArsenal's side a 2-0 win

Poland: (tenthreeleader) Poland didn't turn up for their qualifying game against Germany and on the tenth minute S.Konrad gave the Germans the lead as he finished off a great team move. Two minutes later F.Ngole grabbed Germany's second goal as the Polish defence fell asleep. It was too easy and on the 34^th minute Poland made the job harder for themselves as A.Matuszczyk was sent off for a rash challenge. However being reduced to ten men seemed to give Poland a kick up the arses and they started to play. Despite Poland actually deciding to play it was Germany who grabbed the final goal of the game as T.Stahl headed in on the 84^th minute.

It was pure dominance by the Polish side against Qatar however their dominance wasn't transferred into goals in the first half. It took till the 64^th minute for the first goal to be scored as K.Linerty to find the net with a low shot which rattled in off the upright. With seven minutes remaining in the game the second and final goal was scored with L.Teodorczyk doing the honours from 30 yards after running onto a loose ball. No doubt tenthreeleader will be alittle disappointed that his side only scored two goals

Czech Republic: (EvilDave) EvilDave's Czech Republic side made light work of Celtic_1967's Iceland. However it was Iceland who took the lead in the tenth minutes as M.Vilhjalmsson barged into the area and fired under the keeper. The lead didn't last long though as on the 17^th minute M.Skoda headed in from close range after the keeper failed to deal with a corner. On the 34^th minute Czech Republic took the lead as M.Rabusic ran through the Icelandic defence with ease and fired under the onrushing keeper. On the stroke of half time it was three one with M.Kadlec finishing a great team move. The second half was all Czech Republic but it took them till the 86^th minute for them to grab the final goal as M.Skoda grabbed his second of the game with a fine strike which gave the keeper no chance of saving.

EvilDave's Czech side now faced a friendly with Japan however things didn't get off to the start he wanted as S.Ohara gave the visitors the lead in the 4^th minute. Ten minutes later it was two nil with the same player rattling in from close range. Japan were all over the Czech Republic and should have grabbed a third on the 43^rd minute but the Czech keeper saved brilliantly to deny him. The second half was a different story as EvilDave's half time team talk seemed to work and on the 49^th minute M.Vydra headed in to make it 2-1. Just after the hour mark Czech Republic levelled the scores as D.Kolar ran into the area unmarked and headed in a corner. It was getting too easy for the Czech Republic and on the 89^th minute S.Teci tapped in to give EvilDave's side the win.

Norway: (salkster2102) salskter2012's Norway gave a confident performance as they battered Azerbaijan 5-2 in a Grp H qualifier. The opening goal was scored on the 44^th minute as M.Elyounoussi tapped in from six yards after a low cross evaded the defence. The second half was ten minutes old when they grabbed another as T.Elyounoussi barged through the defence and fired under the keeper. On the 68^th minute Azerbaijan pulled a goal back as R.Dedeshov ran into the area unmarked and headed in a great cross. Three minutes later though M.Elyounoussi regained the goal advantage with a brave header. On the 78^th minute Norway grabbed another goal with P.Ciljan Skelbred slotted home from the penalty spot after a foul in the area. With six minutes remaining in the game Azerbaijan pulled another goal back as P.Farjad hit a curling effort from outside the area to beat the keeper into the top corner. On the stroke of full time it was 5-2 as P.Ciljan Skelbred half volleyed a cross past the keeper much to the delight of the Norwegian crowd

Austria: (CFuller) CFuller's Austrian side played pretty well against a tough tackling Russian side. Austria were the better side and on the 35^th minute L.Hinterseer headed the Austrians into the lead. With three minutes remaining in the half they had another chance but the Russian keeper saved well and set up the counter attack in which D.Cheryshev fired in the equaliser. Russia were reduced to ten men on the 73^rd minute as V.Granet received a second yellow card which was followed by the red. On the stroke of full time Austria had the chance to take all three points but L.Hinterseer failed to convert the spot kick and they had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

Austria now faced an away friendly with Belarus and in truth the first half was a real bore fest with little in the way of action. Luckily the second half was a lot better as CFuller's half time team talk looked to have worked. Austria came out fighting and on the 53^rd minute they took the lead as A.Ivanschitz ran through the defence with ease and slotted home from close range. Twelve minutes later they scored the killer goal as F.Kainz headed in the final goal after a well struck free-kick rebounded off the upright.

Turkey: (sherm) sherm's Turkish side were embarrassed by a rampant Kazakhstan side. It took till the 26^th for Kazakhstan to open the scoring as A.Kisiltsyn headed in from a corner. Turkey were being outplayed and on the 68^th minute it was two nil as W.Evseev fired in from just inside the area to give Kazakhstan all three points and put some pressure on sherm.

Turkey started the better against Hungary and within a minute they had taken the lead as O.Ozyakup showed some skills to beat the defence and fire into the back of the net. Turkey were controlling the game with ease but were struggling to get the ball in the net and on the 69^th minute Hungary made them pay with a well worked team move. Turkey carried on the forward pressure but just couldn't get score and had to settle for a draw

mark wilson27 · September 10, 2016

November 2015: Part Two

Italy: (chesterfan2) Italy started the month with a Grp H qualifying game against Malta. They made a flying start as on the 5^th minute M.Balotelli fired them in from outside the area. Italy were all over the opposition but just after the half hour Malta equalised with A.Schembri curling in from 25 yards after running onto a loose ball. With four minutes remaining in the half M.Balotelli gave Italy the lead with a low effort. The second half was ten minutes old when Malta were reduced to ten men after A.Muscat was sent off for a second yellow card. With ten minutes remaining in the game Italy grabbed the third and final goal as M.Gabbiadini headed in a cross to give chesterfan2's Italy three points.

Next up for Italy was a friendly against Australia and they made light work of the Aussie's with a brilliant performance. The first goal was scored with two minutes as M.Balotelli headed in a cross. Italy were controlling the game with ease and on the 22^nd minute M.Balotelli grabbed another goal with a low effort which gave the keeper no chance. With three minutes remaining in the half M.Balotelli completed his hat-trick with a thunderous effort from outside the area. The second half was a lot quieter and on the 71^st minute Australia pulled a goal back with speculative effort from J.Kennedy which bobbled past the keeper. However straight from kick off Italy regained their three goal cushion as M.Verratti headed in a corner.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: (Terk) Terk's Bosnia never really got going in their friendly with Iran and on the 4^th minute they were a goal down as R.Ghoochannejhad fired the Iranians into the lead. Ten minutes later it was two nil with A.Karimi doing the honours from close range. The majority of the game saw some very sloppy play in the middle third of the pitch but on the 89^th minute Bosnia managed to pull a goal back as V.Ibisevic curled in from outside the area but it was too little too late.

Next up for Terk's Bosnian side was a qualifier against neilhoskins77's Israel. The game was a barn stormer with Bosnia taking the lead within a minute as A.Mahmulovic headed in from close range. However the lead didn't last long as E.Barda equalised for Israel. Nine minutes into the second half Israel took the lead as E.Dasa slotted in from close range after beating the offside trap. On the 58^th minute though Bosnia were back on level terms with H.Harba grabbing a simple goal after the keeper spilt an easy shot. The game was all out and on the 81^st minute Israel scored the winner as N.Biton ran into the area and fired under the keeper.

Iceland: (Celtic_1967) Celtic_1967's Icelandic side was easily beaten by EvilDave's Czech Republic. However it was Iceland who took the lead in the tenth minutes as M.Vilhjalmsson barged into the area and fired under the keeper. The lead didn't last long though as on the 17^th minute M.Skoda headed in from close range after the keeper failed to deal with a corner. On the 34^th minute Czech Republic took the lead as M.Rabusic ran through the Icelandic defence with ease and fired under the onrushing keeper. On the stroke of half time it was three one with M.Kadlec finishing a great team move. The second half was all Czech Republic but it took them till the 86^th minute for them to grab the final goal as M.Skoda grabbed his second of the game with a fine strike which gave the keeper no chance of saving.

An entertaining game for the fans if not for the managers. The first goal was scored by the Greeks as T.Gekas headed in from close range. However Iceland responded well and on the 31^st minute they equalised as K.Sigporsson rounded the keeper to slide the ball into the back of the net. Two minutes later the same player gave Iceland the lead with a long range effort which gave the keeper little chance to save. Just before the break Greece equalised as G.Maniatis ran into the area with the ball and rounded the keeper to slide the ball into the net. The second half was ten minutes old when G.Samaras made it 3-2 to Greece with a low shot from outside the area which the keeper really should have saved. The second half was very open and on the 83^rd minute Iceland equalised with A.Gunnarsson firing in from distance to send the fans wild.

Denmark: (WLKRAS) Denmark controlled much of the friendly against U.S.A but it took till the second half for them to open the scoring as on the hour Lord Bendtner headed in from a great free-kick. However a lack of concentration saw M.Bradley equalise on the 74^th minute with a thunderous effort from just inside the area. Denmark tried in vain to retake the lead but failed to get the winner in this friendly.

Denmark's next game saw them facing Albania in a Euro qualifier. Eight minutes into the game Denmark took the lead as S.Maklenok curled the ball in from outside the area. Denmark were dominating but on the 49th minute K.Schmeichel was lucky not to be sent off after fouling in the area, luckily for him he just got a yellow card and saved the resulting penalty. Albania never threatened and Denmark earnt a good three points

Israel: (neilhoskins77) neilhoskins77's Israel easily beat edtheguy's Lithuania in a friendly. The first half was pretty much a none event but nine minutes into the second half E.Zahavi headed in to silence the home crowd. The final goal of the game was scored with twelve minutes remaining as E.Barda tapped in after some poor keeping by the Lithuanian keeper. Bragging right go to neilhoskins77 for this one.

Next up for neilhoskins77's Israeli side was a qualifier against Terk's Bosnian side. The game was a barn stormer with Bosnia taking the lead within a minute as A.Mahmulovic headed in from close range. However the lead didn't last long as E.Barda equalised for Israel. Nine minutes into the second half Israel took the lead as E.Dasa slotted in from close range after beating the offside trap. On the 58^th minute though Bosnia were back on level terms with H.Harba grabbing a simple goal after the keeper spilt an easy shot. The game was all out and on the 81^st minute Israel scored the winner as N.Biton ran into the area and fired under the keeper.

Lithuania: (edtheguy) edtheguy's Lithuania were well beaten by neilhoskins77's Israel in a friendly. The first half was pretty much a none event but nine minutes into the second half E.Zahavi headed in to silence the home crowd. The final goal of the game was scored with twelve minutes remaining as E.Barda tapped in after some poor keeping by the Lithuanian keeper. Bragging right go to neilhoskins77 for this one.

Lithuania put their friendly disappointment behind them as they beat Slovenia in a qualifying game. On the 20^th minute S.Mikoliunas gave them the lead with a rasping effort which had the keeper at full stretch but it wasn't enough to stop the shot. Slovenia weren't getting near the ball and on the 58^th minute G.Vicius gave them a two goal lead with a low shot which gave the keeper no chance of saving. Lithuania carried on the pressure but on the 87^th minute M.Samardzic headed in a goal for Slovenia but it was too little too late.

Serbia: (sherwinga) Serbia showed some great spirit as they faced Brazil in a friendly. Brazil dominated the proceedings as expected however it was Serbia that won the game as they countered Brazil in the 81^st minute and A.Ljajic tapped home from a low cross.

Serbia now faced Portugal in a qualifier and withheld a barrage of attacks. Despite the pressure Serbia managed to take an early lead as F.Djordjevic went clear of the defence and dinked the ball over the keeper. Portugal were getting frustrated with Serbia and on the 43^rd minute Pepe was sent off for a second yellow card. The second half was all Portugal but their discipline let them down as on the 70^th minute B.Alves was given a straight red for a vicious tackle. Serbia were just brilliant in defence

Romania: (ChileanRanger) A very even qualifier saw ChileanRanger's Romania drawing 1-1 with Finland. It was Finland who took the early lead as R.Riski coolly fired in a penalty after a handball in the area. The game became very much end to end and on the 49^th minuet A.Chipclu equalised for Romania with a fine shot. Both sides went for it but the game ended 1-1.

Romania made light work of their friendly opponents Iran. They opened the scoring on the 13^th minute as B.Stancu tapped in from ten yards after the Iranians seemed to fall asleep. Twelve minutes later it was two nil with B.Stancu again grabbing the honours as he beat the offside trap to fire under the keeper. Romania carried on the pressure but it took them till the 77^th minute to score the next goal as R.Rusescu showed his marker a clean pair of heels and wasted no time in firing past the keeper to give Romania a 3-0 win

Belgium: (git2thachoppa) git2thachoppa's first game of the month saw his Belgian side losing 2-1 to Portugal in a friendly. On the half hour Portugal were reduced to ten men after M.Veloso was sent off for a rash challenge. On the 35^th minute Belgium took the lead with M.Dembele doing the honours from close range, however after that it went tits up as A.Gomes equalised with four minutes remaining in the half. The second half was all ten man Portugal and on the 77^th minute B.Fernandes gave the Portuguese the win.

Belgium now faced Wales in the Euro qualifier but the fans might as-well of stayed home and watched paint dry as the game was bloody dire. It was even throughout the game with neither team managing a single effort on target.

mark wilson27 · September 10, 2016

Euro Qualifying Table: November

Group A:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team           | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Holland        | 4     | 3     | 1     | 0     | 7     | 2     | 5     | 10    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Iceland        | 4     | 3     | 0     | 1     | 8     | 6     | 2     | 9     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Czech Republic | 4     | 2     | 1     | 1     | 10    | 5     | 5     | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Kazakhstan     | 4     | 1     | 1     | 2     | 5     | 5     | 0     | 4     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Turkey         | 4     | 1     | 1     | 2     | 5     | 6     | -1    | 4     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Latvia         | 4     | 0     | 0     | 4     | 1     | 12    | -11   | 0     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group B:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                 | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Belgium              | 4     | 3     | 1     | 0     | 13    | 3     | 10    | 10    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Bosnia & Herzegovina | 4     | 2     | 1     | 1     | 6     | 4     | 2     | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Israel               | 4     | 2     | 0     | 2     | 10    | 9     | 1     | 6     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Cyprus               | 4     | 2     | 0     | 2     | 6     | 8     | -2    | 6     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Wales                | 4     | 1     | 2     | 1     | 3     | 3     | 0     | 5     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Andorra              | 4     | 0     | 0     | 4     | 3     | 14    | -11   | 0     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group C:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Spain         | 4     | 3     | 0     | 1     | 10    | 3     | 7     | 9     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Slovakia      | 4     | 2     | 1     | 1     | 8     | 5     | 3     | 7     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Ukraine       | 4     | 1     | 2     | 1     | 5     | 6     | -1    | 5     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Belarus       | 4     | 1     | 2     | 1     | 4     | 6     | -2    | 5     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | FYR Macedonia | 4     | 1     | 1     | 2     | 4     | 5     | -1    | 4     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Luxembourg    | 4     | 0     | 2     | 2     | 2     | 8     | -6    | 2     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group D:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team      | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Germany   | 4     | 4     | 0     | 0     | 14    | 1     | 13    | 12    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Poland    | 4     | 3     | 0     | 1     | 10    | 4     | 6     | 9     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Georgia   | 4     | 2     | 0     | 2     | 4     | 11    | -7    | 6     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Scotland  | 4     | 2     | 0     | 2     | 8     | 7     | 1     | 6     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Ireland   | 4     | 1     | 0     | 3     | 8     | 8     | 0     | 3     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Gibraltar | 4     | 0     | 0     | 4     | 0     | 13    | -13   | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group E:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team        | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Switzerland | 4     | 3     | 1     | 0     | 12    | 2     | 10    | 10    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | England     | 4     | 3     | 1     | 0     | 7     | 2     | 5     | 10    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Lithuania   | 4     | 2     | 1     | 1     | 5     | 4     | 1     | 7     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Slovenia    | 4     | 1     | 1     | 2     | 3     | 5     | -2    | 4     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Estonia     | 4     | 1     | 0     | 3     | 2     | 4     | -2    | 3     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | San Marino  | 4     | 0     | 0     | 4     | 0     | 12    | -12   | 0     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group F:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Greece        | 4     | 4     | 0     | 0     | 12    | 1     | 11    | 12    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | N.Ireland     | 4     | 2     | 1     | 1     | 7     | 4     | 3     | 7     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Finland       | 4     | 2     | 1     | 1     | 5     | 3     | 2     | 7     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Romania       | 4     | 1     | 2     | 1     | 5     | 5     | 0     | 5     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Faroe Islands | 4     | 1     | 0     | 3     | 1     | 8     | -7    | 3     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Hungary       | 4     | 0     | 0     | 4     | 2     | 11    | -9    | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group G:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Sweden        | 4     | 4     | 0     | 0     | 11    | 1     | 10    | 12    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Russia        | 4     | 3     | 1     | 0     | 8     | 2     | 6     | 10    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Austria       | 4     | 2     | 1     | 1     | 7     | 3     | 4     | 7     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Montenegro    | 4     | 2     | 0     | 2     | 9     | 5     | 4     | 6     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Moldova       | 4     | 0     | 0     | 4     | 1     | 10    | -9    | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Liechtenstein | 4     | 0     | 0     | 4     | 0     | 15    | -15   | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group H:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Croatia    | 4     | 4     | 0     | 0     | 14    | 2     | 12    | 12    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Italy      | 4     | 3     | 0     | 1     | 12    | 5     | 7     | 9     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Norway     | 4     | 2     | 0     | 2     | 8     | 10    | -2    | 6     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Bulgaria   | 4     | 2     | 0     | 2     | 8     | 12    | -4    | 6     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Azerbaijan | 4     | 1     | 0     | 3     | 4     | 10    | -6    | 3     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Malta      | 4     | 0     | 0     | 4     | 4     | 11    | -7    | 0     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

mark wilson27 · September 21, 2016

March 2015: Part One

Northern Ireland: (mark wilson27) N.Ireland put in a great performance against Hungary in the Euro Qualifier and five minutes into the game S.Ferguson gave mark wilson27's side the lead with a thunderous header. On the 14^th minute it was two nil with K.Lafferty running from the halfway line to slot in under the keeper. It was getting too easy for N.Ireland and with five minutes remaining in the half K.Lafferty ran onto a through-ball to dink the ball over the onrushing keeper. The second half was all N.Ireland again and just after the hour mark K.Lafferty completed his hat-trick with a well struck effort from the corner of the area. Hungary just didn't seem to know what to do and on the 79^th minute S.Davis curled a free-kick in from 25 yards after a foul. However on the 89^th minuter Hungary pulled a goal back with N.Nikolic slotting in after counter attacking N.Ireland.

N.Ireland now faced an away friendly with Canada and got off to a great start with C.Brunt curling in from outside the area on the 7^th minute. Eight minutes later B.McKay made it two nil with a powerful strike which gave the keeper little chance of saving. The Irish side carried on the pressure but failed to add to their tally. The second half was ten minutes old when D.Haber pulled a goal back for Canada after some poor defending. On the 63^rd minute Canada levelled as F.Alrd showed some skill to beat his marker and waste in firing under the keeper. Canada were starting to run riot and on the 83^rd minute S.Pandher rounded the Irish keeper to slot into the empty net. N.Ireland were getting battered and on the stroke of full time F.Alrd grabbed his second of the game to give Canada a 4-2 win.

Bulgaria: (Gavrenwick) A real dire game for the fans with Gavrenwick's Bulgaria and salkster2102's Norway playing out a 0-0 draw. The only thing of note was the number of fouls committed from the Bulgarians with their players picking up six yellow cards through out the game.

Another poor performance by Gavrenwick's Bulgarian side saw them drawing 0-0 against FYR Macedonia in front of his home crowd. His side never managed to get more than a couple passes strung together and the home crowd displayed their frustration with a chorus of boo's at the final whistle.

Republic of Ireland : (BenArsenal) Ireland struggled to get going against Georgia in the qualifiers and failed to make any sort of impression in the first half, The second half wasn't much better with Georgia keeping the ball better in the middle of the park, however on the 89^th minute Ireland managed to grab the winner as J.McCarthy curled in from the edge of the area to secure a undeserved three points for BenArsenal's side.

Poland: (tenthreeleader) Poland struggled to get going against Scotland in the Euro qualifier and on the 23^rd minute D.Fletcher gave the home side the lead with a rasping which gave the Polish keeper no chance of saving. Just before the break it didn't get any better as S.Armstrong rose above the defence and headed in from close range. The second half was a lot better for Poland and tenthreeleader's team talk seemed to get the players going and on the 65^th minute R.Lewandowski fired in. Poland kept on piling forward but all their pressure they couldn't get past the Scottish keeper.

Czech Republic: (EvilDave) A thrilling game between EvilDave's Czech Republic and sherm's Turkey. The first goal was scored by Turkey who took the lead on the 3^rd minute as H.Calhanoglu ran into the area unmarked and headed a great cross past the keeper. Turkey then double their lead on the half hour with A.Turan beating the offside trap to fire in under the keeper. With two minutes remaining in the half Turkey added a third goal with H.Calhanoglu heading in another goal to make it three nil at the break. The second half though was all Czech Republic as they piled forward and ten minutes into the half J.Chramosta slotted in from close range after some poor Turkish defending. Czech Republic were controlling the half with real ease and on the 78^th minute they grabbed another goal with M.Kadlec heading in a corner after the keeper flapped at the ball. Turkey were being battered but luckily for them they held on and secured the three points

Norway: (salkster2102) A real dire game for the fans with salkster2102's Norway and Gavrenwick's Bulgaria playing out a 0-0 draw. The only thing of note was the number of fouls committed from the Bulgarians with their players picking up six yellow cards through out the game.

salkster2102's side now faced a friendly match against Moldova and pretty much dominated. On the 23^rd minute they opened the scoring with a rasping effort from H.Nordtvelt which gave the keeper no chance of saving. However a lapse in concentration saw G.Ovseannicov firing in from close range to give Moldova the equaliser. The second half was all Norway but it took till the 76^th minute for the winner to be scored as F.Gulbrandsen to slide the ball in from six yards.

Austria: (CFuller) CFuller's Austria just never turned up for their game against Liechtenstein. However luckily for CFuller's side Liechtenstein didn't possess the front power to break through the Austrian defence. If his side performs like this against a bigger side they will get thrashed.

Austria now faced a friendly against Faroe Islands and again didn't put in a performance you would expect. They struggled to break down the opposition defence. Just after the break though Austria finally made the breakthrough as J.Beumgartlinger hit a curling effort past the keeper. However instead of piling forward in the search of more the Austrians sat back and never threatened again. Not a great month for CFuller's Austrian side.

Turkey: (sherm) A thrilling game between sherm's Turkey and EvilDave's Czech Republic. The first goal was scored by Turkey who took the lead on the 3^rd minute as H.Calhanoglu ran into the area unmarked and headed a great cross past the keeper. Turkey then double their lead on the half hour with A.Turan beating the offside trap to fire in under the keeper. With two minutes remaining in the half Turkey added a third goal with H.Calhanoglu heading in another goal to make it three nil at the break. The second half though was all Czech Republic as they piled forward and ten minutes into the half J.Chramosta slotted in from close range after some poor Turkish defending. Czech Republic were controlling the half with real ease and on the 78^th minute they grabbed another goal with M.Kadlec heading in a corner after the keeper flapped at the ball. Turkey were being battered but luckily for them they held on and secured the three points.

Turkey now faced a friendly against France. The game in truth was a dire affair with little in the way of action however on the stroke of half time the only goal was scored as H.Ben Arfa headed in for France to give them the victory

CFuller · September 21, 2016

Hold on. Are you telling me that Austria failed to beat Liechtenstein? LIECHTENSTEIN?! :mad:

mark wilson27 · October 5, 2016

March 2015: Part Two

Italy: (chesterfan2) Azerbaijan were no match for chesterfan2's Italy and on the 9^th minute they took the lead as M.Balotelli ran through the defence with ease and fired under the keeper. The rest of the half saw Italy continuing the forward pressure but they couldn't get past a stubborn defence. The second half was much the same and just before the hour M.Balotelli headed in a second goal after a great cross. Italy were battering the home side and with eight minutes remaining in the game M.Balotelli completed his hat-trick with a low shot to complete a 3-0 victory, but in truth Italy should have put a lot more past them.

Italy made light work of Russia in a friendly and on the 9^th minute M.Gabbladini headed in for the Italians. Twelve minutes later it was two nil with G.Rossi doing the honours from outside the area. It was getting too easy and on the hour mark G.Rossi grabbed his second of the game with a low shot which beat the keeper with ease. Italy had one more goal in them as on the 78^th minute G.Rossi completed his hat-trick with a fine shot from just inside the area to complete a 4-0 victory.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: (Terk) Terk's side outplayed git2thachoppa's Belgium side and on the sixth minute they took the lead as T.Susic fired in from close range. On the 8^th minute though Belgium equalised as K.De Bruyne curled in a free-kick past the keeper. After the goal Bosnia piled on the pressure and on the 39^th minute V.Ibisevic ran through the defence and slotted in under the keeper. The second half was all Bosnia and on the 68^th minute A.Mahmutovic curled the ball in from outside the area. git2thachoppa's side just weren't in it and on the 87^th minute V.Ibisevic made it 4-1 and a very good win for Terk.

Iceland: (Celtic_1967) Celtic_1967's Iceland faced a tough game against Holland in the Euro qualifier. Holland controlled the majority of the first half without really threatening the Icelandic keeper which meant the first half remained goalless. The second half started with Iceland lumping the ball upfield and A.Finnbogason firing in the ball under the keeper. On the 64^th minute though Iceland were reduced to ten men after I.Sigurdsson was given a second yellow followed by the red. However the ten men of Iceland defended brilliantly to give the home fans a historic win

Denmark: (WLKRAS) Denmark faced a friendly with Euro host nation France and dominated the French side. On the 34^th minute Denmark took the lead as L.Vigen Christenssen hit a wonderful strike past the keeper to silence the home side. The second half saw the Danes controlling the play and on the 75^th minute A.Comellus grabbed the killer goal with a low shot. A good win for WLKRAS.

Denmark now faced a friendly with Japan. The first half was a none event with some dire play by both sides. However the second half was the complete opposite and on the 64^th minute Denmark grabbed the lead via a brilliant volley from N.Bendtner. Three minutes later it was two nil as Y.Poulsen beat the offside trap to round the keeper and slide home into the back of the net. With twelve minutes remaining in the game though Japan pulled a goal back as R.Kano fired in a brilliant free-kick from all of 30 yards to beat the keeper into the top corner. On the stroke of full time Denmark conceded again as R.Terachi slotted in from close range much to the anger of WLKRAS

Israel: (neilhoskins77) It was Israel's opponents Cyprus that took the lead in this Euro qualifier as D.Christofl ran through the defence with ease and fired under the keeper. After the goal though Israel seemed to wake up and started to control the play. neilhoskins77 side were outplaying the Cypriot side but failed to break them down in the first half. The second half was much the same with Israel dominating and on the 83^rd minute they finally grabbed the equaliser as E.Barda headed in from a corner for a share of the points.

Lithuania: (edtheguy) Lithuania played well as they faced Estonia in the qualifiers and on the 2^nd minute they took the lead as S.Mikollunas tapped in from close range after the Estonian keeper flapped at a cross. The game then pretty much stayed in the middle third. The second half was much the same but on the 88^th minute T.Tomasauskas fired in to give edtheguy's Lithuania all three points.

Serbia: (sherwinga) Serbia struggled against Albania in the qualifiers. The first half saw Albania controlling the play with ease however luckily for sherwinga's side the Albanians couldn't hit a barn door from six yards. The second half was much the same but on the 74^th minute Serbia managed to grab the winner as D.Tadic fired in from the edge of the area to give them an underserved victory.

Romania: (ChileanRanger) Romania got off to a great start as within two minutes R.Rusescu gave them the lead from just inside the area. They carried on the pressure but failed to convert their efforts. The second half was all Romania again and just after the hour R.Rusescu grabbed his second of the game with a powerful effort from inside the area which gave the keeper little chance to save. Their was one more goal in the game as on the 77^th minute P.Anton headed in Romania's third goal to give ChileanRanger three points.

Romania now faced a tough friendly against Argentina and on the 8^th minute they went a goal down as S.Aguero beat the defence with ease and fired under the body of the keeper. Twelve minutes later it was two nil with J.Pastore beating the offside trap and slotting in. Romania were struggling to cope and on the stroke of half time E.Lamela made it three nil with a bullet header. The second half saw Argentina treating the game like a training match. Romania were struggling to get the ball but the one time they did they scored as on the 75^th minute S.Bus slotted in a long ball to make the final score 3-1 to Argentina

Belgium: (git2thachoppa) git2thachoppa's side were outplayed by Terk's Bosnian side and on the sixth minute they took the lead as T.Susic fired in from close range. On the 8^th minute though Belgium equalised as K.De Bruyne curled in a free-kick past the keeper. After the goal Bosnia piled on the pressure and on the 39^th minute V.Ibisevic ran through the defence and slotted in under the keeper. The second half was all Bosnia and on the 68^th minute A.Mahmutovic curled the ball in from outside the area. git2thachoppa's side just weren't in it and on the 87^th minute V.Ibisevic made it 4-1 and a very good win for Terk.

mark wilson27 · October 5, 2016

Qualifying Tables (March 2015):

Group A:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team           | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Iceland        | 5     | 4     | 0     | 1     | 9     | 6     | 3     | 12    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Holland        | 5     | 3     | 1     | 1     | 7     | 3     | 4     | 10    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Kazakhstan     | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 6     | 5     | 1     | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Turkey         | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 8     | 8     | 0     | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Czech Republic | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 12    | 8     | 4     | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Latvia         | 5     | 0     | 0     | 5     | 1     | 13    | -12   | 0     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group B:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                 | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Bosnia & Herzegovina | 5     | 3     | 1     | 1     | 10    | 5     | 5     | 10    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Belgium              | 5     | 3     | 1     | 1     | 14    | 7     | 7     | 10    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Wales                | 5     | 2     | 2     | 1     | 8     | 3     | 5     | 8     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Israel               | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 11    | 10    | 1     | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Cyprus               | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 7     | 9     | -2    | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Andorra              | 5     | 0     | 0     | 5     | 3     | 19    | -16   | 0     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group C:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Spain         | 5     | 4     | 0     | 1     | 11    | 3     | 8     | 12    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Belarus       | 5     | 2     | 2     | 1     | 5     | 6     | -1    | 8     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | FYR Macedonia | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 7     | 6     | 1     | 7     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Slovakia      | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 9     | 8     | 1     | 7     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Ukraine       | 5     | 1     | 2     | 2     | 5     | 7     | -2    | 5     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Luxembourg    | 5     | 0     | 2     | 3     | 2     | 9     | -7    | 2     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group D:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team      | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Germany   | 5     | 5     | 0     | 0     | 18    | 1     | 17    | 15    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Scotland  | 5     | 3     | 0     | 2     | 10    | 8     | 2     | 9     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Poland    | 5     | 3     | 0     | 2     | 11    | 6     | 5     | 9     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Ireland   | 5     | 2     | 0     | 3     | 9     | 8     | 1     | 6     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Georgia   | 5     | 2     | 0     | 3     | 4     | 12    | -8    | 6     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Gibraltar | 5     | 0     | 0     | 5     | 0     | 17    | -17   | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group E:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team        | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | England     | 5     | 4     | 1     | 0     | 9     | 2     | 7     | 13    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Switzerland | 5     | 3     | 1     | 1     | 12    | 4     | 8     | 10    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Lithuania   | 5     | 3     | 1     | 1     | 7     | 4     | 3     | 10    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Slovenia    | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 7     | 6     | 1     | 7     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Estonia     | 5     | 1     | 0     | 4     | 2     | 6     | -4    | 3     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | San Marino  | 5     | 0     | 0     | 5     | 1     | 16    | -15   | 0     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group F:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Greece        | 5     | 5     | 0     | 0     | 14    | 1     | 13    | 15    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | N.Ireland     | 5     | 3     | 1     | 1     | 12    | 5     | 7     | 10    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Romania       | 5     | 2     | 2     | 1     | 8     | 5     | 3     | 8     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Finland       | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 5     | 5     | 0     | 7     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Faroe Islands | 5     | 1     | 0     | 4     | 1     | 11    | -10   | 3     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Hungary       | 5     | 0     | 0     | 5     | 3     | 16    | -13   | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group G:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Sweden        | 5     | 4     | 1     | 0     | 13    | 3     | 10    | 13    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Russia        | 5     | 4     | 1     | 0     | 10    | 2     | 8     | 13    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Austria       | 5     | 2     | 2     | 1     | 7     | 3     | 4     | 8     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Montenegro    | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 11    | 7     | 4     | 7     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Liechtenstein | 5     | 0     | 1     | 4     | 0     | 15    | -15   | 1     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Moldova       | 5     | 0     | 0     | 5     | 1     | 12    | -11   | 0     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group H:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Croatia    | 5     | 5     | 0     | 0     | 17    | 2     | 15    | 15    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Italy      | 5     | 4     | 0     | 1     | 15    | 5     | 10    | 12    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Norway     | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 8     | 10    | -2    | 7     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Bulgaria   | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 8     | 12    | -4    | 7     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Azerbaijan | 5     | 1     | 0     | 4     | 4     | 13    | -9    | 3     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Malta      | 5     | 0     | 0     | 5     | 4     | 14    | -10   | 0     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group I:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team     | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Serbia   | 4     | 4     | 0     | 0     | 7     | 1     | 6     | 12    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Denmark  | 4     | 2     | 0     | 2     | 3     | 4     | -1    | 6     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Portugal | 4     | 1     | 2     | 1     | 3     | 3     | 0     | 5     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Albania  | 4     | 0     | 2     | 2     | 0     | 2     | -2    | 2     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Armenia  | 4     | 0     | 2     | 2     | 3     | 6     | -3    | 2     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

mark wilson27 · October 11, 2016

June 2015: Part One

Northern Ireland: (mark wilson27) mark wilson27's N.Ireland took the lead four minutes into the game against ChileanRangers Romania as O.Norwood beat the offside trap to fire into the net. On the 14^th minute it didn't get any better for Romania as they were reduced to ten men as C.Nica was sent off for a two footed lunge. N.Ireland pressed forward but with eight minutes remaining in the half D.Rotarlu countered N.Ireland and fired in the equaliser. The second half in truth was pretty dire and they had to share the points in this Euro qualifier.

N.Ireland now faced a home friendly against Ukraine. The first half was really poor in truth with little in the way of forward action. The second half was much better and on the hour mark Ukraine took the lead as A.Yarmolenko made a mockery of the Irish defence and fired under the keeper. However their lead didn't last long as on the 77^th minute J.Ward levelled for the Irish much to the delight of mark wilson27

Bulgaria: (Gavrenwick) Not a great game for the fans who watched Gavrenwick's Bulgaria against Azerbaijan in the qualifiers. Bulgaria were expected to beat the host with ease but in truth all they did were struggle to get close to the goal. In the whole ninety minutes of the match they failed to muster a single effort on goal. Not a great day at the office for Gavrenwick.

Bulgaria now faced a home friendly against South Africa and actually played well. However for all their pressure they couldn't break down the stubborn African defence. The second half was much the same with South Africa holding back the Bulgarian attack. The Bulgarian players were starting to get frustrated and it showed with six of them receiving yellow cards in the second half. Hopefully Gavrenwick can sort out his players before the next round of games.

Republic of Ireland : (BenArsenal) BenArsenal's Ireland took the early lead against tenthreeleader's Poland as J.Grealish curled a free-kick past the keeper from all of 30 yards. However on the 18^th minute Poland levelled as A.Mierzejewski ran through the defence with ease and slotted in from close range. With eight minutes remaining in the half it was 2-1 as A.Millik rose above the defence and headed past the Irish keeper who was slow to react. The second half was all Poland and on the 49^th minute M.Chrapek tapped in from close range after the Irish keeper failed to deal wit a long range effort. The rest of the half was more of a training match for Poland and they should have really scored a lot more.

Ireland now faced a trip to Canada for a friendly and they played alright in truth. A lot of the play was centred in the middle third of the pitch but on the 43^rd minute Ireland grabbed the lead as R.Brady slotted in from close range after beating the defence to a loose ball. The second half was all Ireland but they failed to add to their tally.

Poland: (tenthreeleader) tenthreeleader's Poland went down to an early Irish goal as J.Grealish curled a free-kick past the keeper from all of 30 yards. However on the 18^th minute Poland levelled as A.Mierzejewski ran through the defence with ease and slotted in from close range. With eight minutes remaining in the half it was 2-1 as A.Millik rose above the defence and headed past the Irish keeper who was slow to react. The second half was all Poland and on the 49^th minute M.Chrapek tapped in from close range after the Irish keeper failed to deal wit a long range effort. The rest of the half was more of a training match for Poland and they should have really scored a lot more.

An entertaining game for the fans as Poland faced Australia in a friendly. The scoring started in the 9^th minute as G.Krychowlak headed in for the Polish. Twelve minutes later Australia levelled as M.Leckie beat the offside trap with ease and fired under the Polish keeper. Just after the half hour Poland retook the lead as R.Lewandowski barged into the area and curled the ball in off the upright. On the 43^rd minute R.Lewandowski grabbed another goal as he beat the defence with a superb bit of skill and slotted in past the keeper. The second half was six minutes old when Australia made it 3-2 as B.Halloran slipped unmarked into the area and headed a looping cross past the keeper. The game carried on at a high pace and on the 84^th minute tenthreeleader's Poland grabbed the winner as R.Lewandowski completed his hat-trick with a long range effort into the top corner.

Czech Republic: (EvilDave) A dominant performance by Czech Republic saw them taking the lead on the 9^th minute with a low shot from J.Chramosta which gave the keeper little chance of saving. EvilDave's side carried on piling forward but failed to get past the keeper in the first half. The second half was much the same but it took till the 88^th minute for the killer goal to be scored as M.Vydra showed some pace to beat the tiring defence and fired over the keeper and into the net.

EvilDave's side now faced a friendly with Georgia and it didn't go all to plan as within two minutes of kick off N.Gelashvili gave the Georgians the lead. On the 19^th minute it was two nil with I.Modebadze ran into the area unmarked and half volleyed a cross past the keeper. Czech Republics were struggling to string more than a few passes together and failed to muster a change in the first half. The second half was little better for the Czech's but by the time they finally scored in the 90^th minute it was far too late to mount a comeback. Not a great way to end the month for Czech Republic.

Norway: (salkster2102) Norway made it look easy against Malta in the qualifiers and on the 3^rd minute they took the lead as T.Elyounoussi showed some great pace to beat the defence and wasted no time in firing in under the keeper. Eight minutes later it was two nil as F.Guilbrandsen rose above the defence and headed in a corner. The rest of the half went by with attack after attack but Norway failed to break down the defence. The second half was all Norway and on the 81^st minute H.Nielsen grabbed Norway's third goal with a fine strike to give salkster2102 all three points.

Norway now faced South Korea in a friendly and salkster2102 will not be happy with his sides performance. On the 21^st minute the away side grabbed the lead as J.Dong-Won rose above the defence and headed in past the keeper. Ten minutes later though Norway equalised as T.Elyounoussi ran through the defence with ease and fired under the Korean keeper. The second half was eight minutes old when L.Chung-Yong gave South Korean the lead back with a long range effort. South Korea were controlling the game and on the 79^th minute L.Seung-Gi made it three one much to the disgust of the Norwegian fans.

Austria: (CFuller) Austria took the lead within two minutes of the kick off as A.Welmann beat the defence to a loose ball and fired it under the onrushing keeper. However the early the goal seemed to kill the game and their was little of note for the remainder of the match. CFuller though will be happy for the three points.

Next for CFuller was a friendly match against Kazakhstan. Austria dominated the early part of the game with ease and on the 19^th minute they took the lead with K.Stoger running through the defence and wasted no time in firing under the keeper. However after the goal the game seemed to die a death and their wasn't another chance in the first half. The second half wasn't much better with some dire play. Austria just had one more chance in the second half but the chance was as bad as the rest of the play and went well over the crossbar.

Turkey: (sherm) sherm's Turkey were easily beaten by Holland in this qualifier. On the 8^th minute M.Depay made a mockery of the Turkish defence and fired under the onrushing keeper. Ten minutes later it was two nil with N.de Jong heading from a corner. Turkey just weren't getting anything from the ball and jut before the break S.de Vrij grabbed a third for Holland. The second half was again all Holland and on the 78^th minute K-Jan Huntelaar beat the offside trap to dink the ball over the onrushing keeper. Turkey though did pull a goal back as on the 89^th minute H.Calhanoglu headed in from a free-kick. Not a good day for sherm.

A real back and forth game for Sherm's side next as they faced Faroe Islands in the qualifiers. On the 7^th minute Turkey took the lead as M.Demir headed in from close range, however ten minutes later J.Tor Noes levelled the the home side. The next goal was scored on the 34^th minute as M.Demir grabbed another goal for Turkey with a rasping effort low into the back of the net. The second half was eight minutes old when Faroe Islands levelled again as P.Klettskarb ran through the Turkish defence with ease and fired under the keeper. On the hour Turkey yet again retook the lead as O.Sahan beat the offside trap and slotted home. With twelve minutes remaining in the game the home side levelled again with P.Klettskard headed in after the Turkish keeper failed to deal with simple cross. On the 87^th minute the final was scored as B.Yilmez beat the offside trap and rounded the keeper to slot home into an empty net to give Turkey all three points and Sherm a heart attack.

mark wilson27 · October 15, 2016

June 2015: Part Two

Italy: (chesterfan2) chesterfan2 made light work of Croatia and four minutes into the game G.Rossi grabbed the opener with a low shot which gave the keeper little chance of saving. Croatia weren't getting near the ball and on the 24^th minute A.Cerci curled the ball into the back of the net from outside the area. The second half was much the same with constant pressure and on the 74^th minute C.Marchisio tapped in from close range to give chesterfan2 a good three points.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: (Terk) Terk's Bosnian side struggled to get going against Cyprus in the qualifiers. Cyprus were keeping the Bosnian side in the middle of the pitch. The first half saw no real efforts on goal. The second half was much the same with some dire play in general but on the 72^nd minute Bosnia finally grabbed the winner as J.Demetriou tapped to gain all three points for Terk's side.

Iceland: (Celtic_1967) Iceland started the better against Latvia in the qualifier however it took till the 27^th minute for them to open the scoring as E.Hallfredsson rose above the defence and headed past the Latvian keeper. Just before the break they made it two nil with A.Finnbogason running from the byline and unleashing a wonderous effort past the keeper. The second half was all Iceland but on the hour mark Latvia pulled a goal back as A.Rudnevs beat the Icelandic to a loose ball and slotted in. Latvia though never came close after that and Iceland kept all three points.

Denmark: (WLKRAS) WLKRAS Denmark now faced sherwinga's Serbia and it was a pretty even game. The first goal was scored on the 31^st minute as D.Wass headed in from close range to give Denmark the lead. Ten minutes later it was 1-1 as F.Djordjevic fired in from outside the area much to the delight of the Serbian fans who travelled. The second half was just as tight but on the 72^nd minute the winning goal was scored as L.Vigen Christensen barged into the area and fired past the Serbian keeper to give Denmark the win.

Israel: (neilhoskins77) Israel now faced a tough away tie against Wales and it was Wales who grabbed the early goal as S.Vokes fired in from close range on the 9^th minute. Wales controlled much of the game but failed to make their chances count but Israel failed to make them pay. The second half was all Wales but like the first half they failed to get past a stubborn Israeli defence and on the 66^th minute Israel equalised with D.Micha doing the honours from outside the area. Wales carried on the forward pressure but the Israeli defence was brilliant and held on for the point.

Lithuania: (edtheguy) Lithuania made light work of Group E whipping boys San Marino. The first goal was scored in the 2^nd minute as D.Matulevicius ran into the area unmarked and fired under the keeper. On the 20^th minute it was two nil with L.Spalvis beating the offside trap and firing past the helpless keeper. San Marino weren't getting anywhere near the ball and on the 38^th minute M.Panka grabbed another goal for Lithuania. With three minutes remaining in the half D.Matulevicius grabbed his second of the game with a wells truck effort from outside the area. Just before the hour mark V.Luksa grabbed a fifth goal for Lithuania with a brave header which saw him take a knock from the keeper. The final goal of the game saw L.Spalvis run through the San Marino defence and slot home past the keeper to give Lithuania a convincing 6-0 win.

Serbia: (sherwinga) sherwinga's Serbia now faced WLKRAS's Denmark and it was a pretty even game. The first goal was scored on the 31^st minute as D.Wass headed in from close range to give Denmark the lead. Ten minutes later it was 1-1 as F.Djordjevic fired in from outside the area much to the delight of the Serbian fans who travelled. The second half was just as tight but on the 72^nd minute the winning goal was scored as L.Vigen Christensen barged into the area and fired past the Serbian keeper to give Denmark the win.

Romania: (ChileanRanger) ChileanRanger's went a goal down four minutes into the game against mark wilson27's N.Ireland as O.Norwood beat the offside trap to fire into the net. On the 14^th minute it didn't get any better for Romania as they were reduced to ten men as C.Nica was sent off for a two footed lunge. N.Ireland pressed forward but with eight minutes remaining in the half D.Rotarlu countered N.Ireland and fired in the equaliser. The second half in truth was pretty dire and they had to share the points in this Euro qualifier.

Romania performed well in their friendly match against Belarus. Belarus struggled to get near the ball and on the 25^th minute Romania grabbed the lead as C.Marica ran onto a loose ball and fired under the keeper. The second half was all Romania and on the 73^rd minute they made it two nil with C.Marica heading in.

Belgium: (git2thachoppa) A cracking result for Belgium saw them thrashing Andorra in the Euro Qualifier. It took only seven minutes for them to open the scoring as R.Lukaku beat the offside trap and fired under the keeper. Belgium piled forward and on the half hour R.Lukaku grabbed another goal with a thunderous effort from outside the area. Straight from kick off Belgium intercepted the ball and K.De Bruyne curled in the ball from 20 yards to give the keeper no chance of saving. With five minutes remaining in the half they scored again as K.Mirallas headed in from a corner. Just before the break R.Lukaku completed his hat-trick with a low shot to send Belgium into the break five nil up. The second half was much the same and on the 58^th minute A.Witsel headed in a cross to make it six nil. The final goal of the game was scored in the 87^th minute as R.Nainggolan slotted home to give git2thachoppa's Belgium an emphatic victory.

Authors note: Yours truly being the numpty that he is forgot to save the Qualification table for this month

neilhoskins77 · October 15, 2016

Another point, keeps us in the hunt at least.

mark wilson27 · October 25, 2016

October 2015: Part One

Northern Ireland: (mark wilson27) An easy game for Northern Ireland as they battered lowly Faroe Islands. The game was two minutes old when M.Paterson opened the scoring with a thunderous header which gave the keeper no chance of saving. On the 7^th minute it was two nil with K.Lafferty doing the honours from close range after the keeper failed to deal with a simple cross. Nine minutes later P.McNair rose above the defence and headed in a corner to send the crowd wild. It was far too easy for N.Ireland and on the 27^th minute N.McGinn grabbed another goal for N.Ireland. The second half was much the same and on the 59^th minute B.McKay hit a low effort past the keeper. With fourteen minutes remaining in the game the final goal was scored as K.Lafferty ran into the area with the ball and rounded the keeper to slide into the empty net.

N.Ireland now faced Finland in the qualifiers and played well for the first half. They opened the scoring in the 25^th minute as M.Paterson finished a team move off with a well struck effort. However they failed to add anything else for the rest of the half. The second half was a lot closer with Finland pulling their fingers out and starting to play. On the 76^th minute the final goal of the game was scored with Finland earning themselves a point through R.Schuller's low shot. N.Ireland will not be happy to have only earnt a point in this match.

N.Ireland now faced an away tie against Greece. Greece didn't get off to the best of starts as within two minutes they were reduced to ten men after D.Slovas was sent off for a rash challenge. N.Ireland though struggled to make the most of this and on the 43^rd minute Greece took the lead as D.Salpingidis rounded the keeper to slide into the empty net. The second half saw N.Ireland piling on the pressure but they only managed to get an equaliser on the 84^th minute as B.Reeves hit a curling effort into the top corner. mark wilson27 will be wondering how his side didn't get more from the game, however with other results going his way mark wilson27's side will be playing in next summers European Championship

Bulgaria: (Gavrenwick) Gavrenwick's Bulgaria now faced up to chesterfan2's Italy. It was Bulgaria who grabbed the opening goal as A.Vulov headed in past the Italian keeper. Bulgaria were having the better of the game but failed to make their chances pay and on the 41^st minute M.Balotelli fired in a superb shot to send the teams in level at the break. The second half was pretty even in truth but on the 85^th minute the winner was scored as L.Insigne ran through the Bulgarian defence and fired under the keeper to give chesterfan2 all three points.

Bulgaria struggled to get going in the first half against Malta with some very sloppy play. Gavrenwick's side failed to get close to scoring during the first forty five minutes. The second half was two minutes old when M.Muscat was given a straight red card for Malta. On the 50^th minute Bulgaria made the most of this as V.Domovchiyski ran through the defence with ease and fired past the keeper. Six minutes later it was two nil with A.Vutov doing the honours after beating the defence to a loose ball. It was all too easy for Bulgaria and with nine minutes remaining in the game V.Gadzhev headed in to give Gavrenwick all three points.

Bulgaria now faced a home tie against Croatia and in truth the fans would have wished they had not bothered turning up. The game was really dire and in the first half their wasn't a single effort on goal. The second half wasn't much better but on the 68^th minute the only goal was scored as M.Livaja headed in from a corner to give Croatia all three points and a disappointing end to the month for Gavrenwick

Republic of Ireland : (BenArsenal) BenArsenal's Irish side faced a tough away game against Germany and on the 5^th minute the Germans took the lead with a low effort which gave the keeper no chance of saving. Germany were dominating the game and just before the half time interval A.Maler grabbed his second of the game to send Germany into the break two goals to the good. It was much the same in the second half with Germany controlling the half but on the 77^th minute Ireland grabbed a goal back with A.Keogh doing the honours but it was too little too late for the Irish.

Four minutes into the game against Georgia Ireland went a goal down as V.Qazalshvili beat the offside trap and fired under the keeper. However on the 6^th minute Ireland levelled as S.Long ran from the wing and curled a wicked effort past the keeper. Ireland were starting to dominate the game and just before the break J.Grealish gave them the half time lead. The second half was all Ireland and on the 73^rd minute J.McCarthy headed in the winner much to the delight of BenArsenal.

Ireland now faced Scotland and on the 9^th minute they took the lead as A.McGeady headed in from a free-kick to silence the Scottish crowd. Ireland controlled the majority of the half and on the 38^th minute S.Long made it two nil with a wonderous strike from 25 yards. The second half though was all Scotland and on the 53^rd minute S.May pulled a goal back with a well worked team move. Scotland were keeping the ball away from Ireland and on the 84^th minute J.Rhodes levelled the scores to send the Hampden Park crowd wild. Deep into injury time the roof was blown off the stadium as S.May grabbed his second and Scotland's third to give them all three points. The results mean that BenArsenal will be watching the European Championship's from home next summer.

Poland: (tenthreeleader) Poland made light work of the groups whipping boys Gibraltar and opened the scoring on the 20^th minute as A.Milik ran through the defence and dinked the ball over the keeper. Twelve minutes later it was two nil with A.Mierzejewski rose above the defence and headed in from close range. On the stroke of half time Poland grabbed another goal with R.Lewandowski beating the offside trap to slide home under the onrushing keeper. The second half was again all Poland and just after the hour mark J.Wawrzyriak ran through the defence with real ease and rounded the keeper to slide into the empty net. Their was one final goal in the game as on the 79^th minute R.Lewandowski headed in his second of the game from a free-kick.

A second win this month for tenthreeleader's Poland with an entertaining game against Scotland. Scotland grabbed the early lead with a rasping effort from J.Mackie in the 8^th minute. Twelve minutes later Poland levelled as R.Lewandowski tapped in from close range after some woeful Scottish defending. On the stroke of half time though Scotland retook the lead as J.McArthur hit a low shot from just inside the area to give the keeper no chance of saving. The second half though was all Poland and on the 58^th minute K.Billinski headed past the Scottish keeper. Three minutes later Poland were reduced to ten men after P.Zielinski was sent off for a two footed lunge. This however didn't stop Poland as they piled forward and on the 75^th minute R.Lewandowski grabbed his second of the game with a thunderous shot. Straight from kick off Poland added another goal as they intercepted a loose ball and K.Billinski slotted in after a great team move.

Poland now faced the Germans and were outplayed from the start. The only surprise was that it took till the 40^th minute for Germany to take the lead as T.Schnler headed past the Polish keeper. The second half was much the same with Germany dominating and on the 79^th minute the killer goal was scored as D.Volkov slid home to earn the Germans all three points

Czech Republic: (EvilDave) An entertaining game for the fans if not the managers. The first goal of the game was scored on 5^th minute as D.Kolar gave EvilDave's side the lead with a brave header. Ten minutes later Latvia grabbed the equaliser after some dire defending. On the 23^rd minute though Czech Republic retook the lead with V.Kubista driving the ball in low from 25 yards. The second half was much the same and on the 66^th minute L.Vacha headed in for Czech Republic to give them a 3-1 lead. Twelve minutes later though D.Rakels pulled goal back for Latvia. Luckily for EvilDave's side that was all that Latvia could muster and he walked away with all three points.

A cracking start by Czech Republic saw them taking the lead in the 3^rd minute as V.Darida fired in under the Dutch keeper. On the 23^rd minute they made it two nil with V.Kubista heading in from a corner. The first half was all Czech Republic but they failed to get past the Dutch keeper. The second half though was all Holland and on the 56^th minute L.de Jong jinked through the defence with too much ease and fired under the Czech keeper. Czech Republic were absorbing the Dutch pressure but on the 87^th minute M.Depay curled in a brilliant free-kick to give both sides a point.

EvilDave's Czech Republic now faced Celtic_1967's Iceland in the qualifiers. Iceland controlled the first half and on the 17^th minute B.Sigurdarson ran into the area unmarked and fired past the keeper. With six minutes remaining in the half B.Sigurdarson grabbed another goal to make it two nil to Iceland going into the break. The second half though was a different matter as EvilDave's Czech Republic side upped the gears and outplayed Iceland. On the 64^th minute they pulled a goal back as D.Pavelka headed in from a free-kick. Twelve minutes later they had levelled the scores with J.Plasil firing home after the defence failed to deal with a simple cross. With a minutes remaining in the game Czech Republic were awarded a penalty but V.Darida fired the penalty wide of the post and both sides had to settle for a draw. The results now mean that Czech Republic will not be competing in the European Championship come next summer.

Norway: (salkster2102) salkster2102's Norway faced a tough game away to Croatia in the qualifiers however it was his side that grabbed the early lead as V.Berisha headed in on the 12^th minute to silence the home crowd. Eight minutes later though Croatia equalised with M.Mandzukic bravely headed in past the Norwegian keeper. With six minutes remaining in the half Norway retook the lead as P.Clljan Skelbred slotted the ball in from close range after some poor keeping. The second half was all Croatia as they piled forward and on the 49^th minute N.Kalinic curled in from just inside the area. Six minutes later M.Mandzukic added another goal with a powerful strike which rattled in off the upright. Straight from kick off M.Mandzukic headed in another goal from a corner. The final goal was scored on the 85^th minute as N.Kalinic beat the offside trap and dinked the ball over the Norwegian keeper. Not a great second half for salkster2102's side.

salkster2102's Norway now faced chesterfan2's Italy, the game was pretty close in truth and it took till the 31^st minute for the first real effort as V.Berisha hit a brilliant effort past the Italian keeper and into the back of the net. The second half was pretty much the same with a lot of the play centred in the middle third of the pitch. On the hour Italy levelled the scores with M.Balotelli heading in a corner after the defence failed to clear the ball. However the it was the Norwegian fans that would have the last laugh as on the 82^nd minute V.Berisha grabbed the winner with a low shot from inside the area to give salkster2102 all three points.

Norway now faced an away game with Azerbaijan and it was the home side who took the lead as on the 29^th minute R.Allyev hit a thunderous effort past the Norwegian keeper. The second half was three minutes old when B.Finne levelled the scores for Norway. On the hour mark Norway were reduced to ten men after K.Andre Madsen was given a straight red card. The sending off seemed to affect Norway a lot as they struggled to get going afterwards and the game ended in a poor draw for the Norwegians. The result means that Norway can no longer qualify for the European Championship.

Austria: (CFuller) Another dire performance by Austria saw them dominated by the Swedish side. It took Sweden to the 19^th minute to open the scoring as Z.Ibrahimovic hit a thunderous effort from outside the area into the back of the net. It was one way traffic for Sweden but for all their pressure they couldn't grab another goal during the first forty five minutes. The second half wasn't much better for Austria but luckily for them Sweden failed to capitalise on their domination.

Austria finally put in a great performance as they dominated the Moldovan side in the qualifiers. On the 23^rd minute they took the lead as A.Barnes ran into the area and fired over the keeper and into the back of the net. With four minutes remaining in the half Moldova were reduced to ten men after I.Armas was sent off for a second yellow card. On the hour mark Austria grabbed another goal with C.Fuchs jinking into the area and rounding the keeper to slot home into an empty net. With two minutes remaining in the game Moldova pulled an undeserved goal back with G.Boghiu hitting home from 25 yards. A good result for Austria but is it too late.

Austria now faced Russia at home and played pretty well in truth. The majority of the first half was played out in the middle third of the pitch and neither side really came close to scoring in the first half. The second half was all Austria and on the 75^th minute A.Barnes grabbed the opener and what turned out to be the winner with a rasping effort from 20 yards which beat the keeper to his post. Austria had one last chance with a couple of minutes remaining in the game with a penalty but D.Alba failed to convert the poorly struck penalty. However three points is three points and CFuller should be a happy gaffer after the match. Despite Austria not really lighting the world up with their performance's they have somehow qualified for the European Championship

Turkey: (sherm) sherm's Turkey now faced a home tie with Celtic_1967's Iceland. It was Turkey who took the early lead as H.Calhanoglu rose above the defence and headed in from close range. However the lead didn't last for long as on the 18^th minute E.Holfredsson curled the ball in past the keeper. The second half was all Turkey though and on the 69^th minute they grabbed what was the winning goal as C.Tosun barged through the defence with ease and fired under the keeper.

Turkey got off to a bad start against Latvia as K.Gorkss gave them the lead on the 5^th minute. Turkey responded well and on the 21^st minute A.Turan levelled the scores for sherm's side. It was all Turkey from then on but they failed to added to their tally in the first half. The second half was much the same with constant Turkish pressure but it took till the 88^th minute for the winner to be scored as B.Yilmaz ran through the defence with ease and dinked the ball over the keeper.

Turkey battered Kazakhstan with almost complete domination. On the 13^th minute they took the lead as B.Yilmaz ran through the defence with ease and fired over the keeper and into the net. Kazakhstan never got near the ball but Turkey failed to grab another goal in the first half. The second half was again all Turkey and on the 69^th minute they added goal number two with H.Calhanoglu doing the honours from just inside the area. Turkey's keeper never really got a touch of the ball however the fans weren't too happy as they expected a lot more goals than only the two.

mark wilson27 · November 6, 2016

October 2015: Part Two

Italy: (chesterfan2) chesterfan2's Italy now faced up to Gavrenwick's Bulgaria. It was Bulgaria who grabbed the opening goal as A.Vulov headed in past the Italian keeper. Bulgaria were having the better of the game but failed to make their chances pay and on the 41^st minute M.Balotelli fired in a superb shot to send the teams in level at the break. The second half was pretty even in truth but on the 85^th minute the winner was scored as L.Insigne ran through the Bulgarian defence and fired under the keeper to give chesterfan2 all three points.

chesterfan2's Italy now faced salkster2102's Norway, the game was pretty close in truth and it took till the 31^st minute for the first real effort as V.Berisha hit a brilliant effort past the Italian keeper and into the back of the net. The second half was pretty much the same with a lot of the play centred in the middle third of the pitch. On the hour Italy levelled the scores with M.Balotelli heading in a corner after the defence failed to clear the ball. However the it was the Norwegian fans that would have the last laugh as on the 82^nd minute V.Berisha grabbed the winner with a low shot from inside the area to give salkster2102 all three points.

A poor game as Malta parked the bus in front of goal. Italy tried to get past the ten man defence of Malta but struggled. The Malta defence managed to hold on till the 71^st minute as M.Balotelli broke clear of the defence and fired past the keeper to give Italy all three points, however the Italian travelling fans were less than impressed by their performance.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: (Terk) Terk's Bosnia battered Wales in the qualifiers with some brilliant play. Within a minute of the kick off Bosnia had taken the lead as A.Mahmutovic played a great one two with E.Dzeko to slide in past the keeper. On the 10^th minute it was 2-0 with E.Dzeko getting himself onto the scoresheet with a long range effort which the keeper should have done better with. Five minutes later V.Ibisevic made it three goals to the good with a tap in after some woeful Welsh defending. The second half was again all Bosnia and on the 63^rd minute M.Pjanic finished off a great team move to give Bosnia a fourth goal. The scoring wasn't finished with though as on the 78^th minute E.Dzeko rounded the Welsh keeper to tap into the empty net, not a great day for Welsh football but a great day for Terk's Bosnia.

Terk's Bosnia now faced neilhoskins77's Israel and it was a close encounter till the 35^th minute when E.Dzeko gave Bosnia the lead with a low effort from outside the area. The second half was pretty even as-well but on the 71^st minute E.Dzeko gave Bosnia their second goal and all three points. In truth not a great game for the fans. Despite the poor performance the Bosnian fans will be happy as they have now qualified for their first European Championship

Bosnia showed no ill effects from the previous celebrations as within two minutes they had taken the lead against Andorra with a well struck effort from E.Visca. Ten minutes later it was two nil with A.Mahmutovic barging into the area with ease and firing under the keeper. It took till the second half for the next effort as E.Dzeko made it 3-0 on the 67^th minute with a powerful shot from just inside the area. On the 89^th minute Andorra pulled a goal back as M.Vales tapped in from six yards but it wasn't enough to dampen the Bosnian's mood.

Terk's Bosnia now faced git2thachoppa'sBelgium. It was Bosnia who started the better and on the 19^th minute V.Ibisevic gave them the lead with a curling effort from outside the area. Just before the break Belgium had the chance to level from the penalty spot but M.Dembele's effort was well saved by the keeper. The second half was all Belgium though as they finally upped the gears and on the 66^th minute they levelled the scores through an A.Witsel long range effort. Belgium controlled the rest of the half but for all their pressure they couldn't add to their tally and they had to share the points.

Iceland: (Celtic_1967) Celtic_1967's Iceland now faced an away tie withsherm's Turkey . It was Turkey who took the early lead as H.Calhanoglu rose above the defence and headed in from close range. However the lead didn't last for long as on the 18^th minute E.Holfredsson curled the ball in past the keeper. The second half was all Turkey though and on the 69^th minute they grabbed what was the winning goal as C.Tosun barged through the defence with ease and fired under the keeper.

Kazakhstan were the next opponents for Iceland and they were nearly embarrassed as Kazakhstan took the lead on the 34^th minute with a rasping effort from S.Ostapenko. The second half was ten minutes old when Iceland levelled as B.Bjarnason ran through the defence and fired under the keeper. Iceland were controlling the game but it took till the 87^th minute for Iceland to grab the winner as A.Gudmundsson ran into the area unmarked and slotted in past the keeper. The result meant that Iceland have now qualified for their first European Championship.

Denmark: (WLKRAS) An embarrassing day for WLKRAS as his Danish side were outplayed by Armenia. They controlled the majority of the play and on the 34^th minute Y.Movsisyan barged into the area and fired under the keeper. Denmark weren't getting near the ball. The second half was all Armenia and on the 59^th minute Y.Movsisyan grabbed another goal much to the delight of the home fans. Twelve minutes later Armenia were reduced to ten men after V.Haroyen elbowed a Danish player. Despite having only ten men Armenia controlled the game.

Not a great start for Denmark as Portugal took the lead in the 14^th minute as C.Ronaldo jinked through the defence with ease and fired under the Danish keeper. Ten minutes later it was two nil with C.Ronaldo again showing his skill with a great goal which gave the keeper no chance of saving. Portugal were all over Denmark but failed to add to their tally in the first half. The second half started with Portugal controlling the play but on the hour Denmark pulled a goal back with a great counter attack which saw Y.Poulsen firing in from close range. The goal lifted Denmark and on the 69^th minute they grabbed the equaliser through a well struck effort from Lord Bendtner. Denmark were all over Portugal but the Portuguese defence was too good for them and they had to settle for a point.

Denmark now faced Albania and controlled the game with ease. A minute into the game C.Eriksen gave the Danes the lead as he beat the offside trap and rounded the keeper to slide the ball into the net. The Danes dominated the first half without really causing the Albanian defence any problems. The second half was much the same with some dominant play but it took till the 73^rd minute for the killer goal to be scored as K.Kusk rose above the defence and headed in from close range for all three points.

WLKRAS's Danes now faced a friendly with France and six minutes into the game A.Lacazette gave the visitors the lead with a simple effort into the back of the net after some poor Danish defending. On the half hour it was two nil with R.Cabella beating the offside trap and dinking the ball over the onrushing keeper. The second half was much the same with France controlling the play but on the 59^th minute N.Bendtner pulled a goal back with an audacious effort from a tight angle. Twelve minutes later Denmark levelled the game with a well struck effort from L.Vigen Christensen which gave the keeper no chance of saving. The French manager will be wondering how his side lost a two goal lead

Israel: (neilhoskins77) Israel made light work of their opposition Andorra. The scoring fun started on the 7^th minute as N.Biton ran onto a through-ball and fired in under the keeper. However despite their domination they failed to add another goal in the first half. The second half was eleven minutes old when T.Hemed ran with the ball from the byline and fired round the keeper and into the back of the net. On the hour it was three nil with M.Dabbur hit a powerful effort from just inside the area which gave the keeper little chance of saving. Six minutes later O.Attman grabbed another goal with a brave header from a free-kick. On the 85^th minute they final goal was scored as S.Tzedek showed some great skill to beat the defence and dinked the ball over the onrushing keeper.

neilhoskins77's Israel now faced Terk's Bosnia and it was a close encounter till the 35^th minute when E.Dzeko gave Bosnia the lead with a low effort from outside the area. The second half was pretty even as-well but on the 71^st minute E.Dzeko gave Bosnia their second goal and all three points. In truth not a great game for the fans.

neilhoskins77's Israel now faced git2thachoppa's Belgium and it was a one sided affair with Belgium dominating. On the 23^rd minute K.De Bruyne cured in from outside the area to silence the Israeli crowd. Eleven minutes later it was two nil with D.Origi heading in for Belgium. The second half saw Belgium controlling the game without breaking a sweat and on the 78^th minute D.Origi grabbed his second goal for Belgium with a rasping effort which gave the the keeper no chance of saving.

Israel struggled in their next game with Cyprus. It was Cyprus who took the early lead as D.Christofi beat the defence to a loose ball and rattled it in off the upright from close range. After the goal the game didn't really kick back into life till the second half. Twelve minutes into the half Israel levelled with a powerful effort from A.Rikan which gave the keeper no chance of saving. As before though after the goal the game just seemed to peter out and both sides had to settle for a dire point.

With that result it meant that Israel would not be playing in next summers European Championship

Lithuania: (edtheguy) Not a great day at the office for edtheguy's Lithuania as they were roundly beaten by Switzerland. On the 7^th minute V.Stocker gave Switzerland the lead with a low shot which beat the keeper at his near post. Four minutes later it was two nil with S.Lichtsteiner beating the offside trap and firing under the onrushing keeper. Lithuania weren't at the races and just after the half hour Switzerland made it three nil with A.Mehmedi curling the ball in from outside the area. The second half was much the same with Lithuania failing to string more than a few passes together and on the 78^th minute Switzerland grabbed the final goal of the game as A.Mehmedi headed in his second of the game from close range.

A brilliant start saw Lithuania take the lead in the first minute as T.Labukas hit a well struck effort from outside the area to beat the Slovenian keeper. Slovenia replied well and on the 35^th minute T.Matavz equalised after beating the keeper with ease. The second half was all Lithuania and on the 70^th minute they grabbed the winner as K.Ivaskevicius hit a powerful effort into the top corner to give edtheguy all three points.

Lithuania were well beaten by England in their qualifier with the away side taking the lead in the 14^th minute through J.Henderson. However a minute after the goal Lithuania levelled as D.Matulevicius headed in from close range. This was as good as it gets for Lithuania and on the 20^th minute D.Sturridge gave England the lead again with a low shot from outside the area. The second half saw England controlling the game with ease and on the 64^th minute D.Welbeck tapped in from close range after beating the offside trap with ease. Twelve minutes later England grabbed their fourth a final goal as J.Wilshere curled in from outside the area to give England all three points.

After the poor performance of the previous match edtheguy wanted to see more from the players and he got just that as they outplayed Estonia. Estonia never came close to ball and on the 38^th minute V.Silvka gave them the lead with a looping header. The second half was much the same with Lithuania controlling the play and on the 77^th minute K.Ivaskevicius fired in to make it two nil and give all three points to edtheguy's Lithuania.

edtheguy will be a happy chappy as his Lithuanian side have now qualified for their first European Championship

Serbia: (sherwinga) Serbia faced a friendly with France and in truth it was a pretty dire match and the first half saw not a single effort on goal. The second half was alittle better and on the 69^th minute France took the lead as S.Umtit slotted home from close range after the Serbian keeper failed to clear his lines properly. With ten minutes remaining in the game though Serbia levelled the scores as N.Matic hit a thunderous effort from 30 yards past the keeper to give him no chance of saving.

Serbia controlled their game against Armenia with ease and on the half hour they took the lead as A.Ljajic ran the length of the pitch to unleash a great shot past the keeper. With five minutes remaining in the half it was two nil as A.Mitrovic headed in from a free-kick much to the delight of the home fans. The second half was two minutes old when A.Edigarian pulled a goal back for Armenia as the Serbian defence seemed to fall asleep. However any hope of a comeback was squashed on the hour as N.Matic grabbed Serbia's third goal and all three points. The result also mean that Serbia have qualified for the European Championship

Serbia now faced Portugal in the qualifiers and they didn't get off to a good start as within two minutes C.Ronaldo had given the hosts the lead. However after the early goal the rest of the half pretty much died a death. The second half was eight minutes old when Serbia levelled as N.Subotic beat the offside trap and fired under the Portuguese keeper. On the 63^rd minute though N.Oliveira gave the lead back to Portugal as he intercepted a poor pass and fired past the keeper with ease. Twelve minutes later B.Fernandes added another goal with a towering header which gave the keeper little chance of saving. With three minutes remaining in the game N.Oliveira completed the rout with a great individual goal to end the game 4-1 to Portugal.

Serbia now faced a home tie with Albania and struggled to get going in the first half. Luckily for them Albania were pretty damn poor and failed to get close to the ball. The second half was all Serbia and ten minutes into the half they opened the scoring as A.Mitrovic rose above the defence and headed in a corner much to the delight of the home fans. Serbia carried on with the forward pressure and on the 71^st they got their reward with a fine strike from A.Mitrovic to give Serbia all three points.

Romania: (ChileanRanger) Romania just never turned up for the game against Greece. Greece controlled the game from the start and on the 43^rd minute they took the lead with a rasping effort which the keeper really should have saved. The second half was again all Greece and even when they were reduced to ten men they still dominated. Not a great performance at all for Romania.

Romania got off to a great start as within a minute they took the lead through S.Bus heading past the Hungarian keeper. However after the goal the game died a death with not a lot of great forward play. The fans showed their displeasure as the referee blew for the half time interval. The second half was much the same with little in the way of action but on the 73^rd minute D.Bode grabbed the equaliser for Hungary.

Romania were second best throughout the game against Finland and it didn't take the hosts long to open the scoring as R.Eremenko fired in on the 8^th minute. Soon after it was two nil with K.Hamalalnen beating the Romanian defence to a loose ball and wasted no time in firing past the keeper. It was too easy for Finland and even when they were reduced to ten men they still dominated. The second half was much the same with Finland in control however on the 77^th minute G.Puscas pulled a goal back with a fine effort. However any chance of comeback was thwarted on the 81^st minute as G.Torje was sent off for a second yellow card. A poor month for Romania and ChileanRanger.

Belgium: (git2thachoppa) Belgium were only a minute into the game against Cyprus when E.Hazard fired in the opener with a brilliant free-kick. On the 3^rd minute it was two nil as K.Mirallas barged into the area unmarked to head in another free-kick. Cyprus didn't know what had hit them and on the 20^th minute K.Mirallas grabbed his second of the game with a low shot which gave the keeper little chance of saving. Seven minutes later though Cyprus pulled a goal back as A.Alekou rose above the Belgian defence and headed in. The second half was all Belgium and on the 57^th minute R.Lukaku ran into the area unmarked and half volleyed a cross past the keeper. Twelve minutes later though Belgium were reduced to ten men after T.Meunier was sent off for a second yellow card. This didn't stop Belgium controlling the game still and with three minutes remaining in the game K.De Bruyne hit a powerful effort past the keeper from outside the area to make the score 5-1.

Belgium made hard work against Wales. Wales defended brilliantly throughout the first half and stifled any Belgian attack with ease. The second half was much the same but on the 69^th minute Belgium finally got what turned out to be the winner as K.De Bruyne ran into the area with the ball and fired low and hard past the keeper. With four minutes remaining in the game Wales had the chance to equaliser but G.Bales penalty went wide of the post after a handball in the area. With the result Belgium have now qualified for the European Championship

git2thachoppa's Belgium now faced neilhoskins77's Israel and it was a one sided affair with Belgium dominating. On the 23^rd minute K.De Bruyne cured in from outside the area to silence the Israeli crowd. Eleven minutes later it was two nil with D.Origi heading in for Belgium. The second half saw Belgium controlling the game without breaking a sweat and on the 78^th minute D.Origi grabbed his second goal for Belgium with a rasping effort which gave the the keeper no chance of saving.

git2thachoppa'sBelgium now faced Terk's Bosnia . It was Bosnia who started the better and on the 19^th minute V.Ibisevic gave them the lead with a curling effort from outside the area. Just before the break Belgium had the chance to level from the penalty spot but M.Dembele's effort was well saved by the keeper. The second half was all Belgium though as they finally upped the gears and on the 66^th minute they levelled the scores through an A.Witsel long range effort. Belgium controlled the rest of the half but for all their pressure they couldn't add to their tally and they had to share the points.

mark wilson27 · November 6, 2016

Final Tables:

Group A:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team           | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Holland        | 10    | 7     | 2     | 1     | 22    | 9     | 13    | 23    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Iceland        | 10    | 6     | 1     | 3     | 18    | 15    | 3     | 19    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | Pl    | Turkey         | 10    | 6     | 1     | 3     | 19    | 15    | 4     | 19    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Czech Republic | 10    | 4     | 3     | 3     | 22    | 18    | 4     | 15    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Kazakhstan     | 10    | 3     | 1     | 6     | 8     | 14    | -6    | 10    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Latvia         | 10    | 0     | 0     | 10    | 6     | 24    | -18   | 0     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group B:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                 | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Bosnia & Herzegovina | 10    | 7     | 2     | 1     | 22    | 7     | 15    | 23    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Belgium              | 10    | 7     | 2     | 1     | 31    | 9     | 22    | 23    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | Pl    | Wales                | 10    | 4     | 3     | 3     | 14    | 11    | 3     | 15    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Israel               | 10    | 3     | 3     | 4     | 18    | 17    | 1     | 12    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Cyprus               | 10    | 3     | 2     | 5     | 14    | 19    | -5    | 11    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Andorra              | 10    | 0     | 0     | 10    | 4     | 40    | -36   | 0     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group C:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Spain         | 10    | 8     | 1     | 1     | 20    | 4     | 16    | 25    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Ukraine       | 10    | 4     | 4     | 2     | 15    | 10    | 5     | 16    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | Pl    | Belarus       | 10    | 4     | 3     | 3     | 9     | 11    | -2    | 15    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | FYR Macedonia | 10    | 4     | 1     | 5     | 14    | 16    | -2    | 13    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Slovakia      | 10    | 3     | 3     | 4     | 14    | 15    | -1    | 12    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Luxembourg    | 10    | 0     | 2     | 8     | 3     | 19    | -16   | 2     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Group D:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team      | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Germany   | 10    | 9     | 0     | 1     | 30    | 4     | 26    | 27    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Poland    | 10    | 6     | 0     | 4     | 25    | 15    | 10    | 18    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | Pl    | Georgia   | 10    | 6     | 0     | 4     | 21    | 19    | 2     | 18    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Scotland  | 10    | 5     | 0     | 5     | 18    | 17    | 1     | 15    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Ireland   | 10    | 4     | 0     | 6     | 19    | 17    | 2     | 12    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Gibraltar | 10    | 0     | 0     | 10    | 0     | 41    | -41   | 0     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| -

Group E:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team        | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | England     | 10    | 7     | 3     | 0     | 19    | 5     | 14    | 24    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Lithuania   | 10    | 6     | 1     | 3     | 18    | 13    | 5     | 19    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | Pl    | Switzerland | 10    | 5     | 3     | 2     | 22    | 9     | 13    | 18    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Slovenia    | 10    | 5     | 2     | 3     | 14    | 9     | 5     | 17    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Estonia     | 10    | 1     | 2     | 7     | 7     | 16    | -9    | 5     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | San Marino  | 10    | 0     | 1     | 9     | 2     | 30    | -28   | 1     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| -

Group F:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Greece        | 10    | 8     | 1     | 1     | 22    | 3     | 19    | 25    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Finland       | 10    | 6     | 2     | 2     | 14    | 9     | 5     | 20    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | Q     | N.Ireland     | 10    | 4     | 5     | 1     | 22    | 9     | 13    | 17    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Romania       | 10    | 2     | 4     | 4     | 11    | 11    | 0     | 10    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Faroe Islands | 10    | 2     | 0     | 8     | 4     | 24    | -20   | 6     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Hungary       | 10    | 1     | 2     | 7     | 7     | 24    | -17   | 5     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| -

Group G:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Sweden        | 10    | 9     | 1     | 0     | 25    | 8     | 17    | 28    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Austria       | 10    | 5     | 3     | 2     | 11    | 5     | 6     | 18    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | Pl    | Montenegro    | 10    | 5     | 2     | 3     | 18    | 12    | 6     | 17    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Russia        | 10    | 5     | 1     | 4     | 17    | 11    | 6     | 16    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Moldova       | 10    | 1     | 1     | 8     | 7     | 19    | -12   | 4     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Liechtenstein | 10    | 0     | 2     | 8     | 2     | 25    | -23   | 2     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| -

Group H:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Croatia    | 10    | 9     | 0     | 1     | 30    | 8     | 22    | 27    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Italy      | 10    | 8     | 0     | 2     | 24    | 9     | 15    | 24    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | Pl    | Bulgaria   | 10    | 4     | 2     | 4     | 16    | 16    | 0     | 14    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Norway     | 10    | 4     | 2     | 4     | 17    | 21    | -4    | 14    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Azerbaijan | 10    | 2     | 2     | 6     | 9     | 20    | -11   | 8     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Malta      | 10    | 0     | 0     | 10    | 6     | 28    | -22   | 0     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| -

Group I:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team     | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | Serbia   | 8     | 6     | 0     | 2     | 14    | 8     | 6     | 18    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Q     | Portugal | 8     | 3     | 4     | 1     | 12    | 6     | 6     | 13    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | Pl    | Denmark  | 8     | 4     | 1     | 3     | 9     | 9     | 0     | 13    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Albania  | 8     | 1     | 3     | 4     | 2     | 6     | -4    | 6     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Armenia  | 8     | 1     | 2     | 5     | 6     | 14    | -8    | 5     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| -

Third Placed Table

| Pos   | Inf   | Team        | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Q     | N.Ireland   | 8     | 3     | 4     | 1     | 16    | 7     | 9     | 13    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | Pl    | Turkey      | 8     | 4     | 1     | 3     | 14    | 14    | 0     | 13    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | Pl    | Denmark     | 8     | 4     | 1     | 3     | 9     | 9     | 0     | 13    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   | Pl    | Switzerland | 8     | 3     | 3     | 2     | 11    | 9     | 2     | 12    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   | Pl    | Georgia     | 8     | 4     | 0     | 4     | 12    | 19    | -7    | 12    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   | Pl    | Montenegro  | 8     | 3     | 2     | 3     | 12    | 11    | 1     | 11    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   | Pl    | Belarus     | 8     | 3     | 2     | 3     | 7     | 10    | -3    | 11    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   | Pl    | Wales       | 8     | 2     | 3     | 3     | 7     | 11    | -4    | 9     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   | Pl    | Bulgaria    | 8     | 2     | 2     | 4     | 9     | 14    | -5    | 8     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|     -

October 15^th:

The draw for the European Championship Play-off's has taken place and is as follows:-

Denmark (WLKRAS) v Bulgaria (Gavrenwick)

Georgia v Switzerland

Montenegro v Wales

Turkey (Sherm) v Belarus

salkster2102 · November 7, 2016

Scotland = :ackter:

mark wilson27 · November 12, 2016

November 2015: Part One

Northern Ireland: (mark wilson27) Northern Ireland faced South Africa in a friendly and didn't get off to the greatest of starts as on the 7^th minute B.Ndulula beat the offside trap to fire the ball under the onrushing Irish keeper. The rest of the half saw a lot of the play around the center of the pitch with little attacking pressure. The second half saw Northern Ireland coming more into the game and on the 81^st minute B.McKay headed in the equaliser. mark wilson27 will be happier with the second half performance than the first forty five minutes.

Bulgaria: (Gavrenwick) Gavrenwick's Bulgaria now faced WLKRAS's Denmark in the Euro Championship Play-off 1^st leg. It was WLKRAS's Denmark which started the better and on the 23^rd minute Y.Poulsen headed the Danes into the lead. Twelve minutes later it was two nil with L.Schone rasping a low effort past the Bulgarian keeper near post. It was becoming far too easy for the Danes and they went into the half time interval with cheers from the Danish crowd. The second half though was completely different as Bulgaria came out and controlled the half. Denmark never got near the ball however their defence were holding firm. With three minutes remaining in the game though Bulgaria grabbed an away goal as S.Dyakov fired in from distance to beat the Danish keeper. Straight from kick off Gavrenwick was jumping with joy as V.Hristov silenced the Danish crowd with a well struck effort from the corner of the area to make it two two going into the second leg.

It was now time for the second leg and it was Gavrenwick's Bulgaria who started the better and on the 14^th minute they took the lead as V.Hristov ran through the defence with ease and fired under the keeper. Bulgaria were controlling the game and on the 43^rd they were awarded a penalty after a handball but V.Hristov failed to convert the spot kick. The second half was pretty even with both sides piling forward and on the 79^th minute Denmark levelled the tie with a beautifully chipped ball over the keeper from C.Eriksen. Denmark continued to pile forward but they failed to add the second away goal they needed and Gavrenwick's Bulgaria qualified for the Euro Championship

Republic of Ireland : (BenArsenal) BenArsenal will not be a happy manager after his side were easily beaten by Greece at the Aviva Stadium. Greece took the early lead as P.Tachtsidis hit a curling effort past the keeper to silence the home crowd. On the 14^th minute it was two nil with N.Karelis doing the honours from outside the area. Just before the half hour though S.Long pulled a goal back after countering the Greek side. The second half was all Greece and on the 57^th minute N.Karelis made it 3-1 as he finished a great team move. It was getting too easy for the Greeks and on the 77^th minute A.Samaris tapped in from close range after some woeful defending.

Poland: (tenthreeleader) The first half against Albania was pretty dire with neither side getting close to the goal and the fans vented their anger at the half time whistle. However the second half was all Poland as the players reacted well to tenthreeleader's words. On the 48^th minute G.Krychowiak fired in for Poland from just inside the area after running onto a loose ball. Ten minutes later it was A.Milik who headed in Poland's second. Albania weren't getting near the ball and on the 77^th minute A.Milik fired in his second and Poland's third. Their was one more goal in the game as with two minutes remaining in the game T.Jodlowiec slotted in from close range much to the delight of the home fans.

Czech Republic: (EvilDave) Another poor performance by the Czechs saw Cyprus controlling the game. EvilDave's side never got close to threatening the home side in the first half. The second half was much the same with Cyprus playing the better and on the 58^th minute P.Sotiriou fired in from six yards. EvilDave will not be a happy gaffer at all.

Eleven minutes into the game Czech Republic were reduced to ten men after J.Chramosta was sent off for a professional foul. From the resulting free-kick N.Yuslfov gave Azerbaijan the lead. However despite having only ten men CFuller's side dominated and on the 43^rd minute they levelled the score with a rasping effort from just inside the area. The second half was all Czech Republic but it took them till the 84^th minute to grab the winner as V.Kubista ran through the defence and dinked the ball over the onrushing keeper.

Norway: (salkster2102) No matches this month

Austria: (CFuller) Austria were well and truly beaten in their friendly match against Croatia. Five minutes into the game I.Perisic ran into the area with ease and fired under the keeper. Croatia carried on the pressure and on the 27^th minute M.Mandzukic headed in from close range. CFuller wasn't a happy gaffer and his mood didn't improve in the second half with Croatia carrying on the pressure and on the 69^th minute the final goal was scored as N.Kalinic curled in from outside the area to give Croatia a 3-0 victory.

A real boring game as CFuller's Austria faced Celtic_1967's Iceland. The first half was a real none event with nothing of note within the first forty five minutes. The second half wasn't much better however deep into injury time Iceland won it with a low effort from B.Sigurdarson. Not a great game for the fans.

Turkey: (sherm) sherm's Turkey faced Belarus in their Euro Championship Play-off 1^st leg. Turkey controlled the game and should have taken the lead on the 23^rd minute but B.Yilmaz fired a penalty wide of the post. Turkey were all over Belarus but couldn't get past the defence. The second half was much the same with Turkey dominating but on the 70^th minute Belarus grabbed the winner and more importantly an away goal as M.Gordeychuk headed in from close range after the Turkish keeper flapped at a corner.

It was now time for the second leg and sherm's Turkey needed to overturn a goal deficit. Turkey went all out attack and on the 10^th minute they levelled the tie as S.Inan barged into the area and fired under the keeper. Turkey were piling forward but they failed to add another goal in the first half. The second half was much the same with Turkey controlling the attacking football. Just after the hour they finally got the second goal of the game as H.Calhanoglu headed in from close range to make it 2-1 on aggregate. Belarus never looked like they were going to get close to winning the game and Turkey went onto win and are now through to the Euro's

mark wilson27 · November 19, 2016

November 2015: Part Two

Italy: (chesterfan2) chesterfan2's Italy faced sherwinga's Serbia and it was a close game from start to finish. It was Serbia who grabbed the lead in the first half as A.Mitrovic rose above the defence and headed in from close range to give the keeper little chance of the saving. The second half was just as tight but on the 69^th minute S.El Shaarawy grabbed the equaliser for Italy with a well struck effort from the corner of the area.

Not a game to remember for chesterfan2's Italy as they were beaten at home by Portugal. Portugal controlled the majority of the game and on the 28^th minute C.Ronaldo grabbed the opener with a low effort which beat the keeper with ease. The second half was again all Portugal and just after the hour mark Nani grabbed a second goal with a thunderous drive into the top corner. Soon after the goal Portugal were reduced to ten men after Pepe was sent off for a two footed lunge. Despite being down to ten men Portugal still controlled the game.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: (Terk) Bosnia made light work of their opponents Azerbaijan but on the 28^th minute it was Azerbaijan who scored as R.Abisov headed past his own keeper. With five minutes remaining in the half M.Pjanic grabbed goal number two for Bosnia with a thunderous strike from outside the area. The second half was more of training match for Bosnia and on the 68^th minute E.Dzeko grabbed a goal with a low strike which gave the keeper no chance of saving. Two minutes later M.Maric ran into the area unmarked and half volleyed a cross past the Azerbaijan keeper. It was far too easy and on the stroke of full time E.Dzeko grabbed his second goal of the game with a powerful effort into the top corner of the net.

Terk's Bosnia now faced a friendly against the Ivory Coast. The first half in truth wasn't the greatest forty five minutes of football you'll see with neither side really coming close to scoring. The second half was three minutes old when the first goal was scored with V.Ibisevic sliding the ball home from close range after breaking clear in the area. On the 55^th minute though Ivory Coast equalised as W.Bony ran amok of the defence and tapped in from six yards. The game was becoming a real ding dong affair and on the 64^th minute M.Kone gave the Ivory Coast the lead with a low effort from inside the area. The fans were being well entertained and on 84^th minute V.Ibisevic equalised with a brave header which gave the keeper little chance of saving.

Iceland: (Celtic_1967) A pretty dire game in truth as Iceland failed to get close to Sweden. However luckily for them Sweden weren't up to much cop either. The first half dragged by without a single real effort on goal. The second half was alittle better as Sweden seemed to up the gears but it took till the 83^rd minute for the winner to be scored as E.Forsberg headed in for the Swedes.

A real boring game as Celtic_1967's Iceland faced CFuller's Austria. The first half was a real none event with nothing of note within the first forty five minutes. The second half wasn't much better however deep into injury time Iceland won it with a low effort from B.Sigurdarson. Not a great game for the fans.

Denmark: (WLKRAS)WLKRAS's Denmark now faced Gavrenwick's Bulgaria in the Euro Championship Play-off 1^st leg. It was WLKRAS's Denmark which started the better and on the 23^rd minute Y.Poulsen headed the Danes into the lead. Twelve minutes later it was two nil with L.Schone rasping a low effort past the Bulgarian keeper near post. It was becoming far too easy for the Danes and they went into the half time interval with cheers from the Danish crowd. The second half though was completely different as Bulgaria came out and controlled the half. Denmark never got near the ball however their defence were holding firm. With three minutes remaining in the game though Bulgaria grabbed an away goal as S.Dyakov fired in from distance to beat the Danish keeper. Straight from kick off Gavrenwick was jumping with joy as V.Hristov silenced the Danish crowd with a well struck effort from the corner of the area to make it two two going into the second leg.

It was now time for the second leg and it was Gavrenwick's Bulgaria who started the better and on the 14^th minute they took the lead as V.Hristov ran through the defence with ease and fired under the keeper. Bulgaria were controlling the game and on the 43^rd they were awarded a penalty after a handball but V.Hristov failed to convert the spot kick. The second half was pretty even with both sides piling forward and on the 79^th minute Denmark levelled the tie with a beautifully chipped ball over the keeper from C.Eriksen. Denmark continued to pile forward but they failed to add the second away goal they needed and Gavrenwick's Bulgaria qualified for the Euro Championship

Israel: (neilhoskins77) Israel made it look easy against Estonia and on the 8^th minute I.Damari barged through the defence and fired under the keeper. However four minutes later Estonia pulled level. After the goal though Israel upped the gears and piled forward. On the 36^th minute I.Konsa grabbed the lead with a well worked team move which split the Estonia side apart. The second half was all Israel but they only managed the one goal as B.Natkho barged into the area and tapped in from a low cross.

neilhoskins77's now faced a friendly against ChileanRanger' Romania and I'm sorry to say it was a damn dire game with both sides cancelling each other out.. The first half saw only the one shot with Romania coming close from 20 yards but the effort was easily saved by the Israeli keeper. The second half was even worse with not a single effort on goal. The fans might as-well of watched paint dry.

Lithuania: (edtheguy) Lithuania started their European preparation against Moldova and they got off to a great start as within a minute they took the lead with L.Spalvis firing in from twelve yards. However the goal seemed to kill the game off and neither side mustered an effort on goal for the rest of the game, they will have to improve for the Euro's.

Lithuania now faced a friendly against Hungary and they never really got going. Hungary were by far the better side at keeping the ball however they couldn't get through a stubborn defence. The first half saw little in the way of action and the fans gave the players a chorus of boo's as they left at half time. The second half was again all Hungary and on the 68^th minute they finally broke the deadlock with the only goal of the half as G.Lovrencsics headed in past the keeper.

Serbia: (sherwinga) sherwinga's Serbia faced chesterfan2's Italy and it was a close game from start to finish. It was Serbia who grabbed the lead in the first half as A.Mitrovic rose above the defence and headed in from close range to give the keeper little chance of the saving. The second half was just as tight but on the 69^th minute S.El Shaarawy grabbed the equaliser for Italy with a well struck effort from the corner of the area.

Serbia'a next friendly saw them facing off against Germany and it was the Germans who took the early lead as T.Kaspari beat the offside trap and dinked the ball over the onrushing keeper. However Serbia didn't let this affect them as they started to outplay the Germans and just before the break A.Mitrovic headed in past the keeper to level the scores. The second half was real midfield battle which ended in stalemate, but a 1-1 draw with Germany isnt a bad result.

Romania: (ChileanRanger) ChileanRanger' Romania now faced a friendly against neilhoskins77'sand I'm sorry to say it was a damn dire game with both sides cancelling each other out.. The first half saw only the one shot with Romania coming close from 20 yards but the effort was easily saved by the Israeli keeper. The second half was even worse with not a single effort on goal. The fans might as-well of watched paint dry.

Belgium: (git2thachoppa) Belgium faced a home friendly with Tunisia and within a minute they had taken the lead as R.Nainggoian showed some excellent pace to beat the defence and fire past the keeper. Belgium controlled the play with ease but failed to add to their tally in he first half. The second half was all Belgium again and on the 72^nd minute they finally added another goal as R.Lukaku used his strength to barge through the defence and wasted no time in firing past the keeper. It was almost complete domination by Belgium it was just a shame for the fans they couldn't score more goals.

Euro 2016 Qualifiers:

France, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Germany, Sweden, Bosnia &Herz (Terk), Belgium (git2thachoppa), Serbia, Italy (chesterfan2), Holland, Poland (tenthreeleader), England, Ukraine, Finland, Iceland (Celtic_1967), Austria (CFuller), Lithuania (edtheguy), Portugal, Northern Ireland (mark wilson27) Switzerland, Turkey (sherm), Bulgaria (Gavrenwick), Wales

December 2015:

The draw for the European Championship 2016 has taken place and is as follows:-

Group A: Bosnia & Herz (Terk), France, Lithuania (edtheguy), Portugal

Group B: Finland, Holland, Italy (chesterfan2), Northern Ireland (mark wilson27)

Group C: Greece, Iceland (Celtic_1967), Poland (tenthreeleader), Spain

Group D: Austria (CFuller), England, Germany, Ukraine

Group E: Belgium (git2thachoppa), Sweden, Switzerland, Wales

Group F: Bulgaria (Gavrenwick), Croatia, Serbia (sherwinga), Turkey (sherm)

mark wilson27 · November 24, 2016

March 2016: Part One

Northern Ireland: (mark wilson27) Twelve minutes into the game Northern Ireland took the lead with a well struck effort from N.McGinn which gave the Latvian keeper no chance of saving. On the 28^th minute it was two nil with C.Lester rattling the ball in off the upright after beating the defence to a loose ball. It was getting far too easy for the Irish and just before the break M.Paterson grabbed a third for N.Ireland with a thunderous effort which the keeper never got close to. The second half was in truth pretty dire with little action however on the 73^rd minute A.Rudnevs pulled a goal back for Latvia but that was about it for the action.

Bulgaria: (Gavrenwick) Not a game Gavrenwick will want to remember as his Bulgarian side were battered by a rampant German side. On the 9^th minute M.Grod gave the Germans the lead with with a well worked team move which ripped the Bulgarian side apart. It was one traffic and it was only down to some great keeping the kept the scoreline at 1-0 at the interval. However the second half was all Germany and on the 54^th minute F.Apperger made it 2-0 with a low effort into the bottom corner. Ten minutes later it was three nil with S.Schuster beating the offside trap to dink the ball over the onrushing keeper. The pressure was constant and on the 86^th minute M.Taurino grabbed the final goal to make it 4-0 to the Germans.

Poland: (tenthreeleader) Two minutes into the game Poland were a goal down as France's P.Pogba curled in a great shot from outside the area to give the keeper little chance of saving. France were all over the Polish and it was only the brilliance of the Polish keeper that kept the score at 1-0 during the first forty five minutes. The second half was much the same and on the 54^th minute D.Payet made it two nil with a low shot which gave the keeper no chance of saving. Like in the first half France piled on the pressure but the keeper was brilliant and saved the embarrassment of a cricket score.

Czech Republic: (EvilDave) Four minutes into the game Czech Republic grabbed the lead against Estonia as L.Vacha ran into the area and fired in under the keeper. They were controlling the game with ease but failed to add anything further in the first half. The second half was ten minutes old when Czech Republic grabbed their second goal as V.Kubista beat the offside trap and rounded the keeper to slide the ball into the empty net. They kept on the pressure but just couldn't get past the Estonian keeper.

Norway: (salkster2102) Norway were a goal down after twelve minutes against England after R.Sterling showed some great skill to get into the area and fired in under the keeper. However Norway responded well and on the 33^rd minute H.Nielsen curled into the top corner from the edge of the area. The second half was ten minutes old when H.Nielsen gave Norway the lead with a fine strike which sent the home fans wild. England looked alittle shell shocked but on the stroke of full time H.Kane levelled the score with a simple tap in.

Austria: (CFuller) Austria made light work of Egypt and on the 4^th minute M.Djuricin rose above the defence to head in from a corner. Egypt weren't getting a sniff of the ball and on the 35^th minute A.Weimann grabbed the second goal with a curling effort into the top corner which gave the keeper no chance of saving. The second half was again all Egypt but they could only manage the one goal as A.Barnes clotted in past the keeper after running onto a great through-ball.

Turkey: (sherm) Turkey dominated Montenegro with ease and on the 13^th minute they grabbed the lead as C.Tosun slotted home from close range after beating the defence to a loose ball. Twelve minutes later it was two nil with B.Yilmaz ran in from the wing with the ball and unleashed a curling effort into the top corner much to the delight of the home fans. However just before the break Montenegro pulled a goal back as M.Vucinic showed some skill to meg the defence and wasted no time in firing in under the keeper. The second half saw Turkey carry on their dominance and on the 65^th minute H.Calhanoglu slotted home from ten yards after running into the area unmarked. Montenegro weren't getting close to the ball and just before the full time interval they had a goal ruled out for offside much to the disgust of the home fans.

mark wilson27 · November 27, 2016

March 2016: Part Two

Bosnia & Herzegovina: (Terk) Bosnia faced a strong Dutch side and on the 4^th minute J.Clasle curled in from outside the area to give the keeper little chance of saving. On the 29^th minute though it was 1-1 as H.Harba jinked in from the wing and unleashed a thunderous effort past the Dutch keeper. Eight minutes later Bosnia grabbed another goal with E.Dzeko finishing a great team move which split the Dutch side apart. The second half was fifteen minutes old when M.Depay levelled the game with a brilliant free-kick which beat the keeper into the top corner. The game was pretty much end to end but it took till the 89^th minute for the winner to be scored as R.van Persie hit a volley into the top corner to give the Dutch the win.

Denmark: (WLKRAS) Denmark got off to a terrible start against Georgia as on the 3^rd minute L.Mchedidze beat the defence to a loose ball and fired under the keeper. Georgia were controlling the first half with ease and just before the break they should have scored again but the Danish keeper saved a poorly struck penalty. The second half was all Denmark though as they kept the ball away from Georgia and on the 75^th minute N.Bendtner fired in past the keeper after running onto a great through-ball. Denmark kept on the forward pressure but they just couldn't get past the Georgian defence.

Israel: (neilhoskins77) Israel failed to get going in the friendly against Switzerland and on the 13^th minute the home side grabbed the lead as J.Drmic beat the offside trap and fired under the keeper. Twelve minutes later they made it two nil as J.Drmic headed in another goal after the Israeli defence seemed to fall asleep. The rest of the half was all Switzerland but the Israeli defence held firm. The second half was much the same as the first with Switzerland controlling the play but on the 68^th minute M.Dabbur pulled a goal back for Israel however that was it for the action with neither side coming close to adding another goal.

Lithuania: (edtheguy) A real dire game for the fans with Slovakia and Lithuania cancelling each other out. The first half had little action with the only thing of note being a yellow card for Lithuania's T.Kljanskas. The second half was just as bad however on the 74^th minute J.Sylvestr grabbed the winner for the home side Slovakia. Not a great spectacle.

Serbia: (sherwinga) Serbia got off to a great start as within a minute Cleo had run into the area unmarked and fired past the keeper. Soon after it was two nil with A.Mitrovic heading from close range after some more woeful defending by the Belarusian defence. Belarus weren't getting close to the ball and on the 43^rd minute A.Mitrovic grabbed his second goal of the game after jinking into the area and rounding the keeper to slide the ball into the empty net. The second half was pretty quiet compared to the first but Serbia still managed to add another goal as L.Jovic rose above the defence to head into the empty net after the keeper flapped at a simple corner.

mark wilson27 · December 6, 2016

May 2016: Part One

Northern Ireland: (mark wilson27) mark wilson27's Northern Ireland now faced Terk's Bosnia & Herzegovina and it was N.Ireland who took the lead early on as within two minutes C.Brunt fired in a penalty after he was brought down in the area. However after the goal Bosnia upped the gears and they dominated the game but they couldn't get through a very stubborn Irish defence. With two minutes remaining in the half Bosnia were reduced to ten men after S.Pircic was sent off for a second yellow card. The second half was four minutes old when C.Brunt made it two nil for N.Ireland after beating the offside trap with ease and wasted no time in firing under the keeper. Bosnia were still piling forward when they could and on the 88^th minute E.Dzeko hit a thunderous effort past the keeper but it was too little too late for Terk's side

Poland: (tenthreeleader) tenthreeleader's Poland now faced a friendly against sherm's Turkey and it was Turkey who grabbed the early lead as O.Ozyakup headed in from a corner much to the delight of the home fans. However after the goal the game was dominated by Poland. On the 23^rd minute Poland levelled the scores as R.Lewandowski ran onto a through-ball and fired the ball under the onrushing keeper. Just before the break it was two one with D.Purman hitting a great ball in off the upright. The second half was all Poland and on the 73^rd minute T.Jodlowiec grabbed the teams third goal from close range after a great team move. Turkey's day didn't get any better as within a minute of the restart B.Yilmaz received a straight red card for a two footed lunge. With eight minutes remaining in the game Poland added a fourth and final goal as N.Blackman showed some skill to beat the defence and dinked the ball over the onrushing keeper to complete a 4-1 win

Austria: (CFuller) CFuller's Austria now faced sherwinga's Serbia in a friendly and it was Austria who opened the scoring on the 4^th minute as A.Weimann beat the offside trap and fired under the Serbian keeper. Austria controlled the ball the better for majority of the half and just before the break they made it two nil with A.Barnes curled in from just outside the area. The second half was much the same with Austria dominating but on the 71^st minute A.Mitrovic pulled a goal back for Serbia after countering Austria. With five minutes remaining in the game Austria came close to killing the game off with a penalty from A.Weimann but his shot was easily saved by the Serbian keeper

Turkey: (sherm) sherm's Turkey now faced a friendly against tenthreeleader's Poland and it was Turkey who grabbed the early lead as O.Ozyakup headed in from a corner much to the delight of the home fans. However after the goal the game was dominated by Poland. On the 23^rd minute Poland levelled the scores as R.Lewandowski ran onto a through-ball and fired the ball under the onrushing keeper. Just before the break it was two one with D.Purman hitting a great ball in off the upright. The second half was all Poland and on the 73^rd minute T.Jodlowiec grabbed the teams third goal from close range after a great team move. Turkey's day didn't get any better as within a minute of the restart B.Yilmaz received a straight red card for a two footed lunge. With eight minutes remaining in the game Poland added a fourth and final goal as N.Blackman showed some skill to beat the defence and dinked the ball over the onrushing keeper to complete a 4-1 win

mark wilson27 · December 11, 2016

May 2016: Part Two

Italy: (chesterfan2) chesterfan2's Italy now faced ChileanRanger's Romania and it was one way traffic for the Italians. Despite the early pressure it took till the 29^th minute for the first goal to be scored as M.Balotelli rose above the defence and headed in past the keeper. Two minutes later it was two nil as M.Darmian also headed in after a looping corner which gave the keeper no chance of saving. The second half was all Italy but they could only grab the one goal as A.Ogbonna showed some skill to beat the defence to a loose ball and wasted no time in firing under the keeper.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: (Terk) Terk's Bosnia & Herzegovina now faced mark wilson27's Northern Ireland and it was N.Ireland who took the lead early on as within two minutes C.Brunt fired in a penalty after he was brought down in the area. However after the goal Bosnia upped the gears and they dominated the game but they couldn't get through a very stubborn Irish defence. With two minutes remaining in the half Bosnia were reduced to ten men after S.Pircic was sent off for a second yellow card. The second half was four minutes old when C.Brunt made it two nil for N.Ireland after beating the offside trap with ease and wasted no time in firing under the keeper. Bosnia were still piling forward when they could and on the 88^th minute E.Dzeko hit a thunderous effort past the keeper but it was too little too late for Terk's side

Iceland: (Celtic_1967) A good performance from Celtic_1967's Iceland as they easily beat Andorra. On the 12^th minute they took the lead as E.Mar Omarsson rounded the keeper and slotted home into the empty net. Iceland were all over the Andorran's and with seven minutes remaining in the half it was two nil as A.Gunnarsson headed in a free-kick which gave the keeper little chance of saving. The second half was fie minutes old when E.Bjarnson hit a powerful shot into the top corner from just outside the area. Andorra just weren't up to it and with five minutes remaining in the game J.Gudni Fjoluson slotted home from ten yards after a brilliant cross evaded the defence.

Lithuania: (edtheguy) Lithuania were shown up by Finland as they battered the Euro Finalists. On the 9^th minute Finland took the lead as K.Hamalainen ran into the area and fired past the keeper. Twelve minutes later it was two nil with R.Riskis showing up the Lithuanian defence and rounded the keeper to slide the ball into the back of the net. It was far too easy for Finland and ten minutes into the second half they grabbed a third goal with P.Hetemaj curling in from just outside the area. Lithuania never got close to the Finnish goal and will need to drastically improve for the Euro's.

Serbia: (sherwinga) sherwinga's Serbia now faced CFuller's Austria in a friendly and it was Austria who opened the scoring on the 4^th minute as A.Weimann beat the offside trap and fired under the Serbian keeper. Austria controlled the ball the better for majority of the half and just before the break they made it two nil with A.Barnes curled in from just outside the area. The second half was much the same with Austria dominating but on the 71^st minute A.Mitrovic pulled a goal back for Serbia after countering Austria. With five minutes remaining in the game Austria came close to killing the game off with a penalty from A.Weimann but his shot was easily saved by the Serbian keeper

Romania: (ChileanRanger) ChileanRanger's Romania now faced chesterfan2's Italy and it was one way traffic for the Italians. Despite the early pressure it took till the 29^th minute for the first goal to be scored as M.Balotelli rose above the defence and headed in past the keeper. Two minutes later it was two nil as M.Darmian also headed in after a looping corner which gave the keeper no chance of saving. The second half was all Italy but they could only grab the one goal as A.Ogbonna showed some skill to beat the defence to a loose ball and wasted no time in firing under the keeper.

Belgium: (git2thachoppa) Not a great match for git2thachoppa's Belgium as they were well beaten by Greece away from home. On the 4^th minute Greece opened the scoring as N.Karelis headed past the keeper. Belgium were very poor in truth and failed to muster a shot in the first half. The second half was twelve minutes old when Greece made it two nil as D.Diamantakos ran from the halfway line unchallenged and fired under the keeper. On the 75^th minute the final goal was scored as C.Donis rose above the Belgian defence and headed in to give Greece a convincing victory.

mark wilson27 · January 1, 2017

June 2016: Pre Euro 2016 Friendlies Part One:

Northern Ireland: (mark wilson27) mark wilson27 will not have been happy with his sides start against Wales as within three minute H.Wilson had given the visitors the lead after some woeful defending. Wales controlled the majority of the first half and on the 42^nd minute they made it two nil with a well struck effort which beat the Irish keeper to his near post. The second half was alittle better for the Irish as they actually managed to string more than two passes together and on the 59^th minute they pulled a goal back as L.Boyce headed in a corner. However any thought of a comeback were thwarted as on the 71^st minute P.McNair was given a straight red for a professional foul.

Bulgaria: (Gavrenwick) Not a great game in the battle of the Mods as Gavrenwick's Bulgaria faced tenthreeleader's Poland. Neither side really threatened the others goalies and the game ended in a very dire 0-0 draw.

Bulgaria made up for their previous dire match with a great performance against Faroe Islands. Four minutes into the game V.Hristov opened the scoring with a low shot which beat the keeper to his far post. It took till the 25^th minute for the next goal as V.Hristov beat the offside trap to round the keeper and fire into an empty net. Just before the break G.Milanov made it 3-0 as he ran onto a through-ball and dinked the ball over the onrushing keeper. The second half was much the same and on the 73^rd minute I.Popov grabbed a fourth for Bulgaria as he lobbed the keeper from outside the area after spotting him off his line. The game had one more goal as on the 88^th minute I.Popov headed in his second of the game to complete the rout

Republic of Ireland : (BenArsenal) BenArsenal's Irish side now faced a tough away friendly against chesterfan2's Italy. It was Italy who controlled the game and on the 22^nd minute D.Berardi curled a shot in from outside the area after running onto a loose ball. Italy were all over the Irish side but they failed to get through the defence in the first half. The second half saw Italy carrying on the pressure and on the hour mark they made it two nil with D.Berardi heading his second of the game from a corner. With nine minutes remaining in the game Italy completed the dominance with a powerful effort from L.Insigne which beat the keeper to his near post.

Poland: (tenthreeleader) Not a great game in the battle of the Mods as tenthreeleader's Poland faced Gavrenwick's Bulgaria. Neither side really threatened the others goalies and the game ended in a very dire 0-0 draw.

Poland started quickly against Moldova as R.Lewandowski headed in from close range on the 2^nd minute. Straight from kick off Poland were two goals up as R.Lewandowski fired in past the keeper after the ball was intercepted from the restart. On the 12^th minute though a lapse in concentration saw Moldova pull a goal back with A.Antoniuc heading past the keeper. The game was all Poland and on the 37^th minute A.Mierzejewski grabbed a third goal for Poland. The second half was all Poland and nine minutes into the half A.Milik curled in to make it 4-1. On the 66^th minute A.Milik grabbed his second of the game as he beat three defenders with some great skill and tapped in past the keeper. Moldova never looked like getting close to the ball and with a minute remaining in the game R.Lewandowski completed his hat-trick with a daisy cutter from just outside the area which gave the keeper little chance of saving

Czech Republic: (EvilDave) EvilDave will not be happy with his sides efforts as they were outplayed by the Greeks. Greece dominated from the start of the game however they couldn't get a shot on target throughout the first forty five minutes. The second half was much the same with Greece controlling the play with little effect however on the 79^th minute they finally made the breakthrough as L.Christodoulopoulos heading in to give Greece a deserving victory.

Norway: (salkster2102) salkster2102's Norway faced Terk's Bosnia & Herzegovina and it was Bosnia who had the better game and on the 24^th minute they took the lead as S.Prcic curled in after beating the offside trap. Norway didn't look like they were interested in the game and twelve minutes into the second half Bosnia grabbed their second and final goal with E.Dzeko doing the honours from ten yards. Terk has the bragging rights for this one.

Austria: (CFuller) Austria started well and on the 11^th minute they took the lead against Holland as M.Djuricin ran through the defence and fired under the keeper. However after the goal the Dutch players started to up the gears and on the 39^th minute M.van Ginkel slotted home from close range. The second half saw Holland controlling the play and on the 58^th minute I.Afellay rose above the defence and headed in from a corner. IT was all Holland and with five minutes remaining in the game M.van Ginkel grabbed his second of the game to complete a 3-1 win.

Austria's next friendly saw them facing an away trip to Georgia, but this didn't faze them as on the 9^th minute they took the lead as A.Barnes rounded the keeper to fire into the empty net. Soon after it was two nil with A.Barnes grabbing his second of the game with a rasping effort which beat the keeper into the back of the net. The game continued to be dominated by Austria and on the 44^th minute A.Barnes completed his hat-trick with a curling effort which the keeper failed to get a hand too. The second half was all Austria and on the 68^th minute A.Welmann grabbed Austria's fourth with a great header which gave the keeper little chance of saving. With six minutes remaining in the game Georgia pulled a goal back as B.Arabull beat the offside trap to fire under the Austrian keeper.

Turkey: (sherm) Turkey were taught a footballing lesson as Portugal battered them. On the 20^th minute Portugal opened the scoring with Nani beating the defence with ease and fired under the keeper. Portugal were all over the Turkey side and it took till ten minutes into the second half for N.Oliveira grabbing his first goal with a low strike into the bottom corner. It was far too ease for Portugal and with three minutes remaining in the game N.Oliveira completed the scoring with a curling effort past the keeper and into the back of the net.

Turkey responded well to the loss against Portugal with a convincing win over Estonia. sherm's men stated slowly though and it took till just after the half hour for them to open the scoring as C.Tosun ran through the defence with ease and fired under the keeper. Just before the break they were awarded a penalty after a handball in the area but B.Yilmaz failed to convert from the spot. The second half was all Turkey again and on the 67^th minute B.Yilmaz made up for his penalty miss with a fine strike from 25 yards to give the keeper no chance of saving. Turkey were all over Estonia and with three minutes remaining in the game O.Sahan headed in Turkey's third and final goal

mark wilson27 · January 8, 2017

June 2016: Pre Euro 2016 Friendlies Part Two:

Italy: (chesterfan2) An entertaining game for the fans as chesterfan2's Italy faced Sweden. On the 20^th minute the first goal was scored as M.Balotelli beat the offside trap and fired past the Swedish keeper. Ten minutes later Sweden levelled as Z.Ibrahimovic headed past the Italian keeper. The second half was five minutes old when the next goal was scored as M.Balotelli fired in low past the keeper to regain the Italians lead. With twelve minutes remaining in the game Sweden again levelled as I.Kiese Thelin showed the defence a clean pair of heels and fired past the keeper. On the 88^th minute the winning goal was scored as D.Berardi ran into the area unmarked and half volleyed a cross into the top corner much to the delight of chesterfan2.

chesterfan2's Italy were favourites against BenArsenal's Irish side and they lived up to it as they controlled the game and on the 22^nd minute D.Berardi curled a shot in from outside the area after running onto a loose ball. Italy were all over the Irish side but they failed to get through the defence in the first half. The second half saw Italy carrying on the pressure and on the hour mark they made it two nil with D.Berardi heading his second of the game from a corner. With nine minutes remaining in the game Italy completed the dominance with a powerful effort from L.Insigne which beat the keeper to his near post.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: (Terk) Bosnia made light work of Malta and on the second minute they took the lead as A.Mahmutovic headed in from close range. Bosnia were all over the opposition but they failed to score again in the first half. The second half was much the same and on the 47^th minute E.Dzeko grabbed the second goal of the game for Bosnia. Straight from kick off E.Dzeko intercepted a loose ball and hit a wonderful effort past the keeper. On the 54^th minute he completed his hat-trick with a brave header which saw him having to be taken off the pitch for treatment. Bosnia were brilliant and on the 79^th minute H.Harba completed a five goal thrashing for Bosnia.

Terk's Bosnia & Herzegovina faced salkster2102's Norway and it was Bosnia who had the better game and on the 24^th minute they took the lead as S.Prcic curled in after beating the offside trap. Norway didn't look like they were interested in the game and twelve minutes into the second half Bosnia grabbed their second and final goal with E.Dzeko doing the honours from ten yards. Terk has the bragging rights for this one.

Iceland: (Celtic_1967) Iceland made a poor start as on the 6^th minute R.Allyev gave Azerbaijan the lead. Five minutes later though Iceland levelled as J.Berg Gudmundsson headed in from close range after some woeful defending. The rest of the half pretty much dragged along luckily the second half was alittle better. On the 58^th minute it was 2-1 to Iceland as J.Berg Gudmundsson beat the offside trap and slotted in under the keeper. Four minutes later it was 3-1 with E.Mar Omarsson tapped in from close range after some poor keeping. On the 88^th minute R.Allyev pulled a goal back for Azerbaijan with a well worked team move which split the defence apart with real ease.

Iceland didn't really get the best of starts to the game against Scotland as R.Snodgrass curled in a free-kick from outside the area after a foul. On the 12^th minute Iceland pulled a goal back with G.Sigurdsson doing the honours from the edge of the area. The joy didn't last for long though as on three minutes later S.Naismith headed in a corner to silence the away section of the crowd. Scotland were controlling the play and with ten minutes remaining in the game J.McArthur slotted home to condemn Iceland to a 3-1 loss

Denmark: (WLKRAS) Denmark got off to a great start against England as D.Stuckler fired in past the English keeper. However after that it went all tits up for Denmark as the English players started to play and on the 15^th minute A.Oxlade-Chamberlain ran into the area unmarked and fired under the keeper. Three minutes later it was two one to England as A.Lallana curled a powerful effort past the keeper. England were all over Denmark and on the 34^th minute R.Sterling grabbed England's next goal with a brave header. The second half was all England with attack after attack and on the 66^th minute R.Sterling scored his second of the game with a low effort into the bottom corner much to the delight of the Wembley crowd. With six minutes remaining in the game H.Kane made it 5-1 with a well struck effort from outside the area which gave the keeper little chance of saving.

Israel: (neilhoskins77) Israel were a goal down with eight minutes against Germany as E.Beckmann slotted in from close range after some poor Israeli defending. Germany controlled the match with ease and with four minutes remaining in the half S.Auer gave the Germans a two goal lead with a low shot which gave the keeper little chance of saving. The second half was again dominated by Germany and on the 77^th minute F.Henn made it 3-0 with a well timed shot which beat the keeper into the top corner. Ten minutes later though Israel pulled a goal back as G.Vermouth slotted in but it was too little too late.

Lithuania: (edtheguy) edtheguy's Lithuania now faced Wales in a friendly and in truth the crowd might as-well not bothered turning up as the game was ninety minutes of pure tripe. Neither side came close to threatening the game with only one effort to show for the full game as Wales tried their luck from 25 yards but the effort went high over the crossbar and would have been more suited on the rugby pitch.

Lithuania now faced Luxembourg in a friendly and actually decided to play well only after the 9^th minute as Luxembourg took the lead via an A.Luisi header. The lead didn't last long though as seven minutes later E.Baniulis barged into the area and fired under the keeper. On the 28^th minute D.Matulevicius made it two one with a low effort into the goal. Just before the break L.Spalvis grabbed a powerful effort to extend Lithuania's lead. However on the 53^rd minute Luxembourg pulled a goal back as K.Corral tapped in from close range. Twelve minutes later Lithuania grabbed another goal as T.Tamosauskas showed the Luxembourg defence a clean pair of heels and slotted in past the keeper. Their was one more goal in the game as on the 88^th minute D.Matulevicius grabbed his second of the game with a brave header to give Lithuania a comfortable 5-2 victory.

Serbia: (sherwinga) Serbia started the better against Finland as D.Brasanac rose above the defence and headed a corner past the Finnish keeper. On the 18^th minute though Finland grabbed the equaliser as R.Schuller barged into the area and fired under the keeper. The second half saw Serbia controlling the game and on the 77^th minute they grabbed the lead back as N.Subotic slotted home into the empty net after beating the keeper one on one. However with four minutes remaining in the game K.Hamalainen fired in from the penalty spot after a handball in the area.

Serbia didn't really start well against Slovenia but luckily for them the Slovenian side were just as poor and the first half of the game pretty much dragged by. The second half though saw Serbia upping the gears and on the 55^th minute V.Gudelj headed them into the lead. Serbia carried on the forward pressure and on the 76^th minute F.Djordjevic fired in from close range to give Serbia a 2-0 victory

Romania: (ChileanRanger) No matches played

Belgium: (git2thachoppa) Not a great result for git2thachoppa's Belgium as England taught them a lesson in a friendly. Nine minutes into the game H.Kane grabbed the lead for England with a fine effort. Belgium never really got close to the ball and on the 36^th minute it was two nil to England as R.Sterling ran in from the wing and curled the ball into the top corner. Six minutes later it was three nil with J.Wilshere doing the honours. The second half was alittle better but on the 52^nd minute L.Shaw made it four nil as he headed in from close range. With ten minutes remaining in the game R.Lukaku pulled a goal back for Belgium but it was too little too late.

A poor start saw Belgium a goal down with three minutes against Spain with C.Tella beating the keeper at his near post. Spain came close again on the 29^th minute from the penalty spot but the Belgium keeper saved well to deny the striker. The second half saw Belgium coming out of their shell more but they struggled to get close to the Spanish goal and failed to register any sort of meaningful effort on goal.

mark wilson27 · January 10, 2017

Euro 2016 Group Stage:

Group A:

Bosnia & Herzegovina: (Terk) Terk's Bosnia faced off against edtheguy's Lithuania and in truth it was far too easy for Bosnia. Eight minutes into the game Bosnia grabbed the lead as M.Maric ran through the defence with ease and fired under the keeper. It didn't take too long for the next goal to be scored as M.Maric grabbed his second of the match with a fine strike on the 22^nd minute. Seven minutes later it was three nil with E.Dzeko doing the honours from close range after running onto a great through-ball. The second half was three minutes old when M.Maric completed his hat-trick as he rose above the defence to nod in from six yards. The rout was completed on the 78^th minute as S.Prcic fired in from the penalty spot after a handball in the area.

Bosnia now faced off against France but they didn't get off to a great start as France took the lead on the 9^th minute as A.Lacazette curled in from 30 yards after seeing the keeper off his line. This seemed to give the Bosnian players the kick up the backside they needed and on the 32^nd minute they levelled with A.Mahmutovic running through the defence with ease and sliding the ball past the keeper. The second half was all Bosnia and on the 73^rd minute A.Mahmutovic grabbed the winner with a well struck effort which gave the French keeper no chance of saving. The result means his Bosnian side have qualified for 2^nd Round with a game spare.

Bosnia went into the final group game against Portugal without any pressure. Bosnia controlled the start of the game and on the 16^th minute they took the lead as S.Prcic ran through the defence and fired in low past the keeper. After the goal Portugal started to play better and just after the half hour C.Ronaldo grabbed the equaliser with a well struck effort from outside the area. The second half saw Portugal getting control of the game but on the 67^th minute that all changed after Pepe was sent off for a second bookable offence, from the resulting free-kick H.Harba headed in what turned out to be the winner.

Lithuania: (edtheguy) edtheguy's Lithuania faced Terk's Bosnia in the first group match and in truth it was far too easy for Bosnia. Eight minutes into the game Bosnia grabbed the lead as M.Maric ran through the defence with ease and fired under the keeper. It didn't take too long for the next goal to be scored as M.Maric grabbed his second of the match with a fine strike on the 22^nd minute. Seven minutes later it was three nil with E.Dzeko doing the honours from close range after running onto a great through-ball. The second half was three minutes old when M.Maric completed his hat-trick as he rose above the defence to nod in from six yards. The rout was completed on the 78^th minute as S.Prcic fired in from the penalty spot after a handball in the area.

Lithuania now faced a tough game against Portugal and the opposition wasted no time in opening the scoring with C.Ronaldo curling in a free-kick from 25 yards after he was brought down on the way too goal. On the 34^th minute it was two nil with C.Ronaldo striking a cross brilliantly past the keeper. It was getting easy for Portugal and on the stroke of half time it was three nil with C.Ronaldo completing his hat-trick with a simple tap in. The second half though saw Portugal relaxing far too much and on the 64^th minute V.Silvkra running in from the wing and firing under the diving keeper. Lithuania were causing a few problems and with eleven minutes remaining in the game L.Spalvis grabbed another goal with a brave header which gave the keeper no chance. However Lithuania couldn't add further to their tally and the game ended 3-2.

Lithuania now faced France and were completely battered. France opened the scoring within a minute as K.Benzema headed in a cross which the keeper should have done better with. Lithuania didn't get close to the ball and on the 28^th minute D.Payet scored France's second of the game. The second half saw France carry on the pressure and on the 61^st minute France grabbed goal number three as G.Imbula slotted home from close range, however that was his last action for the game after receiving a second yellow card followed by red for his celebration. With their third loss out of three it means that Lithuania have been knocked out the European Championship

mark wilson27 · January 17, 2017

Group B:

Northern Ireland: (mark wilson27) mark wilson27's Northern Ireland faced chesterfan2's Italy and it was a barnstormer of a game. N.Ireland took the lead in the 7^th minute as K.Lafferty rose above the defence and headed in a powerful cross. Eight minutes later though Italy levelled the scores as C.Marchisio curled in a free-kick from 20 yards which gave the keeper little chance of saving. The game was very open but on the 41^st minute Northern Ireland were reduced to ten men after O.Norwood was given a straight red card for a professional foul. The second half was thirteen minutes old when N.Ireland retook the lead a S.Dallas made a mockery of the Italian defence and slotted in from close range. On the 62^nd minute though Italy levelled again as D.Barardi beat the Irish defence to a loose ball and fired in under the keeper. With ten minutes remaining in the game Italy grabbed the winner as S.El Shaarawy curled in from outside the area.

mark wilson27's Northern Ireland were outclassed by their next opponents Holland. It didn't take the Dutch long to open the scoring as A.Robben jinked in through the defence with real ease and fired past the keeper. On the 34^th minute it was two nil with M.Depay heading in a free-kick after a foul. Northern Ireland weren't getting near the ball and twelve minutes into the second half Holland grabbed another goal with K.Strootman doing the honours from close range. With ten minutes remaining in the game Northern Ireland pulled a goal back as L.Boyce headed in but it was too little too late for the Irish.

Northern Ireland took the lead after five minutes against Finland as J.Evans headed in a corner which the Finnish defence failed to deal with. After the goal the game seemed to die a death with the majority of the play centred in the middle third of the pitch. The second half wasn't much better with both sides cancelling each other. However on the 87^th minute Finland equalised with an incisive team move which saw J.Pohjanpalo firing in for a share of the points. The result meant that Northern Ireland have been knocked out the European Championship after only earning a single point

Italy: (chesterfan2) chesterfan2's Italy faced mark wilson27's Northern Ireland and it was a barnstormer of a game. N.Ireland took the lead in the 7^th minute as K.Lafferty rose above the defence and headed in a powerful cross. Eight minutes later though Italy levelled the scores as C.Marchisio curled in a free-kick from 20 yards which gave the keeper little chance of saving. The game was very open but on the 41^st minute Northern Ireland were reduced to ten men after O.Norwood was given a straight red card for a professional foul. The second half was thirteen minutes old when N.Ireland retook the lead a S.Dallas made a mockery of the Italian defence and slotted in from close range. On the 62^nd minute though Italy levelled again as D.Barardi beat the Irish defence to a loose ball and fired in under the keeper. With ten minutes remaining in the game Italy grabbed the winner as S.El Shaarawy curled in from outside the area.

Italy's next game saw them facing Finland and they started very slowly. On the 10^th minute Finland grabbed the lead as J.Pohjanpalo ran through the Italian defence with ease and fired past the keeper. The Italian players looked as though they hadn't come of the changing room and just after the half hour they were two goals down as M.Ojala headed in a brilliant free-kick over the keeper. The second half was alittle better for Italy as they players actually started to play. However for all their possession they struggled to get through the defence but on the 78^th minute S.El Shaarawy curled in a free-kick to make it 2-1. Italy piled forward but the poor start cost them and they fell to a surprise 2-1 loss.

Italy now faced Holland in their final game of the group and within two minutes they took the lead as L.Insigne hit a powerful effort past the keeper. Italy were in control of the game but on the 32^nd minute they left themselves exposed at the back and M.Depay fired in the equaliser for Holland. The second half was more open and on the 77^th minute A.Robben gave Holland the lead after finishing a great team move. However straight from kick off Italy equalised as Jorginho rose above the Dutch defence and headed past the keeper with ease. With five minutes remaining in the game the winner was scored as A.Robben ran in from the wing and unleashed thunderous effort into the top corner.

Despite poor performances in the group and finishing third they have qualified for the second round of the European Championship

mark wilson27 · January 22, 2017

Group C:

Poland: (tenthreeleader) Poland faced the Greek in their opener and it didn't take long for them to take the lead as eleven minutes in R.Lewandowski headed in a brilliant cross. However after the goal the Polish players seemed to just sit back and let the Greeks coming at them. The Greeks were taking control of the game and on the 34^th minute they levelled the scores as A.Bouchalakis fired in from distance to beat the keeper. The second half was all Greece with Poland struggling to make an impact on the game. With three minutes remaining in the game Greece were reduced to ten men after J.Holebas earnt a second yellow card followed by a red. In truth Greece really should have won this game.

tenthreeleader's side now faced the Spanish and had the better of the first half without really threatening the Spanish goal. The second half was a lot better for the fans as both sides decided to up the gears. On the 54^th minute the first goal was finally scored as A.Miarzejewski beat the offside trap and dinked the ball over the onrushing keeper. Ten minutes later Spain were reduced to ten men after R.Albiol was sent off for a professional foul, but this didn't stop the Spanish piling forward and on the 79^th minute D.Costa scored to give his side a share of the points.

tenthreeleader's Poland now faced Celtic_1967's Icelandic side. It was Poland who had the better of the game and on the 21^st minute M.Chrapek grabbed the lead for Poland with a well struck effort from the corner of the area. However four minutes later Iceland levelled the scores as V.Om Kjarlansson fired in from ten yards after running onto a great through-ball. The rest of the half was a real midfield battle with neither side giving an inch. The second half saw Poland coming out the stronger and on the 67^th minute R.Lewandowski gave Poland the three points with a brave header. The result saw Poland qualify for the 2^nd Round of the European Championship

Iceland: (Celtic_1967) A tough opener for Iceland as they faced much fancied Spain. The first half was all Spain with some great play however the Icelandic team defended brilliantly to keep them out. The second half was much the same and seven minutes into the half D.Costa opened the scoring for the Spanish with a rasping effort which gave the keeper little chance of saving. Just after the hour mark it was two nil with A.Negredo doing the honours for the Spanish with a rasping effort from outside the area. It was far too easy now for the Spanish and with six minutes remaining in the game D.Costa grabbed another goal to give Spain a convincing three nil win.

Iceland now faced Greece and were quickly a goal down as S.Athanasiadis jinked into the area and rounded the keeper to slot home into the empty net. The goal though seemed to give Celtic_1967's side a kick up the butt and they started to play. Just before the break Iceland finally levelled the scores as A.Finnbogason headed past the keeper with ease. The second half was all Iceland and on the hour E.Bjamason made it 2-1 with a low shot into the bottom corner. Iceland were all over Greece but with three minutes remaining in the game S.Risvanis gave the Greeks an undeserved point with a thunderous effort. Celtic_1967 will not be a happy manager.

Celtic_1967's Icelandic side now faced tenthreeleader's Poland. It was Poland who had the better of the game and on the 21^st minute M.Chrapek grabbed the lead for Poland with a well struck effort from the corner of the area. However four minutes later Iceland levelled the scores as V.Om Kjarlansson fired in from ten yards after running onto a great through-ball. The rest of the half was a real midfield battle with neither side giving an inch. The second half saw Poland coming out the stronger and on the 67^th minute R.Lewandowski gave Poland the three points with a brave header. Unfortunately the loss meant that Iceland have been knocked out of the competition after scoring only a single point.

mark wilson27 · January 24, 2017

Group D:

Austria: (CFuller) CFuller's Austria faced a tough as his side faced an opener against Germany. The first half was a close affair with the majority of the match being played in the middle third of the pitch. However the second half was all Germany as they started to pull their fingers out. On the 54^th minute Germany opened the scoring as W.Clemens ran through the Austrian defence with ease and fired under the onrushing keeper. They carried on the pressure and with twelve minutes remaining in the game L.Muller grabbed the killer goal for the Germans to give them the three points.

Austria now faced England in their second group game and eight minutes into the game they were a goal down as H.Kane barged through the defence and slotted the ball past the keeper. England kept on piling forward and on the stroke of half time they made it two nil with H.Kane heading home a second goal. The second half though saw Austria respond to the managers harsh time words. Six minutes into the half A.Barnes pulled a goal back for Austria with a long range dipper which the English keeper really should have done better with to save. England were looking shell shocked and on the 79^th minute J.Baumgartlinger gave CFuller's side a share of the points and kept his side still in with a chance of progression.

Austria's final group game saw them facing Ukraine. Austria dominated the game with ease and on the 9^th minute they took the lead as A.Barnes rattled in from just inside the area. Eight minutes later it was two nil with A.Barnes firing in from six yards after running onto a low cross. It was getting too easy for Austria but they failed to add to their tally in the remainder of the first half. The second half was all Austria again but it took them till the 74^th minute to get the final goal as A.Barnes completed his hat-trick with a simple shot past the diving keeper.

The result meant that they have finished second in their group and will progress to the next round of the European Championship

mark wilson27 · January 26, 2017

Group E:

Belgium: (git2thachoppa) Belgium faced Switzerland in their opening fixture but it didn't go to plan as the Swiss controlled the play with real ease. Despite their domination it took till the 40^th minute for them to open the scoring as J.Drmic curled in to send the Swiss into the break a goal up. The second half was much the same with the Swiss dominating and on the 67^th minute F.Schar barged into the area and fired past the keeper. Belgium did manage to pull a goal back with R.Lukaku firing in from inside the area on the 89^th minute but it was too little too late for the Belgians.

Sweden were git2thachoppa's next opponents and after only twelve minutes they were a goal down as S.Tibbling shot home from inside the area to beat the Belgian keeper to his left hand post. Belgium again weren't getting close to the ball but it took till the 66^th minute for Sweden to kill the game off as S.Larsson ran through the defence with ease and dinked the ball over the onrushing keeper. Another poor performance by the Belgium's.

Belgium never turned up for the final group game against Wales as they were roundly beaten. On the 23^rd minute Wales took the lead as A.Ramsay beat the offside trap with ease and fired under the keeper. Ten minutes later it was two nil with S.Vokes doing the honours from twelve yards. It was far too easy for the Welsh and on the 66^th minute the final goal of the game was scored as G.Bale hit a thunderous effort into the top corner to send the Belgians out of the European Championship without scoring a single point

mark wilson27 · January 29, 2017

Group F:

Turkey: (sherm) sherm's Turkey faced an opener against Gavrenwick's Bulgaria. Bulgaria made the better start with some great play which resulted in V.Hristov slotting in past the Bulgarian keeper. After the goal both sides started to cancel each other out in the middle third of the pitch and the half ended with Turkey still in the lead. The second half was much the same with both sides cancelling each other out but on the 76^th minute Turkey levelled the scores as H.Calhanoglu headed in from a corner. With two minutes remaining in the game Turkey had the chance to win it from the penalty spot but H.Calhanoglu failed to convert and they had to share the points.

sherm's Turkey now faced sherwinga's Serbia. Serbia started the better and on the 12^th minute they had the ball in the back of the net but it was ruled out for offside. However just before the half hour they got the breakthrough they deserved with a powerful effort from A.Mitrovic which gave the Turkish keeper no chance of saving. The second half was much the same with Serbia dominating and on the 74^th minute M.Poletanovic grabbed the killer goal with a rasping low effort which beat the keeper to the post.

Turkey's final group game saw them taking on Croatia. Turkey got off to a great start as within two minutes C.Erkin curled in from outside the area, however after the goal it went all tits up for Croatia and on the 13^th minute A.Kramaric headed in past the keeper after the Turkish defence failed to deal with an easy cross. Croatia were beginning to control the game and on the 67^th minute I.Rakitic fired in the winner for the Croatians which meant that Turkey have failed to qualify for the next round after only collecting one point.

Bulgaria: (Gavrenwick) Gavrenwick's Bulgaria faced an opener against sherm's Turkey. Bulgaria made the better start with some great play which resulted in V.Hristov slotting in past the Bulgarian keeper. After the goal both sides started to cancel each other out in the middle third of the pitch and the half ended with Turkey still in the lead. The second half was much the same with both sides cancelling each other out but on the 76^th minute Turkey levelled the scores as H.Calhanoglu headed in from a corner. With two minutes remaining in the game Turkey had the chance to win it from the penalty spot but H.Calhanoglu failed to convert and they had to share the points

Gavrenwick's Bulgaria faced sherwinga's Serbia. It didn't start too great for Serbia as they were reduced to ten men on the 20^th minute as N.Subotic was given a straight red for a two footed lunge. However seven minutes later Serbia took the lead as L.Markovic curled in from the edge of the area to beat the keeper into the top corner. Serbia were controlling the first half but they failed to add to their tally. The second saw Serbia carrying on the pressure and on the 55^th minute F.Djordjevic headed in Serbia's second of the game. Six minutes later it was three nil with F.Djordjevic grabbing his second and Serbia's third with a fine strike which beat the keeper to the bottom corner. On the 89^th minute Bulgaria managed to pull a goal back as I.Popov rose above the defence to head in past the keeper.

Bulgaria now faced Croatia in the final group game however on the 20^th minute they were reduced to ten men after S.Dynakov was sent off for a two footed lunge. Just before the break Croatia had the chance to take the lead as they broke through the defence but the referee blew his whistle before the striker had the chance to shoot. The second half was all Croatia as the kept the ball away from the ten men of Bulgaria. Bulgaria looked to have held on for a point but deep into injury time A.Rebic grabbed the winner for Croatia.

Their poor performances in the group stage have seen them knocked out of the European Championships

Serbia: (sherwinga) Serbia faced an opening tie against Croatia and started pretty well with some great play. On the 17^th minute they took the lead as A.Ljajic fired in under the Croatian keeper. However after that it went all tits up for Serbia and on the half hour A.Rebic levelled after he finished a well worked team move. The second half was all Croatia as they dominated but it took till the 81^st minute for them to grab the winner with a fine strike which gave the keeper little chance of saving.

sherwinga's Serbia faced Gavrenwick's Bulgaria. It didn't start too great for Serbia as they were reduced to ten men on the 20^th minute as N.Subotic was given a straight red for a two footed lunge. However seven minutes later Serbia took the lead as L.Markovic curled in from the edge of the area to beat the keeper into the top corner. Serbia were controlling the first half but they failed to add to their tally. The second saw Serbia carrying on the pressure and on the 55^th minute F.Djordjevic headed in Serbia's second of the game. Six minutes later it was three nil with F.Djordjevic grabbing his second and Serbia's third with a fine strike which beat the keeper to the bottom corner. On the 89^th minute Bulgaria managed to pull a goal back as I.Popov rose above the defence to head in past the keeper.

sherwinga's Serbia now faced sherm's Turkey. Serbia started the better and on the 12^th minute they had the ball in the back of the net but it was ruled out for offside. However just before the half hour they got the breakthrough they deserved with a powerful effort from A.Mitrovic which gave the Turkish keeper no chance of saving. The second half was much the same with Serbia dominating and on the 74^th minute M.Poletanovic grabbed the killer goal with a rasping low effort which beat the keeper to the post.

This result as well as other results saw Serbia qualify for the second round of the European Championship

The draw for the European Championship 2^nd Round has taken place and is as follows:-

Poland (tenthreeleader) v Portugal

France v Holland

Wales v Germany

Ukraine v Bosnia & Herzegovina (Terk)

Spain v Italy (chesterfan2)

Switzerland v Austria (CFuller)

Serbia (sherwinga) v Finland

Sweden v Croatia

mark wilson27 · January 31, 2017

European Championship 2^nd Round:

Poland: (tenthreeleader) tenthreeleader's Poland now faced a tough match against Portugal and it was Portugal who started the better. Portugal were all over the Polish side and on the 27^th minute they took the lead as C.Ronaldo his a thunderous free-kick past the Polish keeper from 25 yards. Portugal carried on the forward pressure and Poland were lucky not to be a few goals down by the interval. The second half started the same with Portugal controlling the game but on the 78^th minute Poland countered a Portuguese attack and was finished by D.Kownacki. The game went into extra time but with both sides looking tired it was going to take a mistake for the winner to be scored and that's what happened on the 114^th minute as R.Lewandowski latched onto a poor back-pass to fire with power past the onrushing keeper. tenthreeleader will be one happy manager

Austria: (CFuller) Austria now faced Switzerland and got off to a bad start as S.Lichtsteiner headed in on the 12^th minute after the defence failed to stop a simple cross. Switzerland were all over the Austrian's but couldn't get past the keeper who was playing brilliant. The second half was the complete reverse as CFuller's half time team talk seemed to work. On the 48^th minute Austria levelled the scores with a powerful effort from A.Weimann which no keeper in the world would have saved. Austria carried on the forward pressure and on the 89^th minute A.Weimann headed in the winner to send Austria through to the next round.

Italy: (chesterfan2) chesterfan2's Italian side didn't get off to the best of starts against Spain as they were reduced to ten men within seven minutes after C.Marchisio was sent off for a rash challenge. Spain dominated the ten men of Italy with ease and on the 43^rd minute D.Costa gave the lead with a fine strike from just inside the area. The second half saw Italy being brushed aside however for all the Spanish pressure they couldn't get past the brilliance of the Italian keeper. However Italy couldn't score themselves and were left ruing what would have been if they had played the full match with eleven men.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: (Terk) The first half against Ukraine was more of a battle than a football match with five players being booked and how the half ended with both sides having eleven men I don't know. The second half was better as a footballing spectacle and five minutes into the half E.Dzeko grabbed the lead for Bosnia with a well struck effort from twelve yards. The game opened up a lot with some superb play from both sides and on the 87^th minute M.Devic grabbed the equaliser for Ukraine. The game went into extra time but neither side could grab the killer goal meaning it went to penalties. Despite missing two of the penalties Bosnia went through after a sudden death round saw S.Prcic grabbing the winning penalty

Serbia: (sherwinga) Serbia outclassed Finland with real ease but on the 12^th minute Finland managed to take the lead with a fluky effort from J.Pohjanpalo which deceived the Serbian keeper. After the goal it was all Serbia and on the 33^rd minute Cleo curled the ball past the Finnish keeper to equalise. The second half was much the same with Serbia controlling the play and on the 84^th minute Cleo scored again to send the Serbian fans wild. The scoring wasn't over though as on the stroke of full time F.Djordjevic headed in to make it 3-1 and send them into the ¼ finals.

After the second round matches it was time to see the draw for the ¼ Finals. The draw is as follows:-

Poland (tenthreeleader) v Wales

Spain v Austria (CFuller)

Bosnia & Herzegovina (Terk) v Serbia (sherwinga)

France v Sweden

mark wilson27 · February 1, 2017

European Championship ¼ Finals:

Poland: (tenthreeleader) tenthreeleader's side now faced Wales and were a goal down on the 17^th minute as A.Ramsay hit the ball in off the upright. Soon after Wales scored another goal but it was ruled out for offside. With eight minutes remaining in the half Poland pulled level as M.Kilch slotted home from twelve yards after running into the area with the ball. The second half was four minutes old when Poland were reduced to ten men after G.Krychowiak earnt a second yellow card followed by the red. On the 58^th minute the ten men of Poland took the lead as R.Lewandowski showed great pace to beat the Welsh defence and fired under the keeper. Wales were looking out of sorts and on the 87^th minute R.Lewandowski headed in Poland's third goal to send them through to the semi finals

Austria: (CFuller) Austria now faced a tough task against the Spanish and by the 7^th minute they were a goal down as A.Negredo headed in past the Austrian keeper. However Austria reacted well to the goal and on the 19^th minute they equalised as C.Fuchs beat the offside trap and slotted in under the keeper. After the goal the game became a midfield struggle with neither side managing to threaten the oppositions goal. The game went into extra time and it was heartbreak for the Austrian side as on the 119^th minute D.Costa curled one in past the keeper from inside the area.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: (Terk) / Serbia: (sherwinga) In truth it was such a dire game with neither side making any sort of effort in the first half. The only thing of note in the first half was a booking for Bosnia's M.Basic. The second half wasn't much better with some poor play but on the 78^th minute the winning goal was scored as F.Djordjevic ran through the Bosnian defence and fired with power under the keeper to send them through to the Semi Finals

The draw for the European Championship Semi Finals has taken place and is as follows:-

Poland (tenthreeleader) v France

Spain v Serbia (sherwinga)

mark wilson27 · February 3, 2017

European Championship Semi Finals:

Poland: (tenthreeleader) Poland faced off against the French and in truth dominated the game. France weren't getting close to the ball. On the 34^th minute Poland had their first real chance with a rasping effort which beat the keeper into the goal but the goal was ruled out for a foul in the build up. The second half was much the same with Poland dominating and on the 78^th minute they finally got the breakthrough they deserved with T.Jodlowiec firing in much to the delight of his manager and the Polish fans in the Stade des Lumieres.

Serbia: (sherwinga) Serbia now faced a tough game against competition favourites Spain. The first half saw Spain being frustrated by some excellent Serbian defending and it showed as they had four players booked in the first forty five minutes. The second half was much the same with Spain dominating. On the 59^th minute Spain job looked to have been made easier as N.Gudelj was sent off for a professional foul. However Spain must have relaxed far too much after the sending off as on the 79^th minute L.Markovic fired the Serbians into the final.

mark wilson27 · February 4, 2017

European Championship Final: (Stade de France, Saint-Denis) July 10^th 2016

Poland (tenthreeleader) v Serbia (sherwinga)

Serbia began the game slightly better and on the 22^nd minute they had the first chance of the game as Cleo beat the offside trap and fired towards goal but W.Szczesny saved well to deny him. Two minutes later Poland were forced into a change as J.Wawrzyniak came on for the injured D.Dziwnil. On the half hour Serbia had another chance with A.Ljajic ran into the area but K.Glik slid in perfectly to deny him the chance to shoot. With three minutes remaining in the half Poland finally had their first chance with R.Lewandowski running onto a N.Blackman through-ball and fired towards goal but M.Lukac saved well.

Half Time Score 0-0

The second half was nine minutes old when the game saw its first goal as R.Lewandowski fired towards goal but M.Lukac saved only to see N.Blackman running in and tapping in the rebound. On the 56^th minute Serbia made a change with F.Djordjevic coming on for N.Krsticic. Nine minutes later it was tenthreeleader's time to make a change as A.Milik came on for K.Linetty. Poland had their next chance of the game with G.Krychowiak curled the ball into the area but R.Lewandowski failed to connect with the ball and it went out for a throw in. On the 77^th minute Serbia made a double change with N.Tomovic and A.Mitrovic coming on for A.Lukovic and A.Ljajic. With five minutes remaining in the game D.Furman came on for Poland in place of A.Mierzejewski. The change was inspired as on the 87^th minute and with his first touch D.Furman grabbed Poland's second goal of the game and the winner much to the delight of the Polish fans.

Poland 2-0 Serbia N.Blackman 54, D.Furman 87

Poland: W.Szczesny, L.Piszcek, K.Glik, A.Danch, D.Dziwnil (inj 24-J.Wawrzyniak), G.Krychowiak, M.Klich, K.Linetty (65-A.Milik), N.Blackman, A.Mierzejewski (85-D.Furman), R.Lewandowski (capt)

Serbia: M.Lukac, B.Ivanovic (capt), A.Pantic, M.Nastasic, A.Lukovic (77-N.Tomovic), A.Ignjovski, D.Brasanac, N.Krsticic (56-F.Djordjevic), N.Petrovicm A.Ljajic (77-A.Mitrovic), Cleo

Booked: K.Gilk, A.Danch (Poland) / A.Lukovic, A.Ignjovski (Serbia)

Attendance: 79,000

Congratulations to tenthreeleader on his sides victory and also well done to sherwinga for getting to the final

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