Talksport

lancs blue said:
I've no idea but 20 years ago if you'd asked me I wouldn't have seen Iceland topping their qualifying group. Teams tend to improve over the longer term by playing against better opposition and learning from the experience. I doubt that a string of, say, San Marino vs Andorra matches would teach either side very much at all.

Edit: Incidentally Malta has a larger population than Iceland so who knows.
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I'm not sure 5-0, 6-0 or 7-0 twattings teach thee smaller nations much either, save from the fact they aren't very good. Some of these nations will NEVER be anything other than whipping boys. One of the San Marino players has missed recent away fixtures as it's summer and he couldn't get anyone to fill in working in his bar so he could have a few days off! That isn't a nation that, on a regular basis, should be playing against England, Italy, Germany, Spain etc.
 
Bottom 2 teams in each group should do a pre-qual tourney during the finals getting rid of half if them, 2 games less would be a help.

The African teams play home and away to knock teams out at a lower level.
 
It takes time for so-called minnow nations to catch up and become competitive, and who's to say one of them can't or won't, at some point in the future, give some of the established teams a good game. Hang on, wait a minute, the current campaign for the Euro 2016 qualifiers is full of great and truly surprising results by some of the minnows against some of the bigger teams.

Cyprus won in Bosnia.
Luxembourg won in Macedonia.
Faroe Islands have beaten Greece home and away, and remember them beating Austria in their first ever qualifying campaign.
Liechtenstein currently have 5 points, including a credible win against Stefan Jovetic's Montenegro.
Malta held Bulgaria to a draw in Sofia and twice lost by a single goal to Italy.
Albania currently have 11 points and are serious contenders to qualify from Portugal's group, or at the very least take a spot in the play-offs. They've already won in Portugal and held Denmark to two draws. That's right, they won in Portugal.

Remember Turkey in the 1980s. England thumped them 8-0 twice and another 5-0 in different qualifying campaigns. They conceded 48 goals in two World Cup qualifying campaigns, scoring only 3 in reply, and finishing with 1 point from both campaigns. They fared little better in the Euro campaigns. Fast forward to the 90s and they're qualifying for Euro 96, reaching the quarter finals of Euro 2000, and then the World Cup semi-finals in 2002.

The great Juventus side of the mid-80s contained a midfielder called Massimo Bonini. He partnered Marco Tardelli in midfield in the teams that won the European Cup in '85 and who lost the 1983 final to Hamburg. Italy, who were going through a transitional period in the mid-80s after their World Cup win, were desperate for him to choose to play for the Azzuri. He refused. It was his dream to represent San Marino, who weren't recognised officially by UEFA until they were allowed to participate in the qualifiers for Euro 92. He played 15 times for San Marino when he might easily have played in several major tournaments with Italy.

To suggest so-called minnow sides shouldn't be allowed to compete is, frankly, crap. It suggests supporters of major countries and major clubs perhaps have their heads up their own arses, rendering themselves oblivious as to what representing their countries means for those players from smaller countries, what it means for them to play against England, Italy, Germany, Spain, etc., what it means for them to hear their national anthems played at the Bernabeu or at Wembley.
 
A rag just come on talksport and said theres 4 nailed on England players for the Euro's:

Hart
Smalling
Carrick
Rooney

YCNMIU.
 
Bilston Blue said:
It takes time for so-called minnow nations to catch up and become competitive, and who's to say one of them can't or won't, at some point in the future, give some of the established teams a good game. Hang on, wait a minute, the current campaign for the Euro 2016 qualifiers is full of great and truly surprising results by some of the minnows against some of the bigger teams.

Cyprus won in Bosnia.
Luxembourg won in Macedonia.
Faroe Islands have beaten Greece home and away, and remember them beating Austria in their first ever qualifying campaign.
Liechtenstein currently have 5 points, including a credible win against Stefan Jovetic's Montenegro.
Malta held Bulgaria to a draw in Sofia and twice lost by a single goal to Italy.
Albania currently have 11 points and are serious contenders to qualify from Portugal's group, or at the very least take a spot in the play-offs. They've already won in Portugal and held Denmark to two draws. That's right, they won in Portugal.

Remember Turkey in the 1980s. England thumped them 8-0 twice and another 5-0 in different qualifying campaigns. They conceded 48 goals in two World Cup qualifying campaigns, scoring only 3 in reply, and finishing with 1 point from both campaigns. They fared little better in the Euro campaigns. Fast forward to the 90s and they're qualifying for Euro 96, reaching the quarter finals of Euro 2000, and then the World Cup semi-finals in 2002.

The great Juventus side of the mid-80s contained a midfielder called Massimo Bonini. He partnered Marco Tardelli in midfield in the teams that won the European Cup in '85 and who lost the 1983 final to Hamburg. Italy, who were going through a transitional period in the mid-80s after their World Cup win, were desperate for him to choose to play for the Azzuri. He refused. It was his dream to represent San Marino, who weren't recognised officially by UEFA until they were allowed to participate in the qualifiers for Euro 92. He played 15 times for San Marino when he might easily have played in several major tournaments with Italy.

To suggest so-called minnow sides shouldn't be allowed to compete is, frankly, crap. It suggests supporters of major countries and major clubs perhaps have their heads up their own arses, rendering themselves oblivious as to what representing their countries means for those players from smaller countries, what it means for them to play against England, Italy, Germany, Spain, etc., what it means for them to hear their national anthems played at the Bernabeu or at Wembley.
Click to expand...

Aye, why shouldn't a sheep farmer or teacher etc dream of rubbing shoulders with the elite of football. It's as much their game.
 
Bilston Blue said:
It takes time for so-called minnow nations to catch up and become competitive, and who's to say one of them can't or won't, at some point in the future, give some of the established teams a good game. Hang on, wait a minute, the current campaign for the Euro 2016 qualifiers is full of great and truly surprising results by some of the minnows against some of the bigger teams.

Cyprus won in Bosnia.
Luxembourg won in Macedonia.
Faroe Islands have beaten Greece home and away, and remember them beating Austria in their first ever qualifying campaign.
Liechtenstein currently have 5 points, including a credible win against Stefan Jovetic's Montenegro.
Malta held Bulgaria to a draw in Sofia and twice lost by a single goal to Italy.
Albania currently have 11 points and are serious contenders to qualify from Portugal's group, or at the very least take a spot in the play-offs. They've already won in Portugal and held Denmark to two draws. That's right, they won in Portugal.

Remember Turkey in the 1980s. England thumped them 8-0 twice and another 5-0 in different qualifying campaigns. They conceded 48 goals in two World Cup qualifying campaigns, scoring only 3 in reply, and finishing with 1 point from both campaigns. They fared little better in the Euro campaigns. Fast forward to the 90s and they're qualifying for Euro 96, reaching the quarter finals of Euro 2000, and then the World Cup semi-finals in 2002.

The great Juventus side of the mid-80s contained a midfielder called Massimo Bonini. He partnered Marco Tardelli in midfield in the teams that won the European Cup in '85 and who lost the 1983 final to Hamburg. Italy, who were going through a transitional period in the mid-80s after their World Cup win, were desperate for him to choose to play for the Azzuri. He refused. It was his dream to represent San Marino, who weren't recognised officially by UEFA until they were allowed to participate in the qualifiers for Euro 92. He played 15 times for San Marino when he might easily have played in several major tournaments with Italy.

To suggest so-called minnow sides shouldn't be allowed to compete is, frankly, crap. It suggests supporters of major countries and major clubs perhaps have their heads up their own arses, rendering themselves oblivious as to what representing their countries means for those players from smaller countries, what it means for them to play against England, Italy, Germany, Spain, etc., what it means for them to hear their national anthems played at the Bernabeu or at Wembley.
Click to expand...
San Marino, Andorra, Gibraltar etc are not so much minnows as plankton.
 
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