Team MP W D L GF GA Pts Italy 7 5 2 0 11 3 17 Ireland 8 4 4 0 10 6 16 Bulgaria 7 2 5 0 10 5 11 Cyprus 7 1 2 4 7 11 5 Montenegro 7 0 4 3 6 12 4 Georgia 8 0 3 5 4 11 3 Big game in terms of our qualifying just wanted to get peoples opinions what would be the best result for us? An Italy victory would essentially secure us 2nd place only needing 1 point from our last two games at home to Italy and Montenegro. A Bulgarian win leaves us one point behind Italy but also brings Bulgaria within two points of us with Cyprus and Georgia left and so an easier run in than us. A drw may be the best outcome because it leaves us only 2 points behind the Italians but at the same time the Bulgarians would be only 3 points behind us and if we were to lose to either Italy or Montenegro or even draw both games then I think we could be in trouble as I can see Bulgaria beating Georgia in Sofia and Cyprus in Larnaca
Draw would be ideal... Means we can still top the group, and if things go pear shaped altogether we still will finish 2nd... Bulgaria winning is probably the worst result possible but also the least likely..
Definitely a draw is the best result as it would still be in our own hands to top the group with the safety net of keeping Bulgaria at arms lenght.
A draw is best for us of course but I think the Italians will win - they are too long in the tooth to mess up in games like this.
A draw definatly. I believe we can take 6 points in our final two games, leaving us top. Italy won at weekend with 2 own goals from a man who use to ply his trade in Italy - not exactly convincing. Bulgaria are still a threat to our second place and we need them kept at bay so a win for them puts more pressure on our games. We can top the group with 6 points, and Italy draw on Wed - ill take that!
Draw for me..But saying that our last two games are going to be very diffcult i think.Think Montenegro could be a very tricky tie.
The italians dont look great and had to rely on Kaladze to score 2 og's for them on sat. Saying that they are well capable of beating the bulgarians but the bulgarians need a win and will be well up for it. Draw would be best outcome alrite for us so fingers crossed for wednesday night
Well for us to qualify automatically, we need a draw or Bulgaria win, and then we need to beat Italy and Montenegro. But we are Irish and we like to do things the hard way. So any result from this game is a good result for us,. a draw or Bulgaria win gives us the chance to take top spot,. and an Italy win gives us second place,. happy days,.
I don't want an Italian win. There will be some very good teams in the play-offs, let's top the group and not have to worry about it!! A draw would do nicely.
They had chances against a poor Georgia Side, And still couldnt score a goal of there own Make no mistake this Italian team is nowhere as good as they are made out to be. A draw is the best result for us as i feel we can beat them at home and top the group
a draw is best result and then for us to win next two games and top group as someone already said there will be a lot of good teams who finished in 2nd place
I know they arent veery good molby but they are still italy and always seem to do enoough to win. But look at us aswell, we are reallly poor.
italy do always scrap through but perhaps this time they scrap through via the playoffs. could you imagine france and italy both in the playoffs - and if they were, tenner bets they WONT be playing each other...
portugal possibly as well but for my money, I dont even think they will get second place looking at their group!
Italy v Bulgaria live on RTÉ Sport http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2009/0904/italy_bulgaria.html In the lead up to Ireland's crucial World Cup qualifier against Cyprus this Saturday, RTÉ Sport have announced that it has secured exclusive broadcast rights for another key match in Group 8 as Italy face Bulgaria on Wednesday next. The match in Turin will be broadcast live on RTÉ Two television and RTÉ.ie (Republic of Ireland only) from 7.40pm. This latest coup adds to RTÉ's comprehensive soccer coverage which already includes broadcast rights for the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, Wednesday night live Champions League coverage, League of Ireland Live as well as both the FAI Ford Cup semi-finals and final, and extensive Premier League highlights.