DJHazey

Fixtures (All kick of times are 15:00 BST unless stated otherwise) Saturday 27th September Brentford 3-2 Manchester United (12:30) Chelsea 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion Crystal Palace 1-1 Liverpool Leeds United 0-1 AFC Bournemouth Manchester City 3-0 Burnley Nottingham Forest 2-1 Sunderland (17:30) Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers (20:00) Sunday 28th September Aston Villa 3-2 Fulham (14:00) Newcastle United 2-1 Arsenal (16:30) Monday 29th September Everton 3-1 West Ham United (20:00) Fixtures (All kick of times are 15:00 BST unless stated otherwise) Friday 3rd October AFC Bournemouth 1-2 Fulham (20:00) Saturday 4th October Leeds United 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur (12:30) Arsenal 3-0 West Ham United Manchester United 0-0 Sunderland Chelsea 5-3 Liverpool (17:30) Sunday 5th October Aston Villa 3-1 Burnley (14:00) Everton 1-1 Crystal Palace (14:00) Newcastle United 3-1 Nottingham Forest (14:00) Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion (14:00) Brentford 0-1 Manchester City (16:30)

We will see, I hope Max is back in this for real. Piastri probably will have a time penalty carry over to Singapore.

October Match Schedule Group A 10/10 - Northern Ireland vs. Slovakia [Belfast]* 10/10 - Germany vs. Luxembourg [Sinsheim] 10/13 - Northern Ireland vs. Germany [Belfast]* 10/13 - Slovakia vs. Luxembourg [Trnava] *If Slovakia wants to keep their chances of winning this group alive, they'll need to at least match what Germany does in Belfast. Group B 10/10 - Kosovo vs. Slovenia [Pristina] 10/10 - Sweden vs. Switzerland [Solna]* 10/13 - Slovenia vs. Switzerland [Ljubljana]* 10/13 - Sweden vs. Kosovo [Gothenburg] *The only way Switzerland doesn't run away with this thing, is if they mess up their first two away fixtures here. Group C 10/9 - Belarus vs. Denmark [Zalaegerszeg, Hungary] 10/9 - Scotland vs. Greece [Glasgow]* 10/12 - Scotland vs. Belarus [Glasgow]* 10/12 - Denmark vs. Greece [Copenhagen]* *Could Scotland grab 6 points from these two home games and go into first place? Both Greece away tilts are big for group standings but also to see if Greece is really as improved as I thought they were coming into this. Group D 10/10 - Iceland vs. Ukraine [Reykjavik]* 10/10 - France vs. Azerbaijan [Paris] 10/13 - Iceland vs. France [Reykjavik]* 10/13 - Ukraine vs. Azerbaijan [Krakow, Poland] *I will be interested to see if Iceland could manage to get 4 points from this and establish a potential playoff run. Group E 10/11 - Bulgaria vs. Turkey [Sofia] 10/11 - Spain vs. Georgia [Elche] 10/14 - Turkey vs. Georgia [Izmit]* 10/14 - Spain vs. Bulgaria [Valladolid] *Will Turkey recover from their 6-0 defeat to Spain, they'll need to in a match which could go a long way to determining second place. Group F 10/11 - Hungary vs. Armenia [Budapest]* 10/11 - Portugal vs. Ireland [Lisbon] 10/14 - Ireland vs. Armenia [Dublin]* 10/14 - Portugal vs. Hungary [Lisbon] *If Armenia is to keep a playoff dream alive, they'll have to prove they can take their act on the road. They know anything they get from these games will be huge considering Ireland/Hungary also have away matches in Lisbon to contend with. Group G 10/9 - Finland vs. Lithuania [Helsinki] 10/9 - Malta vs. Netherlands [Ta'Qali]* 10/12 - Lithuania vs. Poland [Kaunas] 10/12 - Netherland vs. Finland [Amsterdam]* *Likely where you'll see Netherlands take the lead in this group. Group H 10/9 - Austria vs. San Marino [Vienna] 10/9 - Cyprus vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina [Larnaca] 10/12 - San Marino vs. Cyprus [Serraville] 10/12 - Romania vs. Austria [Bucharest]* *If Austria were to only draw or worse there, Bosnia is still in it for now, with a tough November slate. Group I 10/11 - Norway vs. Israel [Oslo]* 10/11 - Estonia vs. Italy [Tallinn] 10/14 - Estonia vs. Moldova [Tallinn] 10/14 - Italy vs. Israel [Udine]* *If what Israel almost did in Italy is any indication, this won't be a walk-over for Norway if they take it lightly. They'll need the 3 points here to keep Italy off their backs until their November clash in Milan. Speaking of that Italy-Israel classic, they'll have another go. Group J 10/10 - Kazakhstan vs. Liechtenstein [Astana] 10/10 - Belgium vs. North Macedonia [Brussels]* 10/13 - North Macedonia vs. Kazakhstan [Skopje] 10/13 - Wales vs. Belgium [Cardiff]* *If North Macedonia or Wales have any realistic expectations to win the group over Belgium, these matches will be required to pull off a massive upset. the Red Devils will certainly grab 6 more points in November so you can't leave it until then. Group K 10/11 - Latvia vs. Andorra [Riga] 10/11 - Serbia vs. Albania [Leskovac]* 10/14 - Andorra vs. Serbia [Encamp] 10/14 - Latvia vs. England [Riga] *This is the key match as far as second place goes and any chance to be a playoff team. Group L 10/9 - Czech Republic vs. Croatia [Prague]* 10/9 - Faroe Islands vs. Montenegro [Torshavn] 10/12 - Faroe Islands vs. Czech Republic [Torshavn] 10/12 - Croatia vs. Gibraltar [Varazdin] *This group is already sewn up, in my opinion, but the Czechs needs this win to have any chance.

The way I understand the draw is the 36 teams are divided into four pots based on UEFA coefficient, then you get drawn a home and away match from each pot.

Oh yes I knew I was forgetting one but Yes Gibraltar is also new.

Here's how I predict the final points will be for each group after October. I will post the schedule once they decide on dates (Africa is notoriously later with their scheduling, since travel is trickier) Team - Predicted Final Points (Current Points) Group A Egypt - 26 (20) Burkina Faso - 19 (15) Sierra Leone - 16 (12) Guinea-Bissau - 11 (10) Ethiopia - 7 (6) Djibouti - 1 (1) Group B Senegal - 24 (18) Congo DR - 18 (16) Sudan - 16 (12) Togo - 9 (7) Mauritania - 6 (6) South Sudan - 5 (4) Group C South Africa - 21 (17) Benin - 16 (14) Nigeria - 15 (11) Rwanda - 12 (11) Lesotho - 9 (6) Zimbabwe - 5 (4) Group D Cape Verde - 23 (19) Cameroon - 21 (15) Libya - 18 (14) Angola - 13 (10) Mauritius - 5 (5) Eswatini - 2 (2) Group E Morocco - 24 (21) Tanzania - 13 (10) Niger - 13 (9) Zambia - 7 (6) Congo - 1 (1) Group F Ivory Coast - 26 (20) Gabon - 23 (19) Gambia - 14 (10) Burundi - 11 (10) Kenya - 10 (9) Seychelles - 0 (0) Group G Algeria - 25 (19) Mozambique - 21 (15) Uganda - 16 (15) Guinea - 12 (11) Botswana - 11 (9) Somalia - 1 (1) Group H Tunisia - 28 (22) Namibia - 16 (15) Malawi - 14 (10) Liberia - 13 (11) Equatorial Guinea - 12 (10) Sao Tome e Principe - 0 (0) Group I Ghana - 21 (19) Comoros - 19 (15) Mali - 18 (12) Madagascar - 16 (16) Central African Republic - 7 (5) Chad - 2 (1) In this scenario, qualified: Egypt Senegal South Africa Cape Verde Morocco Ivory Coast Algeria Tunisia Ghana Playoff: Gabon Mozambique Cameroon Burkina Faso (goal differential over Comoros)

One of them, the newest FIFA members are South Sudan (2012) and Kosovo (2016).

And to think Australia started out so poorly, I was thinking they would be third or worse. Thankfully for their sake, they got their act together.

October Schedule: Group A 10/10 | (1) Suriname vs. (4) Guatemala 10/10 | (2) El Salvador vs. (3) Panama 10/14 | (3) Panama vs. (1) Suriname 10/14 | (2) El Salvador vs. (4) Guatemala Group B 10/10 | (4) Bermuda vs. (3) Trinidad and Tobago 10/10 | (2) Curaçao vs. (1) Jamaica 10/14 | (2) Curaçao vs. Trinidad and Tobago 10/14 | (1) Jamaica vs. Bermuda Group C 10/9 | (4) Nicaragua vs. (3) Haiti 10/9 | (1) Honduras vs. (2) Costa Rica 10/13 | (1) Honduras vs. (3) Haiti 10/13 | (2) Costa Rica vs. (4) Nicaragua

Match Schedule in October: Group A [Doha, Qatar] 10/8 | Oman vs. Qatar 10/11 | United Arab Emirates vs. Oman 10/14 | Qatar vs. United Arab Emirates Group B [Jeddah, Saudi Arabia] 10/8 | Indonesia vs. Saudi Arabia 10/11 | Iraq vs. Indonesia 10/14 | Saudi Arabia vs. Iraq

Well, do I suck at this! (Gotta pick some upsets though to try to get back into this!) Saturday 20th September Liverpool 3-1 Everton (12:30) Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur Burnley 1-2 Nottingham Forest West Ham United 3-2 Crystal Palace Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 Leeds United Manchester United 0-2 Chelsea (17:30) Fulham 0-0 Brentford (20:00) Sunday 21st September AFC Bournemouth 1-2 Newcastle United (14:00) Sunderland 2-4 Aston Villa (14:00) Arsenal 1-1 Manchester City (16:30)

It's hard to go by the points standings for a lot of these groups, when the second-place team in alot of cases has played one less match. My thoughts on the groups, now that everybody has played: Group A - Great start by Slovakia, but to keep the dream alive they will need to not trip up against Northern Ireland/Luxembourg and try to put more goal differential on the board than the measly 1-0 scoreline at Luxembourg. The return to Germany in will be extremely difficullt to get another 3 points from (or any) and you have to expect Germany is going to run the table until then. Group B - This will be more about if Kosovo can make it to the playoffs than anything else. Switzerland will storm this. Group C - I actually thought Greece had a legit shot to win this group until the loss at home to Denmark happened. This will be one the more competitive groups though. Greece, Denmark, and even Scotland have a chance here. Group D - It's a shame that Iceland didn't get a result, as that makes this group as elementary as you'd want. Ukraine only drawing Azerbiajan helps open the door for Iceland to battle for a playoff spot. Group E - That Spain thrashing in Turkey ended the drama with this group. That result makes me wonder if Georgia could push for a playoff spot, but they already lost their home match to Turkey. Bulgaria is at its lowest point in decades right now, never thought I'd say it but they've become a free 3 points for everyone. Group F - All Portugal, no question. Armenia beating Ireland really makes you wonder if it's possible they could finish second, but we saw this a couple qualifying campaigns ago when they got a couple shock results early and then faded away. We'll see. I expect Ireland vs. Hungary. Group G - Poland is really going to regret that loss to Finland because while they are tied with Netherlands on points, they've played one more game and the Dutch won that same match (at Finland). I expect the chalk Netherlands 1st Poland 2nd finish here. Group H - Bosnia has looked better than they have in recent years, but that loss at home to Austria stings. So even though they're tied on points, they've played one more match including that loss. Austria is too good right now to let this go to anyone else. Group I - Norway looks like world-beaters right now. When you have a generational player like Haaland, you have to make those years count (like Sweden tried to do with Ibrahimovic or Wales did with Bale). Certainly that 11-1 result was something we never saw from those countries, but we will see what that statement says long term. It was a great follow up to the 3-0 beatdown of Italy, that's for sure. If Italy hadn't come back three times against Israel, this would be even more exciting. Something tells me Italy will still find a way, but Norway has it all in front of them now. Group J - North Macedonia has been a mainstay ever since that shock win over Germany in World Cup Qualifying and their EURO debut before that. They're not easy points anymore. They will find it difficult to overcome Belgium in this group, even if this is far from the same Belgium. We can't forget about Wales either. I think it will be between the Macedonians and Wales for a playoff berth, unless one of them can find a way to actually win against Belgium. Almost won't cut it. Group K - Yawn, England always get the easy groups huh? Or at least they make it look easy. It's funny that they'll win 2-0 against Andorra and then turn around to undress Serbia in Belgrade the next day, They always seem to do that too. Can Albania get into the playoffs over Serbia? That's what I'll be watching. Group L - This would be an interesting challenge for Croatia had they not beaten the Czechs 5-1 already and have played one less match depsite both being on 12 pojnts. Nobody else will even remotely bother these two though.

That's about how I'd rank the South American teams on quality right now, the way the standings ended up. I think the Top 3 right now for sure is Argentina-Ecuador-Colombia. Bolivia being in that intercontinental play-off will make things stay competitive, where as if one of the Top 5 had slipped to 7th, they might run the torunament without much resistance.

Oh wow, Venezuela choked that one away. Impressive from Bolivia though!

Not Norway turning Moldova into San Marino. Awful to hear that about Iceland. I saw they and Hungary got early 1-0 leads and feared neither would hold. At some point France has to pay for the Henry handball goal that was never reversed. Karma still hasn't returned the favor on them.

Final Congo DR fell apart in the second half and Senegal got the winner from substitute Tottenham's Pape Matar Sarr in the 87th minute to grab the 3-2 away victory and take the driver's seat in Group B. However, not all is lost today, we might have history! Cape Verde got a goal from Dailon Livramento early in the second half. The 24 year old who plays for Casa Pia (Portugal) will remember this day for the rest of his life. Now the standings will have Cape Verde at 19 points and Cameroon at 15 points. Cape verde just has to win either match in October and they will book their ticket!

Halftime Congo DR 2-1 Senegal Cape Verde 0-0 Cameroon Cape Verde need to find a second half goal or two, Congo DR need to hang on. Gabon/Ivory Coast is in two hours.

True, but they've already lost to Norway once 3-0, so they're already behind the 8-ball as it is.

Group A is crazy so far, whoever had Suriname as the leader after September probably won alot of money.

The Kosovo result was a bit surprising, though personally I have the two nations ranked pretty closely just Sweden has the pedigree. The Israel/Italy was wild, with the lead changing multiple times, Italy having two own goals, Israel tying it in the 89th and Italy winning it in stoppage time. I will say Moise Kean looks like the new Balotelli for Italy. I won't be surprised if you all see his name come up for the next big transfer window from Fiorentina.

I think with Ghana beating Mali there, it essentially shuts the door on Group I, though it's been written on the wall for a bit now. A shame as the group had Mali and a couple smaller nations in Madagascar and Comoros who have been punching above their weight lately, that it all looked to be giving Ghana trouble early on in this group.

Competitive matches in the last 10 years between tomorrow's foes. Congo DR vs. Senegal June 2024 | WC Qualifying | Senegal 1-1 Congo DR Cape Verde vs. Cameroon Nov 2019 | ACON Qualifying | Cameroon 0-0 Cape Verde Mar 2021 | ACON Qualifying | Cape Verde 3-1 Cameroon Jan 2022 | African Cup of Nations GS | Cameroon 1-1 Cape Verde June 2024 | WC Qualifying | Cameroon 4-1 Cape Verde Gabon vs. Ivory Coast Sept 2017 | WC Qualifying | Gabon 0-3 Ivory Coast Sept 2017 | WC Qualifying | Ivory Coast 1-2 Gabon June 2024 | WC Qualifying | Ivory Coast 1-0 Gabon

Tunisia has also qualified for the World Cup, with their win today. To recap the situation with the BIG 3 matches tomorrow, here's the review of what they mean in terms of debutant World Cup nations: Group B - Congo DR [16 points] hosts Senegal [15 points]. If Congo DR wins the match, they'll have a 4-point lead going to October having to only get 3 points from their final two matches (at Togo, home vs. Sudan) Group D - Cape Verde [16 points] hosts Cameroon [15 points]. If Cape Verde wins the match, they'll have a 4-point lead going to October having to only get 3 points from their final two matches (at Libya, home vs. Eswatini) Group F - Gabon [18 points] hosts Ivory Coast [19 points]. If Gabon were to win, they'll have a 2-point lead going to October but would still need to win their final two matches to secure qualification without needing favorable results from Ivory Coast (at Gambia, home vs, Burundi)

I was way off on Turkey, that plus Spain is just on a different planet right now.

Cape Verde got their first job done by beating Mauritius today 2-0 at their place, so it has set up that massive match next Tuesday in Praia vs. Cameroon (who still has to host Eswatini today). I doubt there'll be a person in the city who isn't either at the stadium or watching on their TV.