Shocks to be had in the play-offs

The draw for the World Cup play-offs in Europe has produced a few interesting ties. Russia will play surprise package Slovenia. Greece and Ukraine will face each other and Portugal have been paired with Bosnia-Herzegovina. The most interesting one for me however is the Republic of Ireland facing France.

Still seething

A lot of people have complained about the fact that the play-offs have been seeded and I think they are correct. The draw should be an open draw. Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given is absolutely seething. He told the press:

“The seeding thing is totally unfair. As one of the smaller countries, it is hard enough to qualify at the best of times. To change the rules a couple of weeks before the end of the campaign is ridiculous.

“But that is what they have done. I do think it is very unfair. But we went to Bari and got a result. We also went to Bulgaria. There is great belief that we can go to these big nations and get results.

You can understand Shay’s frustration. His side have worked so hard and got so close to qualifying against the odds. Now Fifa make it harder for Ireland and the other smaller nation because they want to see the likes Portugal and France at the World Cup.

However even though it may be a difficult task I firmly believe that the Irish could upset the French and still make next summer’s World Cup. They have shown enough in the group to convince me they could go on to defeat the former World Champions.

There is another circumstance that conspires against Ireland and that’s the fact that they have to go to France in the second leg. That means they need to gain a good result at home to take into that difficult second leg. You can guarantee that the crowd will be up for it wherever they stage the game. That support could be vital if the team are going to overcome Franck Ribery and Co.

Belief under Trapattoni

Since taking over as Ireland boss wily old Italian tactician Giovanni Trapattoni has instilled a belief into the Ireland squad that they can take on anybody. They came so close to upsetting the Italy’s in qualifying only to be denied late-on. At this current moment in time Italy are by far a better side than France. France are no longer the force they once were and if I had to bet on an un-seeded team from the draw I would bet on Ireland.

Bosnia to shock Portugal

Another team with an outside chance of shock progress is Bosnia-Herzegovina. People may laugh at that due to their recent hammering at the hands of European champions Spain, but the Bosnians going forward contain a real threat. Their two main strikers Edin Dzeko of Wolfsburg and Vedad Ibisevic of Hoffenheim will be a threat to any team. Dzeko helped Wolfsburg to their first ever Bundesliga title last season and finished as Bosnia’s top scorer in qualifying with nine goals.

If it wasn’t for injury halfway through last season Ibisevic and Hoffenheim could have claimed the Bundesliga crown. The striker had scored 19 goals in 18 games before he picked up a serious injury. He has only just got back to full match fitness but will still be a danger to Portugal’s defence.

Portugal are not the side they once were. Everybody knows how good Cristiano Ronaldo is but the rest of the team don’t inspire confidence. One bright spot for the Portuguese from the recent games is newly-neutralised striker Liedson. The 31 year-old Brazil-born striker has been firing the goals in for Sporting Lisbon for last six years. Liedson was holding out for a call from Brazil but the call never came so he took up Portugal’s offer of international football.

Russian’s too strong for Slovenia

Russia also face Slovenia in the play-offs. The Russians are unlucky not to have automatically qualified and I expect them to make it past Slovenia and be in South Africa next year. If the Russian’s would have been in another group then they probably would have qualified automatically.

Not much difference

In the last play-off Ukraine will face Greece. The Greeks finished just one point behind group two winners Switzerland. Ukraine however finished six points behind England in group six. In my opinion the difference in these two teams is minimal.

Greece are ranked in 16^th place in FIFA’s ranking and Ukraine are just six places below in 22^nd place. The only reason Greece have the higher rank is because they were in a weaker group than the Ukraine. I see the Ukrainians going through in this clash.

My predictions

Now I’m going to be bold with my predictions and say the nations that I expect to be progress from the play-offs are Republic of Ireland, Russia, Bosnia and Ukraine. Nations like Portugal and France shouldn’t just expect to be at major tournaments just because they are big footballing nations. And I can’t say I would shed a tear for Portugal or France if they weren’t at World Cup 2010. Even if FIFA would!