Wales

[hammers92]

What an outstanding achievement last night to qualify for the euros and their first major tournament since 1958. I think it's great to see not just England qualifying as usual and if they win on Tuesday, the Repubilic of Ireland will be there too. Chris Coleman has built on the foundations that were laid before and improved them, lifting them into the top 10 of the world rankings, what a story! Hopefully Bale stays fit and they give it a good go when they arrive in France.

[The Old Man of Storr]

Diolch yn fawr iawn , Morthwyl 92 !

I will be 60 next March , I was 2 years of age when Wales last qualified for the World Cup , so it brings it home how long it's been .
We came close on occasion , it nearly happened in 1976 - it was Yugoslavia that did for us that day , then I was at Anfield when Joe Jordan handled the ball and the Ref gave a penalty against Wales , it's been travesty after travesty .
Even during the Home International Championships Wales would more often than not lose , I thought we were going to win the very last Championship but got pipped by Northern Ireland .
At last we Welsh will have something to cheer about .

[chalks]

I genuinely think Wales, Nortern Ireland and Eire (if they qualify) will do better than the English at the Finals

Mainly because of passion for the shirt

[James P]

I genuinely think Wales, Nortern Ireland and Eire (if they qualify) will do better than the English at the Finals

Mainly because of passion for the shirt

I very much doubt it. England's flawless record in qualifying is likely to see them seeded and give them a fantastic chance of getting through the group stage compared to the other nations from the British Isles. I'd be very surprised if any one of Wales, N. Ireland or Rep. of Ireland went a round further than England.

[WCW66]

It wouldn't surprise me to see all of them in the same group! :lol:

[Puff Daddy]

From what I have seen of the qualifiers and it is quite a lot, there doesn't appear one stand out team for the finals. I expected Germany to push on after their World Cup winning success, but they looked awful against the Irish the other night and have limped through the qualifiers, the Dutch, always strong in tournament football, look like missing out altogether, Spain have looked OK at times, as have Italy and Belgium have a team of individuals, but not a team, but in that list, is one of the finalists, if not both. Personally, I wouldn't rule out France, who will have home advantage and so I have told, look extremely impressive. They certainly have the players to win the thing. As for the home nations, personally, I think all of them have two hopes. No hope and Bob Hope

[Jedi Al Khalaas]

congrats to Wales and northern Ireland

should be a good tournament next year!

[Jedi Al Khalaas]

Do you think the death of Gary Speed contributed in some way to galvanize this team ?

ie doing it for him?

[jaybs]

Just so pleased for Wales, as many others say a true passion, good on Cyprus beating Israel!

[thejackhammer]

They have some very good players, Bale and Ramsey are better than anything England have. Their passion and teamwork make up for the lack of quality of the other players. Ashley Williams is solid at the back as well.

It's a shame Jack Collison's injury stopped him from fulfilling his potential or that Wales midfield would be terrifying.

[jammys78]

Do you think the death of Gary Speed contributed in some way to galvanize this team ?

ie doing it for him?

Considering there has already been 2 tournaments they have failed to qualify for since his death then no, I would imagine more to do with the form of Gareth bale got them through

[jammys78]

They have some very good players, Bale and Ramsey are better than anything England have. Their passion and teamwork make up for the lack of quality of the other players. Ashley Williams is solid at the back as well.

It's a shame Jack Collison's injury stopped him from fulfilling his potential or that Wales midfield would be terrifying.

Went to watch my local team Swindon yesterday as we had no game and Jack came on as a sub for Peterborough real shame about what happened to him he had so much potential but yesterday he looked out of his depth even in league one too slow and really struggled to keep possession whenever on the ball

[Crouchend_Hammer]

I genuinely think Wales, Nortern Ireland and Eire (if they qualify) will do better than the English at the Finals

Mainly because of passion for the shirt

No chance. Northern Ireland are a very limited team who have over-achieved in a poor group. Republic a bit better but still not much kop. Wales might get out of the group stage, but last night showed they are a tad over rated heavily reliant on three players

England will do well next summer. Quarter finals at least

[Crouchend_Hammer]

From what I have seen of the qualifiers and it is quite a lot, there doesn't appear one stand out team for the finals. I expected Germany to push on after their World Cup winning success, but they looked awful against the Irish the other night and have limped through the qualifiers, the Dutch, always strong in tournament football, look like missing out altogether, Spain have looked OK at times, as have Italy and Belgium have a team of individuals, but not a team, but in that list, is one of the finalists, if not both. Personally, I wouldn't rule out France, who will have home advantage and so I have told, look extremely impressive. They certainly have the players to win the thing. As for the home nations, personally, I think all of them have two hopes. No hope and Bob Hope

It is a very wide open tournament that is for sure. Probably up to one of 8 teams could realistically fancy their chances, and the Euros often have shock winners coming from nowhere. Should be a cracking tournament

If England don't win, i would like to see Belgium or Portugal come out on top

[whitechapel hammer]

Northern Ireland's achievement is far greater yet they are getting less coverage than Wales.

Wales have Ramsey, Bale and Ashley WIlliams, 3 very good players and a smattering of others from the Premier League and probably would have considered it a disappointment had they not got through. Northern Ireland have virtually no 'good' players and for them to qualify is amazing. A brillaint achievement by both but particularly for Northern Ireland.

[Puff Daddy]

Don't score enough goals, only 9 in 9 qualifying matches. Although this will change on Tuesday night, there will be no Andorra's, or other whipping boys when it matters most, so this will be their undoing at the real thing

[e17]

Great to see Wales & Northern Ireland qualify, & we (England) deserve far more credit than we've got for that 27 points undefeated tally .. Alas I suspect Poland will win tonight & heartbreak for Eire

What's happened to the Netherlands?!? Can't believe where they sit in that group..

[e17]

I genuinely think Wales, Nortern Ireland and Eire (if they qualify) will do better than the English at the Finals

Mainly because of passion for the shirt

West Ham relegated & England doing worse than Northern Ireland at the Euros...

You ain't half a pessimist mate!

[Billydinho]

They should do better than us.

They're ranked higher.

[Kermit]

Great to see Wales & Northern Ireland qualify, & we (England) deserve far more credit than we've got for that 27 points undefeated tally .. Alas I suspect Poland will win tonight & heartbreak for Eire

What's happened to the Netherlands?!? Can't believe where they sit in that group..

I can see why people are happy to see Wales in the finals as they have some decent players who deserve their chance to represent their country in a major tournament.

But Northern Ireland? FFS. Qualified from a piss poor group and, by all accounts they show all the subtle qualities of an average Conference side.