The UEFA European Championship takes its first step into a new era when the qualifying draw for UEFA EURO 2016 signals the start of the road to France. All eyes will fall on Nice on 23 February when a record field of 53 nations will learn the challenge that awaits them as they bid for EURO glory.
It is a record 53 teams due to the inclusion of Gibraltar, who after being accepted as full members of UEFA, in May 2013, will begin their first journey alongside the greatest teams and players Europe has to offer. The seeds for the draw have been confirmed as follows:
The above table does not include France. Recently, it was announced by UEFA that after discussions by the UEFA Executive Committee, France will be included in the qualification process. However, the fixtures between them and the other members of the 5 teamed Group 9 will not have qualification points at stake therefore rendering them friendlies. Effectively, France will be seeded in pot 6 and Gibraltar will be unable to play them.
Now not every fan is aware of the geographical location of our fellow European neighbours. So here is a map of Europe to plan our potential travels for the next 2 years:
Where will Gibraltar fans be travelling to?
It is every Gibraltarian player’s dream to walk out on the pitch alongside Europe’s elite players and for a select and privileged few, their dreams will become reality come September 2014. With Gibraltar playing their ‘home’ matches in the Algarve, Portugal, no doubt we will be looking to face some of the better supported teams from each of the 5 pots in order to generate a top Atmosphere at the stadium.
What the Algarve stadium would look like with a full capacity of Gibraltar fans
But who can would we really like to face in the forthcoming draw:
POT 1
At the request of the Spanish FA, World and European champions Spain will be unable to draw Gibraltar in a qualification round for both International and Domestic club football matches for the foreseeable future. So, despite our great desire to face our noisy and illustrious neighbours in a competitive football match, this will have to wait until the political climate settles (if it ever does) From the other teams in pot 1, England, Germany, Italy, Holland and now Portugal should prove to be the teams that Gibraltar will most likely want to face.
For obvious reasons, England will be the team everyone wants to face. To walk out in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium would be an unbelievable experience for our players. Not to mention to come up against players who they follow week in week out as part of supporting their favourite Premier League clubs.
Germany are one of the most powerful nations in World football and therefore to play against them would prove to be an invaluable lesson both on and off the field. With the likes of Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller & Phillip Lahm, and not to mention the passionate support of the Nationalmannschaft, would surely be an incredible experience.
For obvious reasons, drawing Portugal would be a great coup for Gibraltar. Not only will the players come up against the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Moutinho and Nani, but this fixture could appeal to the Portuguese crowd as the game will be played in their home country. It could prove Gibraltar’s best chance to play infront of a full capacity crowd at the Algarve. The return fixture in the spectacular Estadio da Luz in Lisbon should also be equally as enticing and a relatively short trip for Gibraltar fans to make.
Should Gibraltar face the likes of Russia, Greece and Bosnia & Herzegovina, it will not only probably prove expensive for fans to travel out there to support the national team, but also the appeal of only a handful of star names could prove to be an anticlimax for both players and fans.
POT 2
Pot 2 is by far the most scenic and appealing from a traveling fan’s perspective. A trip to one of the following 8 beautiful cities await such as Kiev, Zagreb, Stockholm, Geneva, Brussels, Prague, Copenhagen, Budapest & Dublin await Gibraltarian fans. A trip to watch Gibraltar play in any one of these cities is a perfect opportunity to whisk away your other half for a romantic weekend away (with only 3 hours of football included).
From a footballing stand point Belgium are the force in this pot. With players like Vincent Kompany, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku, Belgium will prove to be a tough test not only for Gibraltar but for the team drawn from Pot 1. All eyes will be on them in the World Cup in Brazil, in their 1st World Cup participation since 2002, there are high hopes for this golden era of Belgium footballers.
In terms of atmosphere, Republic of Ireland will surely capture the imagination of the fans. Ireland are one of the best supported countries in football. They travel around Europe in their thousands proving to be one of the friendliest bunch of fans around. An away trip to Dublin will also be a popular one for Gibraltarian fans.
POT 3
As from pot 3 onwards, the trips can start getting expensive for the average Gibraltarian supporter. Trips to eastern and central Europe now start calling. There are some quirky possibilities here for Gibraltar. They could be drawn against Poland, a national team whose flag is the same as ours, except for the castle and key. Israel, who have now come onto the Gibraltar radar due to midfielder Liam Walker recently signing for Israeli Premier Division side Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv FC. Slovakia, whom we recently faced in our inaugural UEFA game in November 2013 in Portugal. I’m sure they will be looking to avenge the 0-0 draw which caused them some embarrassment.
POT 4
Pot 4 is a continuation of pot 3, where we see more central, eastern and northern European sides. In addition we also have 2 home nations in this pot. Scotland and Wales will be interesting opponents should Gibraltar come face to face with them. Similar to England, these 2 countries have players Gibraltarians know very well from our interest in British football. This could give us a hand coming up against these teams. Furthermore the chance to come face to face with Real Madrid star Gareth Bale is a prospective all Gibraltar players would relish. Also in this group are Belarus, who we recall, were the only other nation (other than Spain) to oppose Gibraltar’s membership into UEFA. Should we be drawn against them in qualifying, Gibraltar fans will be quick to remind them of what they think of their allegiance to Spain in last year’s draw. This pot also features Estonia, who Gibraltar will come up against in a friendly in March 2014, a perfect opportunity to scout them should we draw them in qualifying.
POT 5
This is the pot Gibraltar fans and players may be looking forward to the least. There are some long haul trips that can be expected in this pot to the likes of Azerbaijan, Moldova, Iceland and Lithuania. Belfast in Northern Ireland should prove to be an easy destination to travel to, whilst playing wise, perhaps a team that should serve as a good test to see what level the Gibraltar team is capable of reaching in their 1st qualifying campaign. Fans will surely love to be drawn against Cyprus as a fixture against the Mediterranean Islanders in June or August could prove an interesting destination for fans to make a summer holiday out of.
Gibraltar Captain Roy Chipolina (left) and National Manager Allen Bula (right) speak to the media
Roy Chipolina, Gibraltar’s captain spoke to the Daily Mirror, and spoke about Gibraltar’s ambitions in the upcoming qualification process.
The main objective is to be able to compete, to get respectable results and to learn from it. Hopefully we’ll improve over the year.
These are modest, and perhaps realistic, ambitions given that San Marino – bigger than Gibraltar – recently lost 8-0 to England and 9-0 to Ukraine. But bullish National Manager Allen Bula is not on the same page. He has a poster in his office showing the pots for the Euro 2016 qualifying draw. “the dream would be England at Wembley” and believes Gibraltar can become the ‘first of the minnows to qualify for a major tournament’. Bula added:
I don’t want to be like San Marino and Andorra, who go out and get thrashed. Managers shouldn’t sit on their thrones and think it’s OK to lose because there’s no pressure. When I was appointed, I said to the board, “What ranking do you want us to be in two years?”. They said, “Whatever you can get to”. I said, “Right, I want to be above 43 in the next two years. If I don’t achieve that goal, which some people might say is unrealistic, I will be the first to walk out of the door. They probably wouldn’t sack me but I’d say, “I’m not good enough for Gibraltar – I’m going.
Qualification
The 2016 tournament has been enhanced from 16 to 24 teams. The top 2 countries in each of the 9 groups will qualify automatically for the finals. In addition, the best placing 3rd placed team will also qualify automatically. The best 3rd placed team will be measured by comparing the results of all 3rd placed teams against the teams finishing in 1st, 2nd, 4th & 5th in their respective groups. Results against the teams finishing in 6th place will not be considered. The remaining 8 3rd placed teams will playoff against each other and the resulting 4 winners will qualify for the tournament.
The Prospects
Being our first participation in a qualifying tournament, there really are no best or worst scenarios in terms of teams to come up against in terms of difficulty. However, the current crop of players would love to be drawn against the biggest and best players in the world. With that said, the best case scenario in terms of footballing encounters that Gibraltar could possibly face is:
The Good: England, Belgium, Poland, Montenegro, Iceland
The first 4 sides have players playing for elite clubs in the top European Leagues, whilst Iceland recently reached the World Cup Playoff qualifiers so should prove a stern test. In this scenario, Gibraltar will come up against the likes of Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Jan Vertonghen, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, Robert Lewandowski, Łukasz Piszczek, Mirko Vucinic, Stevan Jovetic and Gylfi Sigurdsson.
On the flipside, a complete anticlimax of a group could be something with the likes of:
The Bad: Greece, Hungary, Slovenia, Lithuania, Cyprus
Beautiful countries to visit on holiday, but lacking the footballing pedigree of the other big European nations which our players would like to pit their wits against.
The Ugly: Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Armenia, Georgia
Russia and Ukraine have been regular qualifiers for recent major tournaments which will prove to be a very difficult test for Gibraltar. Not to mention the cold conditions in the eastern block countries which our players will not be used to. For fans however, this will be the worse possible group in terms of travelling. For the fan who travels to every single away game, it will mean a total round trip of just under 39,000 kilometers. Therefore, the above teams are really the ones to avoid for logistical purposes alone.
Whatever happens, it will be an agonizing final month for all involved with the national team and fans alike. To end the blog, we highlight the passion of fans and players alike. It is no better captured than in the video below:
GIBFOOTBALLTALK 