EURO 2016 qualifying Group D: The Danger Men

The draw for the qualifying groups of Euro 2016 was made this week, propping Ireland up against a few familiar foes, as well as some new interesting opposition. Germany, Poland, Georgia, Scotland, Gibraltar, and ourselves will all battle it out in group D, with the top two automatically qualifying for the next European Championships in France and the third placed team advancing to the playoffs.

With the expansion of the format of the competition now in place, allowing 24 nations to compete in the finals as opposed to the 16 that did at Euro 2012, Martin O’Neill will surely be confident at his side’s chances of progression. But who are the danger men that the boys in green will need to keep quiet in order to make it to France?

Germany

Well, I don’t really have to write a whole lot about Germany, do I? Everybody in the country knows the dangers they possess, and every Irish fan felt the pain that the Germans are capable of inflicting the last time Joachim Löw’s men rolled up to Dublin in 2012, humiliating Trapattoni’s boys with a 1-6 scoreline.

Germany can play Mesut Ozil, Thomas Müller, and Bastian Schweinsteiger, and change for Mario Gotze, Toni Kroos, and Marco Reus if Low feels like they aren’t winning by enough goals yet. This goes without even mentioning the two of Germany’s top five ever goalscorers – Miroslav Klose and Lucas Podolski – are still available for selection and will ensure that competition for places is at a terrifyingly high level.

Throw in captain and probably the best right back in the world Philipp Lahm, as well as Marcel Schmelzer on the left, bombing down the wings from their defensive posts and Ireland are left with hundreds of things to worry about when facing Germany.

Poland

Like Germany, Poland are fairly well known to Irish supporters, with a couple of friendlies played against them in recent years, as well as the heightened media coverage that comes with hosting a European championships. The Poles will be bitterly disappointed with their showing in their own back garden at Euro 2012, finishing bottom of their group and failing to qualify for the knockout stages. Adam Nawa?ka will be keen to make things right this time round and will be in a similar situation as O’Neill and Scotland head coach Gordon Strachan, eying up the extra qualifying spots available due to the expansion.

But who can do the business for Poland and get the points for them? Everybody knows Robert Lewandowski’s name. The soon-to-be-ex Dortmund striker has pledged his move to Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich, and the striker will no doubt be winning silverware in Germany for many more years to come there. Everybody also knows Jakub Blaszczykowski, another Dortmund star that helped them reach the Champions League final last season, who Bayern have yet to pry away from Jurgen Klopp’s team.

Apart from the obvious two, Ireland fans should keep an eye on Ludovic Obraniack, the attacking midfielder/winger newly signed for Bundesliga outfit Werder Bremen. The attack minded player also performed brightly despite the disappointing results his national side got during the last European Championships.

Scotland

It would be a grave error to discount the Scots from this qualifying group. Gordon Strachan has found a formula that’s working with his national team, and the proof is to be seen with his record in the past year since taking over from Craig Levein. Despite a bad loss at home to Wales, Strachan led his team to two victories over Croatia in the qualifying group for Brazil 2014, as well as victories away to Macedonia and Norway in a qualifier and friendly respectively.

Scotland is a team on the up, and one key man of theirs to watch out for is Steven Naismith. Though the Everton forward doesn’t always start for his club, he has made a significant impact whenever he has come on from the bench, certainly giving Roberto Martinez something to think about whenever he makes his team selections. A vital goal early in the season from the Scot gave Everton their first win of the season against current Premier League leaders Chelsea, and Naismith also scored once and won a penalty against Swansea to get the Toffees safely through to the FA Cup quarter finals.

Georgia

Georgia national team manager Temur Ketsbaia stated that his team are aiming at finishing third in the group, and it’s clear that the new competition format is giving every team more hope and inspiration to fight for qualification. Georgia aren’t known for their prowess on the international football stage, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be looking to cause some problems for their group D rivals.

In the qualifying stages for Brazil 2014, France found out first hand that Georgia are capable of causing difficulty to the generally more favoured sides that visit Tbilisi, when the two sides played out a 0-0 draw, and in fact Georgia could have nicked the victory after a close range effort was denied by the woodwork.

Jano Ananidze will be the key man to create chances for Georgia to sting their opponents. The 21 year old attacking midfielder is currently on loan at FC Rostov to get more playing time, but is owned by Spartak Moscow and has played over 60 games for the Russian capital club since his 2009 debut.

Gibraltar

Fact: Gibraltar is the only national side in the world who are undefeated. This well known and trivial fact is sure to change soon enough with Gibraltar’s second ever official match to be played on March 1^st. As the newest member of UEFA and with only one match played, Gibraltar remain a largely unknown opponent for players and reporters alike, but one can only assume they’ll be playing with the heart and enthusiasm that got them this far – in becoming a member of UEFA in the first place, and earning a draw against Slovakia in their first ever game back in November.

Danny Higginbotham will be the focal point of the media’s coverage of the territory’s team, with the former Stoke City, Derby County, and Southampton (to name but three) defender having taken part in their first friendly and will continue to play but only for just another two games for Gibraltar. Manchester-born Higginbotham said he would consider a coaching role for Gibraltar when he hangs up his boots, so we may yet see him in the Aviva come October.

Preston North End defender Scott Wiseman also makes up a part of the Gibraltar squad, and will add priceless experience to the team mostly comprised of amateurs and semi-professionals. Adam Priestly is a young striker playing for non-league Farsley Celtic in England who kept the Slovakian goalkeeper busy last November and could be one to watch.

Another fact: The stadium that Gibraltar will play their qualifying matches (Estadio Algarve, Portugal) can fit the entire population of Gibraltar one and a half times over.