Tuesday 31 December 2019

Index 2019


FOOTBALL
▪️ Season 2018/19
30.04 Man City inch closer to historic domestic treble
05.06 For the record: Red-emption for Salah and Liverpool
▪️ Season 2019/20
10.08 Preview: Man City line up title hat-trick
▪️ Euro 2020
17.11 Kane treble leaves England feeling grand
30.11 England and Wales avoid Group of Death

CRICKET
▪️ World Cup
30.05 Preview: England drawn back into the pack
26.06 Hanging by a thread
08.07 Bairstow and Roy send England to the semis
14.07 England win epic Cricket World Cup Final on boundaries
▪️ The Ashes
01.08 England attempt audacious double in Ashes
27.08 Amazing chase
09.09 Scintillating Smith puts Ashes beyond England

RUGBY UNION
▪️ World Cup
19.09 Preview: Rise and shine
14.10 Japan weather the storm to make historic progress
28.10 England meet Boks in Final after beating All Blacks
05.11 Springboks release shackles to leave England kicking stones

POLITICS
▪️ May-Johnson transition
03.05 Conservatives take a kicking in local elections
27.05 The end of May
23.07 Bugger Boris
▪️ General Election
31.10 General Election comes in with the cold
12.12 Johnson's Conservatives crush Corbyn's Labour

MISCELLANEOUS
▪️ Snooker
06.05 Champion Trump triumphs in record-breaking Crucible final
▪️ Ice hockey
11.05 Journey into the unknown for Team GB
▪️ Index
31.12 Index 2019

 

Thursday 12 December 2019

Johnson's Conservatives crush Corbyn's Labour in General Election

GENERAL ELECTION 2019
Conservative majority of 80


SCOREBOARDSeatsDiffVotes%Diff%
Conservatives365(+48)43.6(+1.2)
Labour203(-60)32.1(-7.9)
Lib Dems11(-1)11.6(+4.2)
Scottish Nationals48(+13)3.9(+0.8)
Green Party1(-)2.7(+1.1)
Brexit Party-(-)2.0(+2.0)
Democratic Unionists8(-2)0.8(-0.1)
Plaid Cymru4(-)0.5(-)
Others10(+2)2.8
Turnout 67.3%

EXIT POLL CON 368 LAB 191 LD 13 OTH 78  • Conservative majority of 86

BORIS JOHNSON received a huge mandate for his promise to "get Brexit done" as the Conservatives crushed Labour in its heartlands in the north, the Midlands and Wales to gain a comfortable majority of 80.
 
On a catastrophic night for Jeremy Corbyn, the Tories took seats such as Blyth Valley, Bishop Auckland, Sedgefield, West Bromwich West, and Wrexham, all of which had been Labour-held since 1935.
 
Leigh - the former seat of Andy Burnham, the current Mayor of Manchester - had been a Labour stalwart since 1922 but has now returned a Conservative MP.

It was a picture repeated all over the country throughout the night from early on when the Blyth Valley result came through just after 11.30pm.

The Sedgefield result - a constituency previously represented for 24 years by former Prime Minister Tony Blair - came in around four hours later.

Well before that, the exit poll at 10pm - giving a Conservative majority of 86 - had caused its usual stir and ultimately proved to be just about as accurate as it was in 2017 when Theresa May lost her majority.

This time, Labour lost by some ridiculous margins in supposedly solid seats and so was also defeated in many other places which had never previously come under consideration for the Tories.

Bassetlaw in Nottinghamshire provided the biggest successful swing of the night - 18% - as the Conservatives ended a history of Labour control which stretched back to 1929.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Derbyshire, 87-year-old Dennis Skinner lost Bolsover after representing the area for just short of half a century.

Indeed, it is perhaps difficult to quantify fully what a horror show this election was for Labour on Friday 13th. It really was the nightmare before Christmas for the party.

The unashamedly pro-Remain Liberal Democrats - who stood on a platform of revoking Article 50 - had a similarly poor night following a lacklustre campaign.

Their eventually tally of 11 seats was one fewer than last time as leader Jo Swinson lost her own Dunbartonshire East seat to the Scottish National Party.

Few tears around the country will have been shed for her on either side of the political divide.

The Scottish Nationalists have plenty to smile about, though. Having regressed somewhat in 2017, Nicola Sturgeon's party augmented their already dominant position north of the border.

It may well take another big win in the Scottish Parliament elections in 2021 to transform their dream into reality - but, while Mr Johnson might not like to hear it, the question surrounding Scottish independence is certainly not going to disappear anytime soon.

At least this election has appears to have provided a solution to the Brexit quandary which has stalled the country since the vote to leave the European Union three-and-a-half years ago.

Still, though, Mr Johnson has been re-elected to a country which is in dire need of investment in its public services while Brexit finally gets sorted.

In fairness, the Tories have pledged to reverse some of the damaging cuts made during the post-2010 period of austerity in terms of nurses and police officers, even if they have been rather economical with the truth regarding the actual numbers.

And therein lies the problem, really. Mr Johnson has won this election in spite of his poor personal ratings, aided by the fact that Mr Corbyn's popularity was, of course, worse still.

On the question of trust, Mr Johnson rated woefully - which must surely come as no surprise to a man who has literally been sacked from top jobs for lying - twice.

But Mr Corbyn ultimately had more historical mud which stuck - and, having been an asset to his party when still relatively unknown at a national level in 2017, he was equally a liability for Labour this time.

Labour's vote went down all across the UK - in both strongly Remain and Leave seats - so, while this was a Brexit election, the party must come to accept that Brexit was not the only reason for its defeat.

A period of introspection now follows for the Opposition - might the party have done better with the same manifesto with someone more popular fronting the campaign?

Or if Labour risked replacing Mr Corbyn with a more centrist outlook, how much of its fanatical membership will the party lose - and how many votes might it win back?

Instinctively, it does not feel as if it is going to be pretty either way - and, in the last few years, Labour has given the impression that it specialises in mass infighting.

In any case, the next leadership election will merely provide a potentially messy sideshow to the early decisions of the Johnson government.

Finally, for now, a word on the media - specifically the BBC - which, by any standards, had a wretched campaign from the start.

After a dishevelled Mr Johnson made a mess of placing a red wreath at the Cenotaph, ahead of the silence on Remembrance Sunday, BBC Breakfast instead showed footage of him in much smarter dress placing a green wreath in 2016 when he was Foreign Secretary.

Then there was the rather more serious matter of the BBC editing a clip for its main bulletin to cut out the audience laughter at the Prime Minister during the party leaders' Question Time, after he was asked whether he believed it was important to tell the truth. The edited clip showed only applause.

Now, only the most ardent Corbynite would suggest that the poor editorial decisions of the BBC was truly the reason why the Conservatives have enjoyed so much success in this election at the expense of Labour.

But, in a world ravaged by fake news on social media and newspapers in the traditional media which stick rigidly to their own agenda, it would be difficult to suggest the BBC in any way provided a much better service.

Sky News is now widely available in the UK on Freeview, not just by subscription - and, out of the clutches of Rupert Murdoch, appears to provide a genuinely more balanced output. 

Certainly, it must be said the BBC cannot consider itself to be the almost untouchable national institution which it once was.


GENERAL ELECTION 2019
REGION-BY-REGION

NORTH EAST ENGLAND
Conservative
Berwick-upon-Tweed - Hexham - Middlesbrough South & East Cleveland | Gains: Bishop Auckland, Blyth Valley, Darlington, North West Durham, Redcar, Sedgefield, Stockton South
Labour
Blaydon - City of Durham - North Durham - Easington - Gateshead - Hartlepool - Houghton & Sunderland South - Jarrow - Middlesbrough - Newcastle upon Tyne Central - Newcastle upon Tyne East - Newcastle upon Tyne North - South Shields - Stockton North - Sunderland Central - Tynemouth - North Tyneside - Wansbeck - Washington & Sunderland West

NORTH WEST ENGLAND
Conservative
Altrincham & Sale West - Blackpool North & Cleveleys - Bolton West - Carlisle - Cheadle - Congleton - Copeland - Eddisbury - Fylde - Hazel Grove - Macclesfield - Morecambe & Lunesdale - Pendle - Penrith & The Border - Ribble Valley - Rossendale & Darwen - South Ribble - Southport - Tatton - Wyre & Preston North | Gains: Barrow & Furness - Blackpool South, Bolton North East, Burnley, Bury North, Bury South, Crewe & Nantwich, Heywood & Middleton, Hyndburn, Leigh, Warrington South, Workington
Labour
Ashton Under Lyne - Birkenhead - Blackburn - Blackley & Broughton - Bolton South East - Bootle -  City of Chester - Denton & Reddish - Ellesmere Port & Neston - Garston & Halewood - Halton - Knowsley - Lancashire West - Lancaster & Fleetwood - Liverpool Riverside - Liverpool Walton - Liverpool Wavertree - Liverpool West Derby - Makerfield - Manchester Central - Manchester Gorton - Manchester Withington - Oldham East & Saddleworth - Oldham West & Royton - Preston - Rochdale - St Helens North - St Helens South & Whiston - Salford & Eccles - Sefton Central - Stalybridge & Hyde - Stockport - Stretford & Urmston - Wallasey - Warrington North - Weaver Vale - Wigan - Wirral South - Wirral West - Worsley & Eccles South - Wythenshawe & Sale East
Liberal Democrats
Westmorland & Lonsdale
Speaker
Chorley

YORKSHIRE & HUMBER
Conservative
Beverley & Holderness - Brigg & Goole - Calder Valley - Cleethorpes - Elmet & Rothwell - Haltemprice & Howden - Harrogate & Knaresborough - Morley & Outwood - Pudsey - Richmond - Scarborough & Whitby - Selby & Ainsty - Shipley - Skipton & Ripon - Thirsk & Malton - York Outer - East Yorkshire | Gains: Colne Valley, Dewsbury, Don Valley, Great Grimsby, Keighley, Penistone & Stocksbridge, Rother Valley, Scunthorpe, Wakefield
Labour
Barnsley Central - Barnsley East - Batley & Spen - Bradford East - Bradford South - Bradford West - Doncaster Central - Doncaster North - Halifax - Hemsworth - Huddersfield - Kingston-upon-Hull East - Kingston-upon-Hull North - Kingston-upon-Hull West & Hessle - Leeds Central - Leeds East - Leeds North East - Leeds North West - Leeds West - Normanton, Pontefract & Castleford - Rotherham - Sheffield Brightside & Hillsborough - Sheffield Central - Sheffield Hallam - Sheffield Heeley - Sheffield South East - Wentworth & Dearne - York Central

EAST MIDLANDS
Conservative
Amber Valley - Boston & Skegness - Bosworth - Broxtowe - Charnwood - Corby - Daventry - Derbyshire Dales - Mid Derbyshire - North East Derbyshire - South Derbyshire - Erewash - Gainsborough - Grantham & Stamford - Harborough - Kettering - North West Leicestershire - South Leicestershire - Loughborough - Louth & Horncastle - Mansfield - Newark - Northampton North - Northampton South - South Northamptonshire - Rushcliffe - Rutland & Melton - Sherwood - Sleaford & North Hykeham - South Holland & The Deepings - Wellingborough | Gains: Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Bolsover, Derby North, Gedling, High Peak, Lincoln
Labour
Chesterfield - Derby South - Leicester East - Leicester South - Leicester West - Nottingham East - Nottingham North - Nottingham South

WEST MIDLANDS
Conservative
Aldridge-Brownhills - Bromsgrove - Burton - Cannock Chase - Dudley South - Halesowen & Rowley Regis - Hereford & South Herefordshire - North Herefordshire - Kenilworth & Southam - Lichfield - Ludlow - Meriden - Nuneaton - Redditch - Rugby - Shrewsbury & Atcham - North Shropshire - Solihull - Stafford - Staffordshire Moorlands - South Staffordshire - Stoke-on-Trent South - Stone - Stourbridge - Stratford-on-Avon - Sutton Coldfield - Tamworth - Telford - North Warwickshire - Worcester - Mid Worcestershire | Gains: Birmingham Northfield, Dudley North, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent Central, Stoke-on-Trent North, West Bromwich East, West Bromwich West, Wolverhampton North East, Wolverhampton South West
Labour
Birmingham Edgbaston - Birmingham Erdington - Birmingham Hall Green - Birmingham Hodge Hill - Birmingham Ladywood - Birmingham Perry Barr - Birmingham Selly Oak - Birmingham Yardley - Coventry North East - Coventry North West - Coventry South - Walsall North - Walsall South - Warley - Warwick & Leamington - Wolverhampton South East

EAST ENGLAND
Conservative
Basildon & Billericay - South Basildon & East Thurrock - Mid Bedfordshire - North East Bedfordshire - South West Bedfordshire - Braintree - Brentwood & Ongar - Broadland - Broxbourne - Bury St Edmunds - North East Cambridgeshire - North West Cambridgeshire - South Cambridgeshire - South East Cambridgeshire - Castle Point - Chelmsford - Clacton - Colchester - Epping Forest - Great Yarmouth - Harlow - Harwich & North Essex - Hemel Hempstead - Hertford & Stortford - North East Hertfordshire - South West Hertfordshire - Hertsmere - Hitchin & Harpenden - Huntingdon - Maldon - Mid Norfolk - North West Norfolk - South Norfolk - South West Norfolk - Norwich North - Rayleigh & Wickford - Rochford & Southend East - Saffron Walden - Southend West - Stevenage - Central Suffolk & Ipswich North - Suffolk Coastal - South Suffolk - West Suffolk - Thurrock - Watford - Waveney - Welwyn Hatfield - Witham | Gains: Ipswich, North Norfolk, Peterborough
Labour
Bedford - Cambridge - Luton North - Luton South - Norwich South
Liberal Democrats 
Gains: St Albans

SOUTH EAST ENGLAND
Conservative
Aldershot - Arundel & South Downs - Ashford - Aylesbury - Banbury - Basingstoke - Beaconsfield - Bexhill & Battle - Bognor Regis & Littlehampton - Bracknell - Buckinghamshire - Chatham & Aylesford - Chesham & Amersham - Chichester - Crawley - Dartford - Dover - Eastleigh - Epsom & Ewell - Esher & Walton - Fareham - Faversham & Mid Kent - Folkestone & Hythe - Gillingham & Rainham - Gosport - Gravesham - Guildford - East Hampshire - North East Hampshire - North West Hampshire - Hastings & Rye - Havant - Henley - Horsham - Isle of Wight - Lewes - Maidenhead - Maidstone & The Weald - Meon Valley - Milton Keynes North - Milton Keynes South - Mole Valley - New Forest East - New Forest West - Newbury - Portsmouth North - Reading West - Reigate - Rochester & Strood - Romsey & Southampton North - Runnymede & Weybridge - Sevenoaks - Sittingbourne & Sheppey - Southampton Itchen - Spelthorne - East Surrey - Surrey Heath - South West Surrey - Mid Sussex - North Thanet - South Thanet - Tonbridge & Malling - Tunbridge Wells - Wantage - Wealden - Winchester - Windsor - Witney - Woking - Wokingham - Worthing East & Shoreham - Worthing West - Wycombe | Gains: Eastbourne
Labour
Brighton Kemptown - Canterbury - Hove - Oxford East - Portsmouth South - Reading East - Slough - Southampton Test
Liberal Democrats
Oxford West and Abingdon
Green
Brighton Pavilion 

LONDON
Conservative
Beckenham - Bexleyheath & Crayford - Bromley & Chislehurst - Chelsea & Fulham - Chingford & Woodford Green - Chipping Barnet - Cities of London & Westminster - Croydon South - Finchley & Golders Green - Harrow East - Hendon - Hornchurch & Upminster - Old Bexley & Sidcup - Orpington - Putney - Romford - Ruislip, Northwood & Pinner - Richmond Park - Sutton & Cheam - Uxbridge & Ruislip South - Wimbledon | Gains: Carshalton & Wallington, Kensington
Labour
Barking - Battersea - Bermondsey & Old Southwark - Bethnal Green & Bow - Brentford & Isleworth - Brent Central - Brent North - Camberwell & Peckham - Croydon Central - Croydon North - Dagenham & Rainham - Dulwich & West Norwood - Ealing Central & Acton - Ealing North - Ealing Southall - East Ham - Edmonton - Eltham - Enfield North - Enfield Southgate - Erith & Thamesmead - Feltham & Heston - Greenwich & Woolwich - Hackney North & Stoke Newington - Hackney South & Shoreditch - Hammersmith - Hampstead & Kilburn - Harrow West - Hayes & Harlington - Holborn & St Pancras - Hornsey & Wood Green - Ilford North - Ilford South - Islington North - Islington South & Finsbury - Lewisham Deptford - Lewisham East - Lewisham West & Penge - Leyton & Wantstead - Mitcham & Morden - Poplar & Limehouse - Streatham - Tooting - Tottenham - Vauxhall - Walthamstow - West Ham - Westminster North | Gains: Putney
Liberal Democrats
Carshalton & Wallington - Kingston & Surbiton - Twickenham | Gains: Richmond Park

SOUTH WEST ENGLAND
Conservative
Bournemouth East - Bournemouth West - Bridgwater & Somerset West - Camborne & Redruth - Cheltenham - Chippenham - Christchurch - North Cornwall - South East Cornwall - The Cotswolds - Devizes - Central Devon - East Devon - North Devon - South West Devon - West Devon and Torridge - Mid Dorset and North Poole - North Dorset - South Dorset - West Dorset - Filton & Bradley Stoke - Forest of Dean - Gloucester - Kingswood - Newton Abbot - Plymouth Moor View - Poole - St Austell & Newquay - St Ives - Salisbury - North Somerset - North East Somerset - Somerton & Frome - North Swindon - South Swindon - Taunton Deane - Tewkesbury - Thornbury & Yate - Tiverton & Honiton - Torbay - Totnes - Truro & Falmouth - Wells - Weston-Super-Mare - North Wiltshire - South West Wiltshire - Yeovil | Gains: Stroud
Labour
Bristol East - Bristol North West - Bristol South - Bristol West - Exeter - Plymouth Sutton & Devonport
Liberal Democrats
Bath

SCOTLAND
Conservative
Aberdeenshire West & Kincardine - Banff & Buchan - Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk - Dumfries & Galloway - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale - Moray
Labour
Edinburgh South
Scottish National Party
Aberdeen North - Airdree & Shotts - Argyll & Bute - Ayrshire Central - Ayrshire North & Arran - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Kirkintilloch East  - West Dunbartonshire - Dundee East - Dundee West - Dunfermline & West Fife - East Kilbride, Strathaven & Lesmahagow - Edinburgh East - Edinburgh North & Leith - Edinburgh South West - Falkirk - Glasgow Central - Glasgow East - Glasgow North  - Glasgow North West - Glasgow South - Glasgow South West - Glenrothes - Inverclyde - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey - Kilmarnock & Loudoun - Lanark & Hamilton East - Linlithgow & Falkirk East - Livingston - Motherwell & Wishaw - Na h-Eileanan an lar - Paisley & Renfrewshire North - Paisley & Renfrewshire South - Perth & North Perthshire - Ross, Sky & Lochaber | Gains: Aberdeen South, Angus, Ayr-Carrick & Cumnock, Coatbridge-Chryston & Belshill, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfewshire, Glasgow North East, Gordon, Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath, Midlothian, Ochil & South Perthshire, Rutherglen & Hamilton West, Stirling
Liberal Democrats
Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross - Edinburgh West - Orkney & Shetland | Gains: North East Fife

WALES
Conservative
Aberconwy - Brecon & Radnorshire - Carmarthen West & South Pembrokeshire - Clwyd West - Monmouth - Montgomeryshire - Preseli Pembrokeshire - Vale of Glamorgan | Gains: Bridgend, Clwyd South, Delyn, Vale of Clwyd, Wrexham, Ynys Mon
Labour
Aberavon - Alyn & Deeside - Blaenau Gwent - Caerphilly - Cardiff Central - Cardiff North - Cardiff South & Penarth - Cardiff West - Cynon Valley - Gower - Islwyn - Llanelli - Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney - Neath - Newport East - Newport West - Ogmore - Pontypridd - Rhondda - Swansea East - Swansea West - Torfaen
Plaid Cymru
Arfon - Carmarthen East & Dinefwr - Ceredigion - Dwyfor Meirionnydd  

NORTHERN IRELAND
Democratic Unionists
Belfast East - East Antrim - East Londonderry - Lagan Valley - North Antrim - South Antrim - Strangford - Upper Bann 
Sinn Fein
Belfast West - Fermanagh & South Tyrone - Mid Ulster - Newry & Armagh - South Down - West Tyrone | Gains: Belfast North
SDLP 
Gains: Belfast South, Foyle 
Alliance
Gains: North Down

Saturday 30 November 2019

Euro 2020: England and Wales avoid Group of Death

EURO 2020 FINALS DRAW
12 June 2020 - 12 July 2020
 

GROUP A 
Rome
Baku


GROUP B
Copenhagen
St Petersburg


GROUP C 
Amsterdam
Bucharest


GROUP D
London
Glasgow



[A1]TURKEY  [B1]DENMARK  [C1]NETHERLANDS  [D1]ENGLAND

[A2]ITALY  [B2]FINLAND  [C2]UKRAINE  [D2]CROATIA

[A3]WALES  [B3]BELGIUM  [C3]AUSTRIA  [D3]PLAYOFF [C]

[A4]SWITZERLAND  [B4]RUSSIA  [C4]PLAYOFF [D]  [D4]CZECH REP














GROUP E 
Bilbao
Dublin


GROUP F
Munich
Budapest







  [E1]SPAIN  [F1]PLAYOFF [A]





  [E2]SWEDEN  [F2]PORTUGAL





  [E3]POLAND  [F3]FRANCE





  [E4]PLAYOFF [B]  [F4]GERMANY


SEEDING POTS
Teams were seeded based upon their performance during the Euro 2020 qualifiers

Pot (1) Belgium, Italy, England, Germany, Spain, Ukraine
Pot (2) France, Poland, Switzerland, Croatia, Netherlands, Russia
Pot (3) Portugal, Turkey, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, Czech Republic
Pot (4) Wales, Finland, four playoff winners


ENGLAND and Wales were both given seemingly manageable tasks at the Euro 2020 finals next summer after the draw was made in Bucharest last night.

The Three Lions will meet some familiar foes in Group D, most notably a Croatia outfit who they lost against in the 2018 World Cup semi finals but then beat last year in group stage of the inaugural Nations League competition.

Gareth Southgate's men will also face the Czech Republic - who they played twice in qualifying with mixed results - and the winner of Playoff Path [C] which could set up a Battle of Britain clash against Scotland.

England are one of 12 tournament hosts - spread across the width of the continent - with groups having already been allocated to each host nation.

That means if the Scots make it through the playoffs at the expense of Israel and either Norway or Serbia away in late-March, the Tartan Army would also get to watch their own team in two of their three games at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

But, having qualified directly rather than through the playoffs, England will have home advantage in any match between the pair.

Reacting to the draw, Three Lions head coach Southgate said: "I'm never sure whether it's a good draw. We have played two of the teams before and for us to play at Wembley is something special. We are looking forward to the tournament.

"We have to accept that expectations have changed from where we were. We are very critical of ourselves. We would rather be a team that are fancied than a team with no chance."

Wales - who, memorably, reached the last four at Euro 2016 in France - were drawn into Group A, which is headlined by Italy, with matches in the section to be held in Rome as well as Baku in Azerbaijan.

Along with the resurgent Azzurri, the Welsh will also come up against Switzerland and Turkey, neither of whom could exactly be considered as giants on the world stage.

Both did win their qualifying groups, though - and Turkey impressively finished above France - but it could have easily been worse for Ryan Giggs and his fledgling Dragons.

Giggs said: "Logistically looking at it, it's Baku, Baku, Rome, rather than having Rome in the middle - so for the fans it's much better.

"Switzerland are a good team, talented. Turkey were in a group with France and Iceland so have done well to come through that - and Italy have won every game so that will be tough.

"I'll get around and watch the players as much as I can. You hope that, come June, you have a group of healthy players to choose from and if we have that, we're a match for anyone.

"We want to take our chance, just like in 2016."

Of course, Northern Ireland were also in the finals four years ago - and reached the Last 16 before being beaten by the Welsh.

This time, Northern Ireland - like Scotland - will have to navigate their way through the playoffs if they are going to make it into the finals.

Playoff Path [B] firstly takes the Northern Irish to Bosnia-Herzegovina - although, if they win in Sarajevo, they will have home advantage for the final against Slovakia or Ireland.

Meanwhile, Ireland - as one of the host nations - have the additional motivation of knowing they will play two Group E finals games in Dublin if they make it through themselves.

Three-time champions Spain head that section with Sweden and Poland rounding it off.

Elsewhere, the intricacies of the tournament resulted in Group B having been almost completely decided ahead of the draw.

Hosts Denmark and Russia qualified directly and were automatically assigned to the group, of course - while Belgium, as one of only two top seeds without hosting rights, also had no option other than to join them.

That is because Ukraine were the only other non-host among the top seeds - and, for political reasons, the Ukrainians cannot be put into the same section as Russia.

Facing two away games is not something with which the world number one-ranked Belgians were particularly happy - and midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has not been shy about expressing his feelings on the matter.

“It’s a disgrace," he told HLN Sport in Belgium. "For me this feels like competition distortion, a fake competition.

"Football is not really football any more, it's becoming a business."

Nevertheless, the allocation of major finals debutants Finland to the same group will surely go some way to softening the blow suffered by the Belgians.

Meanwhile, Ukraine were instead allocated to Group C - alongside the Netherlands, Austria, and the winner of the lowest-ranked playoff route.

Playoff Path [D] features Georgia versus Belarus and North Macedonia versus Kosovo - with one of those four going on to make it to a finals tournament for the first time.

It would be fair to suggest that the group as a whole does not look like the toughest exercise for the Dutch.

However, the same cannot be said of Group F - and, after much concern that England could get both the current world champions France from pot two and defending European champions Portugal from pot three, the pair were perhaps inevitably drawn together.

Instead, though, they landed in the section headed by Germany in what can only be termed a Group of Death.

At least it would have been in past championships - but, as in Euro 2016, four third-placed teams join the top two from each group in the Last 16 of the competition for the start of the knockout stages.

Therefore, it seems more likely that the Germans, French and Portuguese will all make it through in some shape or form, rather than any of them heading for an early exit.

Rather bizarrely, the foibles of this mis-shapen tournament do not end with the group stage draw - as the path into the latter stages has already been mapped out.

The winners of Group D involving England will take on the runners-up from that top-heavy Group F in Dublin for a place in the quarter finals.

Could it be better then to finish runners-up in Group D and instead run into the runners-up of Group E, most likely Sweden or Poland in Copenhagen?

Either way, if England progress through the group stage, they will head off to neutral territory for the Last 16 - while the hosts of the quarter finals will be Munich, Saint Petersburg, Rome, and Baku.

Of course, both semi finals and the Final itself on 12 July will be hosted back at Wembley - but let us not get too far ahead of ourselves.

After all, not even the full line-up of teams has yet to be decided.

GROUP A
12-June(8pm)TURKEY v ITALYRome
13-June(2pm)WALES v SWITZERLANDBaku
17-June(5pm)TURKEY v WALESBaku
17-June(8pm)ITALY v SWITZERLANDRome
21-June(5pm)SWITZERLAND v TURKEYBaku
21-June(5pm)  ITALY v WALESRome

GROUP B
13-June(5pm)DENMARK v FINLANDCopenhagen
13-June(8pm)BELGIUM v RUSSIASaint Petersburg
17-June(2pm)FINLAND v RUSSIASaint Petersburg
18-June(5pm)DENMARK v BELGIUMCopenhagen
22-June(8pm)RUSSIA v DENMARKCopenhagen
22-June(8pm)  FINLAND v BELGIUMSaint Petersburg

GROUP C
14-June(5pm)AUSTRIA v PLAYOFF [D]Bucharest
14-June(8pm)NETHERLANDS v UKRAINEAmsterdam
18-June(2pm)UKRAINE v PLAYOFF [D]Bucharest
18-June(8pm)NETHERLANDS v AUSTRIAAmsterdam
22-June(5pm)PLAYOFF [D] v NETHERLANDSAmsterdam
22-June(5pm)  UKRAINE v AUSTRIABucharest

GROUP D
14-June(2pm)ENGLAND v CROATIALondon
15-June(2pm)PLAYOFF [C] v CZECH REPUBLICGlasgow
19-June(5pm)CROATIA v CZECH REPUBLICGlasgow
19-June(8pm)ENGLAND v PLAYOFF [C]London
23-June(8pm)CROATIA v PLAYOFF [C]Glasgow
23-June(8pm)  CZECH REPUBLIC v ENGLANDLondon

GROUP E
15-June(5pm)POLAND v PLAYOFF [B]Dublin
15-June(8pm)SPAIN v SWEDENBilbao
19-June(2pm)SWEDEN v PLAYOFF [B]Dublin
20-June(8pm)SPAIN v POLANDBilbao
24-June(5pm)PLAYOFF [B] v SPAINBilbao
24-June(5pm)SWEDEN v POLANDDublin

GROUP F
16-June(5pm)PLAYOFF [A] v PORTUGALBudapest
16-June(8pm)FRANCE v GERMANYMunich
20-June(2pm)PLAYOFF [A] v FRANCEBudapest
20-June(5pm)PORTUGAL v GERMANYMunich
24-June(8pm)PORTUGAL v FRANCEBudapest
24-June(8pm)GERMANY v PLAYOFF [A]Munich

LAST 16
27-June(5pm)[38]  RUNNER-UP A v RUNNER-UP BAmsterdam
27-June(8pm)[37]  WINNER A v RUNNER-UP CLondon
28-June(5pm)[40]  WINNER C v THIRD PLACE D/E/FBudapest
28-June(8pm)[39]  WINNER B v THIRD PLACE A/D/E/FBilbao
29-June(5pm)[42]  RUNNER-UP D v RUNNER-UP ECopenhagen
29-June(8pm) [41]  WINNER F v THIRD PLACE A/B/CBucharest
30-June(5pm)[44]  WINNER D v RUNNER-UP FDublin
30-June(8pm)  [43]  WINNER E v THIRD PLACE A/B/C/DGlasgow

QUARTER FINALS
03-July(5pm)(45)  WINNER [41] v WINNER [42]Saint Petersburg
03-July(8pm)(46)  WINNER [39] v WINNER [37]Munich
04-July(5pm)(47)  WINNER [40] v WINNER [38]Baku
04-July(8pm)  (48)  WINNER [43] v WINNER [44]Rome

SEMI FINALS
07-July(8pm)WINNER (46) v WINNER (45)London
08-July(8pm)  WINNER (48) v WINNER (47)London

PLAYOFF DRAW
The home team in each of the one-off semi finals was decided on the basis of the respective teams' Nations League ranking. The venues of the four one-off finals in each Path were determined by a draw held on 22 November.
Path

[A]






Semi finals
ICELAND v ROMANIA
BULGARIA v HUNGARY


Final
BULGARIA or HUNGARY v ICELAND or ROMANIA

Group F
[B]






Semi finals
BOSNIA-HERZ v N IRELAND
SLOVAKIA v IRELAND

Final
BOSNIA-HERZ or N IRELAND v SLOVAKIA or IRELAND

Group E
[C]






Semi finals
SCOTLAND v ISRAEL
NORWAY v SERBIA

Final
NORWAY or SERBIA v SCOTLAND or ISRAEL

Group D
[D]





Semi finals
GEORGIA v BELARUS
N MACEDONIA v KOSOVO

Final
GEORGIA or BELARUS v N MACEDONIA or KOSOVO
Group C

Sunday 17 November 2019

Kane treble leaves England feeling grand

(Q) EURO 2020 QUALIFIERS (Q)
AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, CROATIA, CZECH REPUBLIC, DENMARK, ENGLAND, FINLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, ITALY, NETHERLANDS, POLAND, PORTUGAL, RUSSIA, SPAIN, SWEDEN, SWITZERLAND, TURKEY, UKRAINE, WALES

ENGLAND marked their 1000th international with a thumping 7-0 win over Montenegro which sealed a place at the Euro 2020 finals in the summer.

Harry Kane scored a first-half hat-trick to take his international goal tally to 31, a total which takes him past the likes of Nat Lofthouse, Tom Finney and Alan Shearer into sixth place on the all-time scorers list.

By the time Kane got his first two, both through unmarked headers from corners, the Three Lions were already 1-0 up through Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's opener.

It was the Liverpool midfielder's first goal for the national team in more than two injury-ravaged years as he killed a pass from Ben Chilwell before firing past the helpless Milan Mijatović.

Chilwell, the in-form Leicester City left-back, in fact set up each of the first three as Kane gorged on his set-piece delivery and it quickly became apparent that Montenegro were going to be no match for a vibrant England.

At the interval, it was 5-0 as Marcus Rashford got himself on the scoresheet with a rasping shot before Kane completed his treble after turning his marker inside-out.

Inevitably perhaps, the second half did not provide anything like the same sort of fare for the 77,277 in attendance at Wembley.

But, still, there were two more goals to savour - although the first of those was merely the predictably comic culmination of an own goal following a bit of pinball in the Montenegrin box.

Finally, Kane's replacement, young Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham, completed the scoring with his first senior international goal - and, as such, became the 430th player to score for the Three Lions.

England were in seventh heaven as they recorded their biggest home win in 32 years to qualify with a match to spare.

Indeed, except for problems at centre-back following the poor defeat to the Czech Republic in Prague, the main worries during this campaign have come away from the field of play.

Racism reared its ugly head in the visits to Montenegro and, particularly notably, Bulgaria - while the build-up to this match focused mainly on the fall-out from the scuffle between Raheem Sterling and Joe Gomez.

Deemed the instigator, Sterling was dropped from the matchday squad while Gomez retained his place and was introduced from the bench for the last 20 minutes.

Sadly, and somewhat bizarrely, the Liverpool defender was welcomed onto the pitch by a chorus of boos from some sections of the crowd, prompting post-match condemnation from head coach Gareth Southgate as well as Sterling on social media.

Outwith that rather sour note, though, this was another night for Southgate and England to cherish as they became one of the 20 teams to make it through to Euro 2020 so far.

In truth, none of the big guns have struggled in this kindly qualifying process in which two teams progress directly from each group.

World number one-ranked Belgium made it through as early as last month and so did Italy, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, and Spain.

Now, as well as England, a further 13 teams have qualified this week - namely Turkey, France, Czech Republic, Sweden, Croatia, Austria, Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Switzerland, Denmark, Wales and, for the first time ever, Finland.

A further four slots will not be confirmed until the playoffs in late March - and this is where it can get a bit complicated.

EURO 2020 QUALIFYING GROUPS
The 55 teams were drawn into five groups of five teams (A-E), and five groups of six teams (F-J). The top two teams in each group qualified for the finals.


GROUP APts
GROUP BPts
GROUP CPts
(Q)ENGLAND21  (Q)UKRAINE20  (Q)GERMANY21
(Q)CZECH REP15(Q)PORTUGAL17(Q)NETHERLANDS19
[D]KOSOVO11[C]SERBIA14[B]N IRELAND13
[A]BULGARIA64Luxembourg4[D]BELARUS4
5Montenegro35Lithuania15Estonia1



















GROUP DPts
GROUP EPts
GROUP FPts
(Q)SWITZERLAND17(Q)CROATIA17(Q)SPAIN26
(Q)DENMARK16(Q)WALES14(Q)SWEDEN21
[B]IRELAND13[D]SLOVAKIA13[C]NORWAY17
[D]GEORGIA8[A]HUNGARY12[A]ROMANIA14
5Gibraltar05Azerbaijan15Faroe Islands3






6Malta3



















GROUP GPts
GROUP HPts
GROUP IPts
(Q)POLAND25(Q)FRANCE25(Q)BELGIUM30
(Q)AUSTRIA19(Q)TURKEY23(Q)RUSSIA24
[D]N MACEDONIA14[A]ICELAND19[C]SCOTLAND15
4Slovenia144Albania134Cyprus10
[C]ISRAEL115Andorra45Kazakhstan10
6Latvia36Moldova36San Marino0



















GROUP JPts





(Q)ITALY30





(Q)FINLAND18





3Greece14





[B]BOSNIA-HERZ13





5Armenia10





6Liechtenstein2






NATIONS LEAGUE STANDINGS
The final standings in the 2018-2019 Nations League determined the 16 teams who will compete in the Euro 2020 playoffs in March, as follows:
  1. All available group winners were selected.
  2. If a group winner had already qualified through the Euro 2020 qualifying group stage (as above), they were replaced by the next best-ranked team from the same league which had not also already qualified.
  3. If fewer than four teams from a given league had failed to qualify, then the remaining spaces for that league were allocated by the overall ranking:
    (a) if the league had a group winner* selected for the play-offs, the next best team in the overall ranking from a lower league was selected
    (b) if the league had no group winner available, the best team in the overall ranking was selected.

LEAGUE A
LEAGUE B
LEAGUE C
LEAGUE D
(Q)PORTUGAL[B]BOSNIA-HERZ  [C]SCOTLAND  [D]GEORGIA
(Q)NETHERLANDS  (Q)UKRAINE[C]NORWAY[D]N MACEDONIA
(Q)ENGLAND(Q)DENMARK[C]SERBIA[D]KOSOVO
(Q)SWITZERLAND(Q)SWEDEN(Q)FINLAND[D]BELARUS

(Q)

BELGIUM

(Q)

RUSSIA

[A]

BULGARIA

44

Luxembourg
(Q)FRANCE(Q)AUSTRIA[C]ISRAEL45Armenia
(Q)SPAIN(Q)WALES[A]HUNGARY46Azerbaijan
(Q)ITALY(Q)CZECH REP[A]ROMANIA47Kazakhstan
(Q)CROATIA[B]SLOVAKIA33Greece48Moldova
(Q)POLAND(Q)TURKEY34Albania49Gibraltar
(Q)GERMANY[B]IRELAND35Montenegro50Faroe Islands
[A]ICELAND[B]N IRELAND36Cyprus51Latvia




37Estonia52Liechtenstein




38Slovenia53Andorra




39Lithuania54Malta






55San Marino
*Note The top four teams in each league as listed above won their Nations League group

Remember the Nations League? Well, the performance of teams in their respective league divisions are the key to their qualifying prospects.

League D is simple enough to understand. None of the Nations League group winners - Georgia, North Macedonia, Kosovo or Belarus - were able to qualify through their respective groups and so they will all feature in the playoffs with the winner of their 'path' going on to progress to the finals.

It is largely the same story in League C with Scotland, Norway and Serbia all failing to make it through to the finals in their qualifying groups.

Finland did make it through, however - so their place will be taken by Bulgaria, Israel, Hungary or Romania as determined by a draw on Friday.

In League B, Bosnia-Herzegovina were the only Nations League winners needing to fall back on the playoffs but the remaining places will be filled by the three spare teams from the same division - Slovakia, Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Unsurprisingly, it was all rather different among the big guns of League A with only Iceland finishing outside of the top two of their group.

That, in itself, is something which is perhaps not so much of a shock given previously they were punching well above their weight.

But system has still come to the benefit of the Icelanders - for, as the only League A team, the three vacant places in their divisional playoff path have been back-filled by the remaining unallocated teams from down in League C.

Meanwhile, the finals draw on 30 November in Bucharest is still more convoluted again.

There are no fewer than 12 host cities, all in different countries, with seven of those having qualified while another three may yet make it through via the playoffs.

The complication comes from the fact that the host nations will stage at least two and possibly three of their own countries' group matches in the finals, based upon performance in the qualifiers.

Hosts have already been allocated groups in line with this - and, as such, England already know that they will be at Wembley for their three Group D matches.

Meanwhile, Scotland - if they make it through the back door - will get two home games in the same section, but they will play England in London.

In Groups A, C, E and F, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Germany will get three home games in Rome, Amsterdam, Bilbao and Munich respectively.

Otherwise, the remaining teams slot in somewhere or other - but, frankly, it has got too complicated even for me!

Regardless of this migraine-inducing format for a tournament, though, England can consider themselves to be in a decent position.

Both semi finals on 7 and 8 July, and the Final on 12 July will be held at Wembley - so, if a young Three Lions team happen to pay out early on their promise, home advantage awaits.