I count 3 derbies, and a two ex-Yugo battles. Plus Greece - Cyprus is
a possibility.

League A
Group 1: France, Denmark, Croatia, Austria
Group 2: Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Czech Republic
Group 3: Italy, Germany, England, Hungary
Group 4: Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Wales

League B
Group 1: Ukraine, Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Armenia
Group 2: Iceland, Russia, Israel, Albania
Group 3: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Romania, Montenegro
Group 4: Sweden, Norway, Serbia, Slovenia

League C
Group 1: Turkey, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Faroe Islands
Group 2: Northern Ireland, Greece, Kosovo, Cyprus/Estonia
Group 3: Slovakia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan/Moldova
Group 4: Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Georgia, Gibraltar

League D
Group 1: Liechtenstein, Kazakhstan/Moldova, Andorra, Latvia
Group 2: Malta, Cyprus/Estonia, San Marino
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On Saturday, December 18, 2021 at 3:41:45 PM UTC, Jesper Lauridsen wrote:

I count 3 derbies, and a two ex-Yugo battles. Plus Greece - Cyprus is
a possibility.

League A
Group 1: France, Denmark, Croatia, Austria
Group 2: Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Czech Republic
Group 3: Italy, Germany, England, Hungary
Group 4: Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Wales

League B
Group 1: Ukraine, Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Armenia
Group 2: Iceland, Russia, Israel, Albania
Group 3: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Romania, Montenegro
Group 4: Sweden, Norway, Serbia, Slovenia

League C
Group 1: Turkey, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Faroe Islands
Group 2: Northern Ireland, Greece, Kosovo, Cyprus/Estonia
Group 3: Slovakia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan/Moldova
Group 4: Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Georgia, Gibraltar

League D
Group 1: Liechtenstein, Kazakhstan/Moldova, Andorra, Latvia
Group 2: Malta, Cyprus/Estonia, San Marino

Match ups I would consider "derbies":

Spain v Portugal

Belgium v Netherlands

Sweden v Norway

Bulgaria v North Macedonia


Matches I consider rivalries:

Italy v Germany v England

Scotland v Republic of Ireland

Serbia v Slovenia


RM
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On Sunday, December 19, 2021 at 10:29:32 PM UTC, Real Mardin wrote:

On Saturday, December 18, 2021 at 3:41:45 PM UTC, Jesper Lauridsen wrote:

I count 3 derbies, and a two ex-Yugo battles. Plus Greece - Cyprus is
a possibility.

League A
Group 1: France, Denmark, Croatia, Austria
Group 2: Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Czech Republic
Group 3: Italy, Germany, England, Hungary
Group 4: Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Wales

League B
Group 1: Ukraine, Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Armenia
Group 2: Iceland, Russia, Israel, Albania
Group 3: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Romania, Montenegro
Group 4: Sweden, Norway, Serbia, Slovenia

League C
Group 1: Turkey, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Faroe Islands
Group 2: Northern Ireland, Greece, Kosovo, Cyprus/Estonia
Group 3: Slovakia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan/Moldova
Group 4: Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Georgia, Gibraltar

League D
Group 1: Liechtenstein, Kazakhstan/Moldova, Andorra, Latvia
Group 2: Malta, Cyprus/Estonia, San Marino

Match ups I would consider "derbies":

Spain v Portugal

Belgium v Netherlands

Sweden v Norway

Bulgaria v North Macedonia

Just noticed Bosnia v Montenegro which I'd also regard as a derby, both being former Yugoslav Republics who share a border.


RM
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On 2021-12-18, Jesper Lauridsen <rorschak@sorrystofanet.dk> wrote:

I count 3 derbies, and a two ex-Yugo battles. Plus Greece - Cyprus is
a possibility.

Does Ger - Eng or Ger - Ita count? :-)

League A
Group 1: France, Denmark, Croatia, Austria
Group 2: Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Czech Republic
Group 3: Italy, Germany, England, Hungary
Group 4: Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Wales

Seriously, Group 3 is the absolute group of death, with Hungary as not-to-be-underestimated spoilers. I don't know about other
countries, but this is taken pretty seriously in Germany. Especially
with those opponents. At the very least, failure usually is and will
be "scrutinised" by the media.

--
ciao, Bruce
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This Nations League is so boring, if only they could add some South American nations to make it interesting, maybe add Kanada too.



On Monday, December 20, 2021 at 10:44:29 AM UTC-5, Bruce Scott wrote:

On 2021-12-18, Jesper Lauridsen <rors...@sorrystofanet.dk> wrote:

I count 3 derbies, and a two ex-Yugo battles. Plus Greece - Cyprus is
a possibility.

Does Ger - Eng or Ger - Ita count? :-)

League A
Group 1: France, Denmark, Croatia, Austria
Group 2: Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Czech Republic
Group 3: Italy, Germany, England, Hungary
Group 4: Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Wales

Seriously, Group 3 is the absolute group of death, with Hungary as not-to-be-underestimated spoilers. I don't know about other
countries, but this is taken pretty seriously in Germany. Especially
with those opponents. At the very least, failure usually is and will
be "scrutinised" by the media.

--
ciao, Bruce

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On 2021-12-20 10:27, Binder Dundat wrote:

This Nations League is so boring, if only they could add some South American nations to make it interesting, maybe add Kanada too.

Apparently they are adding all 10 conmebol teams for the next one after
this. Seems like a daft idea in some ways, but it has the merit of undermining FIFA's madcap plan to hold World Cups every two years, and,
for the bigger CONMEBOL teams, the additional merit that nearly all
their players are playing in Europe anyway. Might be a problem for the Bolivias and Venezuelas of CONMEBOL.


Since all the games will be played in Europe, or so I read, I wonder
what the format will end up being. Six teams were reputedly going to be
added to League A (seems like two too many to me).

On Monday, December 20, 2021 at 10:44:29 AM UTC-5, Bruce Scott wrote:

On 2021-12-18, Jesper Lauridsen <rors...@sorrystofanet.dk> wrote:

I count 3 derbies, and a two ex-Yugo battles. Plus Greece - Cyprus is
a possibility.

Does Ger - Eng or Ger - Ita count? :-)

League A
Group 1: France, Denmark, Croatia, Austria
Group 2: Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Czech Republic
Group 3: Italy, Germany, England, Hungary
Group 4: Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Wales

Seriously, Group 3 is the absolute group of death, with Hungary as
not-to-be-underestimated spoilers. I don't know about other
countries, but this is taken pretty seriously in Germany. Especially
with those opponents. At the very least, failure usually is and will
be "scrutinised" by the media.

--
ciao, Bruce

--- SBBSecho 3.06-Win32
* Origin: SportNet Gateway Site (24:150/2)

On Monday, December 20, 2021 at 2:03:48 PM UTC-5, MH wrote:

On 2021-12-20 10:27, Binder Dundat wrote:

This Nations League is so boring, if only they could add some South American nations to make it interesting, maybe add Kanada too.

Apparently they are adding all 10 conmebol teams for the next one after this. Seems like a daft idea in some ways, but it has the merit of undermining FIFA's madcap plan to hold World Cups every two years, and,
for the bigger CONMEBOL teams, the additional merit that nearly all
their players are playing in Europe anyway. Might be a problem for the Bolivias and Venezuelas of CONMEBOL.

I get the feeling that even though the World Cup is bigger than Jesus, this Qatari WC will cheapen the brand, so they need new gimmicks to make money and since 94, when the WC turned into this huge cash cow, that is all FIFA cares about. I am guessing their marketing research shows people like the Nations league thing in Europe, so why not make it bigger and add the rest of the world.
Also, will covid kill the World Cup and all spectator sports? Or at least change it? If all the revenue comes from TV, you dont really need a WC in one venue and a traveling Nations league circus works, you can play anywhere and everywhere, as long as they have tv camera set ups. Or maybe this really is the end of National comps and club football will totally take over, so FIFA is doing whatever they can to stay relevant.

Since all the games will be played in Europe, or so I read, I wonder
what the format will end up being. Six teams were reputedly going to be added to League A (seems like two too many to me).

Seems a bit high, three or four would be fine, but their probably are 6 teams in S America as good as Hungaria.

On Monday, December 20, 2021 at 10:44:29 AM UTC-5, Bruce Scott wrote:

On 2021-12-18, Jesper Lauridsen <rors...@sorrystofanet.dk> wrote:

I count 3 derbies, and a two ex-Yugo battles. Plus Greece - Cyprus is >>> a possibility.

Does Ger - Eng or Ger - Ita count? :-)

League A
Group 1: France, Denmark, Croatia, Austria
Group 2: Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Czech Republic
Group 3: Italy, Germany, England, Hungary
Group 4: Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Wales

Seriously, Group 3 is the absolute group of death, with Hungary as
not-to-be-underestimated spoilers. I don't know about other
countries, but this is taken pretty seriously in Germany. Especially
with those opponents. At the very least, failure usually is and will
be "scrutinised" by the media.

No it isnt, Germans dont give a shit about the Nations league.

--
ciao, Bruce

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Binder Dundat escreveu:

On Monday, December 20, 2021 at 2:03:48 PM UTC-5, MH wrote:

On 2021-12-20 10:27, Binder Dundat wrote:

This Nations League is so boring, if only they could add some South American nations to make it interesting, maybe add Kanada too.

Apparently they are adding all 10 conmebol teams for the next one after this. Seems like a daft idea in some ways, but it has the merit of undermining FIFA's madcap plan to hold World Cups every two years, and, for the bigger CONMEBOL teams, the additional merit that nearly all
their players are playing in Europe anyway. Might be a problem for the Bolivias and Venezuelas of CONMEBOL.

And a byproduct of this expansion will be to change Conmebol's World Cup Qualification format, as there probably won't have enough dates for 18
rounds anymore. Which is just as well. I mean, I like this format, but it
works for 4.5 spots. In this Brave New World Cup of 48 teams (sigh...), Conmebol will get 6.5 spots and there's no point in playing 90 matches to qualify ~70% of the contestants.

I get the feeling that even though the World Cup is bigger than Jesus,
this Qatari WC will cheapen the brand, so they need new gimmicks to make money and since 94, when the WC turned into this huge cash cow, that is
all FIFA cares about. I am guessing their marketing research shows people like the Nations league thing in Europe, so why not make it bigger and add the rest of the world.

I wonder if that's the direction things will take with this expansion. I
mean, it was pretty much like that with the early World Cup too, it began
as an Europe-American affair which gradually included the rest of the world. Though of course, Earth was a very different place back then, so there isn't much of a comparison anyway.
Interestingly, if the NL indeed branches out and eventually includes teams
from all over the place, with multiple divisions and stuff, then what will
we have? On one hand, national teams will have a league (not quite like club teams, but still) and a cup to play for. On the other, there'll be a worldwide national team competition every other year, pretty much like FIFA's infamous every-two-years World Cup idea...
And in this scenario, what happens to the continental cups (Copa America,
Euro, Gold Cup, etc.)?
[SNIP]

Since all the games will be played in Europe, or so I read, I wonder
what the format will end up being. Six teams were reputedly going to be added to League A (seems like two too many to me).

Seems a bit high, three or four would be fine, but their probably are 6 teams
in S America as good as Hungaria.

I think there are, but I'd go with four anyway, if only because it'd probably be easier to come up with a format with 20, rather than 22 teams. Then, four to League B too and Bolivia and Venezuela in League C (and since all games will be in Europe, I think Bolivia's relegation is a foregone conclusion anyway).
--
Ll|-o
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On Monday, December 20, 2021 at 7:03:48 PM UTC, MH wrote:

On 2021-12-20 10:27, Binder Dundat wrote:

This Nations League is so boring, if only they could add some South American nations to make it interesting, maybe add Kanada too.

Apparently they are adding all 10 conmebol teams for the next one after this. Seems like a daft idea in some ways, but it has the merit of undermining FIFA's madcap plan to hold World Cups every two years, and,
for the bigger CONMEBOL teams, the additional merit that nearly all
their players are playing in Europe anyway. Might be a problem for the Bolivias and Venezuelas of CONMEBOL.

Why stop at a UEFA / CONMEBOL Nations League? I'd be quite happy if they freshened up both confederations by temporarily transferring some teams between confederations for the World Cup qualifiers. Argentina and Brazil could come across to UEFA and in return England and Germany, who qualify so frequently and comfortably it's practically pointless having them play UEFA qualifiers, could play in CONMEBOL for a few cycles. There may be some other swaps we can do to keep things interesting.
RM
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