...actually a test balloon for a reformed (tiered) UEFA WC qualification
setup?


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On Saturday, June 11, 2022 at 7:25:44 PM UTC+1, anders t wrote:

...actually a test balloon for a reformed (tiered) UEFA WC qualification setup?

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If you mean will it move to a system where only the teams in the top tier can qualify, I hope not. One of the great things about the current system is that on the first day of qualification any team has a chance to qualify. A nation can have one good season and upset the odds to qualify for the World Cup.
If they want to freshen things up they can do away with the seeding system that always sees England (for instance, there are other nations who benefit too) get ridiculously easy draws where they're practically guaranteed to qualify before a ball is kicked. Make it an unseeded draw, if England, Spain and Portugal draw one another so be it.
RM
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Quoting Real Mardin in rec.sport.soccer:

On Saturday, June 11, 2022 at 7:25:44 PM UTC+1, anders t wrote:

...actually a test balloon for a reformed (tiered) UEFA WC qualification
setup?

If you mean will it move to a system where only the teams in the top tier can qualify, I hope not. One of the great things about the current system is that on the first day of qualification any team has a chance to qualify. A nation can have one good season and upset the odds to qualify for the World Cup.

I mean like this, but possible with some kind of playoffs between bottom
teams from the top tier and lower tier teams.

If they want to freshen things up they can do away with the seeding system that always sees England (for instance, there are other nations who benefit too) get ridiculously easy draws where they're practically guaranteed to qualify before a ball is kicked. Make it an unseeded draw, if England, Spain and Portugal draw one another so be it.

This would basically be the opposite, and the Eurocrotto contest would
thrive.


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On Saturday, June 11, 2022 at 8:25:44 PM UTC+2, anders t wrote:

...actually a test balloon for a reformed (tiered) UEFA WC qualification setup?

Yes and no. Or rather, I don't think it will be tiered in the way you want it to be.

Don't forget, from the next edition (2024/25) the 10 CONMEBOL teams will participate in the Nations League,
6 in Group A and 4 in Group B. The agreements have been signed, the 'Finalissima' between Argentina and Italy
has already been played.

But UEFA has been very tight-lipped about the exact implementation they will use (or, more likely, they don't know
yet and are in heated internal discussions). Rumour says that Nations League Group A will have 24 teams in it from
2024, with either six groups of four (making it quite awkward to qualify for a Final Four) or four groups of six.

If the latter, the additional matchdays needed will almost certainly come at the cost of 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Which can only be accomplished by increasing the number of WC qualifying groups and reducing the number of teams
in it. Perhaps 11 groups of 5, with only the group winners going through and the other 5 teams qualifying through the
Nations League. Or, even more extreme groups of four, or even three.

In the end, it appears quite clear to me that such measures will only increase volatility among qualified UEFA teams.
Think more North Macedonia, less Italy.


Ciao,
Werner

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My understanding is that some mid-lower level teams never could get international friends for whatever reason. The Nations League allows all teams in the confederation to get some international window experience. Ideally to benefit the entire confederation.
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On 2022-06-11 12:25, anders t wrote:

...actually a test balloon for a reformed (tiered) UEFA WC qualification setup?

I would not object to a tiered UEFA WC qualification. As long as there
was some system of repechage that allowed the lower tier teams a chance
to qualify.

For example, the top two teams in each league A group could qualify automatically. The 3rd place teams could play off against the winners
of the league C groups (who themselves would have to beat winners of
league D groups in some fashion to get there), the 4th placed teams
against the winners of league B groups. All this works out rather
nicely with a total of 16 berths available in the 2026 world cup.


However, as Werner mentions, the inclusion of Conmebol teams in the
Nations' league throws a gigantic spanner (wrench) in the works of that
kind of scheme. I don't like that idea at all. Pretty beneficial to
Brazil and Argentina with so many players located in europe, less so for
the lesser lights of Conmebol.

Contrary to what seems to be popular opinion on RSS I quite enjoy the
Nations' league in its current form. Everyone gets meaningful games
against beatable opponents, and (as yet) the stakes or not quite high
enough that managers are reluctant to play attacking football and
experiment with new players. Most of the games I watched in the past
week or so were enjoyable, competitive (much more so than friendlies)
and sufficiently unpredictable to avoid boredom. If this format were
left alone, I thing there is a reasonable chance it would grow on people
and become more prestigious.
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MH escreveu:

However, as Werner mentions, the inclusion of Conmebol teams in the
Nations' league throws a gigantic spanner (wrench) in the works of that
kind of scheme. I don't like that idea at all. Pretty beneficial to
Brazil and Argentina with so many players located in europe, less so for
the lesser lights of Conmebol.

Quite agreed. I don't like it either.
Conmebol is too small to cook up a Nations League of its own, but perhaps
a more interesting idea would try and approach Concacaf to join efforts
with them. That way, both confederations get to keep their own continental
cup and we'd get a Pan-American tournament as well. Copa America Centenario was fun.
Since Conmebol is probably going to revert to two groups of five for the
next cycle's WCQ (with good reason - there's little point in playing 90
games to eliminate just three teams...), I guess there'd be enough room in
the schedule for that.

Contrary to what seems to be popular opinion on RSS I quite enjoy the Nations' league in its current form. Everyone gets meaningful games
against beatable opponents, and (as yet) the stakes or not quite high
enough that managers are reluctant to play attacking football and
experiment with new players. Most of the games I watched in the past
week or so were enjoyable, competitive (much more so than friendlies)
and sufficiently unpredictable to avoid boredom. If this format were
left alone, I thing there is a reasonable chance it would grow on people
and become more prestigious.

I agree with you. I feel it's an interesting competition as it is. They
should give it time and leave it alone.
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