Less than eight months after they started, Europe’s World Cup qualifiers have issued (mostly) their verdict. Ten countries are participating, and another 12 will compete for the remaining three spots. Some will always complain about international football getting in the way of the club season, but we’ve come this far with just four international breaks – albeit with two headlines three due to COVID – and, with the exception of those hoping to go and are now out or leaning towards the edge, I’m not sure anyone could be too displeased with the results.
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So here are seven thoughts on what’s gone down and what’s to come…
1. Good teams have made it, or at least haven’t come out yet
NS FIFA Ranking It’s far from perfect, but it’s also not a significant measure of relative strength. The 10 group winners are all among FIFA’s top 15 European countries, and it’s not for Jorginhotwo penalties missed in both Italy game against Switzerland or Portugaloutburst against Serbia, nine of the top 10 will be the winner of the group.
That’s what you want from your qualitative system: some degree of uncertainty, but then this cream eventually comes out on top. In contrast, the highest-ranked Norway team failed to make it to the knockout stages and they finished 20th in the European standings. You can live with that.
2. Anyway, even minnows have something to cheer for… most of them do
Only two of the 55 member states (sorry, Gibraltar and San Marino, hate to rub) failed to score a single point. Only six out of 55 failed to win at least one game. Sure, San Marino and their 10-0 home defeat first England always fresh in our minds, and there will be those who will continue to make arguments about pre-classifying or excluding small states altogether. But we had the Nations League as a way for countries to play teams at their level and hopefully grow.
Is it really that terrible if every few years a big country has to face Liechtenstein or Andorra? (I imagine Harry Kane, who have four goals against San Marino, don’t think so).
3. It mainly goes down the wire
Except Germany and Denmark, who qualifies with two games to spare, and France and BelgiumThose who qualify with one or six remaining teams to win the group must wait until the final match to secure a place in the World Cup. Indeed, 5 out of 10 teams had to wait until the last inning of the final match, which is a similar story further down the food chain, with the other 4 being eliminated by just one shot in the knockout round. continue on the last day.
4. It’s more competitive than you might think
1:41
Alejandro Moreno debates whether Harry Kane will find his goalscoring form in the Premier League again.
No one is perfect in qualifying. There are only six teams unbeaten and of those, only England and Belgium made it through comfortably. Most remarkable, perhaps, is what happened on the final day of matches involving teams with nothing to play but pride.
Italy went on to Northern Ireland and hung its head in front of the green wall for 90 minutes, risking defeat at the last minute. Switzerland faced Bulgaria in similar circumstances and, while finishing 4-0 against Switzerland, they were unable to score in the first half, with Bulgaria defending as if they were fighting to win. avoid relegation to Neptune. Or beat Latvia, away from Norway on the second to last day with nothing but pride on the field, and get a 0-0 draw.
There is no escaping the fact that (with your San Marinos) there are simply fewer losses in the international game.
5. The knockout stage will bring even more drama
Twelve teams will need to be three teams next March in the European playoffs, and the format is more dramatic and tense – great if you’re neutral, less so if your country participates.
We’ll essentially have three “four finals” groups with one-leg semi-finals and finals. Six seeded teams (Portugal, Scotland, Italy, Russia, Sweden and Wales) were guaranteed a home semi-final against six unmarked (Turkey, Poland, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Shirt and Czech Republic). In addition, it is extensible: Cristiano RonaldoPortugal’s may eventually have to beat North Macedonia in Skopje to get a chance.
Two-legged encounters – like those in European cup tournaments or, up until the recent World Cup play-offs – may be considered by some to be more “fair”, but the format is certainly the same. This, with 90 minutes for all marbles, will be more attractive. No away team will park the bus in the hope of getting 0-0 (and obviously, there’s no “away goal rule”).
6. Don’t get too attached to this, as it may not last
The international match calendar – the key document by which everyone in football has agreed to govern when we play and what we play – expires in 2024. Between now and then – or indeed Before that, since the broadcast and commercial rights to the competitions will need to be sold, possibly late 2022 at the latest – the game will need to agree on some big plans for the future.
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Gab & Juls dissect Portugal’s woeful World Cup qualifying campaign as they advance to the knockout stages.
That’s why Arsene Wenger has been discussing ideas on behalf of FIFA and while his idea of a biennial Men’s World Cup is likely not going to pass (severe opposition, mainly from UEFA ), other aspects seem to be favored. These include reducing the number of breaks in the international football-specific season (from the current five games, to two or three), but making the break longer, as well as having a break compulsory rest. But there are plenty of other proposals out there, from expanding the Club World Cup, turning the Nations League into a global event, to good things—so many other things.
No one wants chaos at “witch’s hour” in 2024, which means some compromise will have to be reached. But the problem is that there is a lot we take for granted about when, what and how of football to grasp. And if it is going to change, it will be in the coming months because otherwise we won’t have the opportunity to do it for a long time.
7. Club football is back this weekend, and I’ll greet it with a metaphorical hug
Some fans hate the international break because it robs club football of momentum. We have a natural rhythm of the year, lamenting the psychological scenarios at Barcelona and Manchester United, watch soap operas take place at Paris Saint-Germain, wonder if Mohamed Salah will renew his deal at Liverpool. Most of that has happened in the last 10 days, and that’s not a bad thing. It helps us appreciate it more when it comes back.
I thoroughly enjoyed this international holiday in dramatic terms, at least. (As an Italy fan, I like the result a little less.) But I like the fact that it’s over and won’t be back for another four months – at least in Europe, with the qualifiers being played. scheduled in other parts of the world for late January – as many as.
