I'm watching this live. Looks like a decent draw really but Poland might be tricky. I'm wondering if qualification could be a poisoned chalice in view of all the heat.
I don't know why the Powers that be don't put Andorra, San Marino, Gibraltar, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein etc all into one group. Rather than being the whipping boys and finishing bottom of their groups with say, a goal difference of -23, surely it would be better to let at least one smaller Nation make it to a big tournament.
I don't know why the Powers that be don't put Andorra, San Marino, Gibraltar, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein etc all into one group. Rather than being the whipping boys and finishing bottom of their groups with say, a goal difference of -23, surely it would be better to let at least one smaller Nation make it to a big tournament.
I don't know why the Powers that be don't put Andorra, San Marino, Gibraltar, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein etc all into one group. Rather than being the whipping boys and finishing bottom of their groups with say, a goal difference of -23, surely it would be better to let at least one smaller Nation make it to a big tournament.
JTG
Isn't the intention for the best teams to make the finals? I would find it a bit bizarre for say England, France and Germany to be drawn together and one knocked out while say Andorra get to the finals due to a sympathy draw.
Why not have a competition for lower teams. Like the ICC trophy in Cricket.
I don't know why the Powers that be don't put Andorra, San Marino, Gibraltar, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein etc all into one group. Rather than being the whipping boys and finishing bottom of their groups with say, a goal difference of -23, surely it would be better to let at least one smaller Nation make it to a big tournament.
JTG
Isn't the intention for the best teams to make the finals? I would find it a bit bizarre for say England, France and Germany to be drawn together and one knocked out while say Andorra get to the finals due to a sympathy draw.
Why not have a competition for lower teams. Like the ICC trophy in Cricket.
It’s nothing to do with a “sympathy vote”. - What is the point of placing the minnow nations in qualifying groups without any chance of qualifying?
John has a point insofar as the draw always has seeding & grading, rather than being genuinely open.
Although I recall a fairly recent World Cup group with 3 previous winners in it... Italy, Uruguay & England, with little Costa Rica as the whipping boys...
Isn't the intention for the best teams to make the finals? I would find it a bit bizarre for say England, France and Germany to be drawn together and one knocked out while say Andorra get to the finals due to a sympathy draw.
Why not have a competition for lower teams. Like the ICC trophy in Cricket.
It’s nothing to do with a “sympathy vote”. - What is the point of placing the minnow nations in qualifying groups without any chance of qualifying?
JTG
You can say that about any competition. What is the point of Crawley Town entering the FA Cup when we have no chance of winning it?
The answer is that just like we enjoy winning a couple of games and getting a draw like Leeds, so Andorra and San Marino have the chance to host a team like England. That is their cup final.
John has a point insofar as the draw always has seeding & grading, rather than being genuinely open.
Although I recall a fairly recent World Cup group with 3 previous winners in it... Italy, Uruguay & England, with little Costa Rica as the whipping boys...
...they obviously did not read the script...!
Isn't that the case with most competitions?
The FA Cup is seeded and graded in the sense that teams of different levels enter at different times. The European competitions the same. Of course there will always be the occasional shock along the way (Derby, Iceland etc) but generally the better teams reach the concluding games.
I don't know why the Powers that be don't put Andorra, San Marino, Gibraltar, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein etc all into one group. Rather than being the whipping boys and finishing bottom of their groups with say, a goal difference of -23, surely it would be better to let at least one smaller Nation make it to a big tournament.
JTG
They are trying this with the Nations League..........
