Football Titbits

[bodacious benny]

Mercifully I happily had no idea that England were playing tonight.

[Colly]

[bodacious benny]

Goal for Elanga v Poland.

[Colly]

Decent finish for Elanga too, smashed it. He and the rat qualify, Tonali under serious threat, Denmark have not yet unleashed Big Willy.

[Colly]

At least Sandro gets a rest this summer.

Great result for whoever signs him.

[bodacious benny]

At least Sandro gets a rest this summer.

Great result for whoever signs him.

Arsenal, Man C or Man U?

Outside bet for Liverpool under a new manager (slot is definitely gone in summer).

Italian clubs won’t be able to afford him, can’t see Real or Barcelona coming in for him. PSG would be ideal for us, but unlikely.

[overseasTOON]

Heck of a qualification route for Sweden. Be s*** for 8 games and get 2 points but sneak into the playoffs via Nations League and go to the World Cup.

[bodacious benny]

The World Cup has become an inclusive tournament for everyone, you don’t have to be good to qualify, they just let everyone in. CL is the same now.

Gotta chase that money!

[UlversToon]

Whilst I'm pleased for Elanga personally I would have preferred it if the Swedes and Isak had not qualified.

Not that I'm bitter!

[Colly]

The World Cup has become an inclusive tournament for everyone, you don’t have to be good to qualify, they just let everyone in. CL is the same now.

Gotta chase that money!

Cries in Italian.

[bodacious benny]

The World Cup has become an inclusive tournament for everyone, you don’t have to be good to qualify, they just let everyone in. CL is the same now.

Gotta chase that money!

Cries in Italian.

[TJR]

The World Cup has become an inclusive tournament for everyone, you don’t have to be good to qualify, they just let everyone in. CL is the same now.

Gotta chase that money!

Whole tournament set up is daft. 48 teams doesn't even work mathematically, means 8 of 12 3rd placed teams in the group stage go through making the group stage incredibly dull.

If they wanted to expand, they should have had 64 teams qualify. Order them by FIFA World rankings, highest ranked team 1st, lowest 64th. 1st plays 64th, 2nd v 63rd etc in a one off game. 32 winners advance to group stage, 8 groups of 4, top 2 advance to round of 16. 8 group winners play 8 runners up, then quarters, semis and final knockout format as normal.

Would at least make every stage of the tournament exciting and have some sort of jeopardy on it.

[bodacious benny]

The World Cup has become an inclusive tournament for everyone, you don’t have to be good to qualify, they just let everyone in. CL is the same now.

Gotta chase that money!

Whole tournament set up is daft. 48 teams doesn't even work mathematically, means 8 of 12 3rd placed teams in the group stage go through making the group stage incredibly dull.

If they wanted to expand, they should have had 64 teams qualify. Order them by FIFA World rankings, highest ranked team 1st, lowest 64th. 1st plays 64th, 2nd v 63rd etc in a one off game. 32 winners advance to group stage, 8 groups of 4, top 2 advance to round of 16. 8 group winners play 8 runners up, then quarters, semis and final knockout format as normal.

Would at least make every stage of the tournament exciting and have some sort of jeopardy on it.

Yeah - first phase is pointless now, there's literally zero jeopardy.

[seaside nipper]

Whole tournament set up is daft. 48 teams doesn't even work mathematically, means 8 of 12 3rd placed teams in the group stage go through making the group stage incredibly dull.

If they wanted to expand, they should have had 64 teams qualify. Order them by FIFA World rankings, highest ranked team 1st, lowest 64th. 1st plays 64th, 2nd v 63rd etc in a one off game. 32 winners advance to group stage, 8 groups of 4, top 2 advance to round of 16. 8 group winners play 8 runners up, then quarters, semis and final knockout format as normal.

Would at least make every stage of the tournament exciting and have some sort of jeopardy on it.

Yeah - first phase is pointless now, there's literally zero jeopardy.

Zero jeopardy he says….?
Hmm maybe assuming Scotland trounce Haiti 1-0 we might just scrape it on three points. However knowing us I could still see Scotland miss out due to negative diff after the Morocco and Brazil games.
Imagine watching us against Brazil in the last fixture holding out for nothing more damaging than say a two goal loss.
That would just be so Scotland.

[bodacious benny]

Yeah - first phase is pointless now, there's literally zero jeopardy.

Zero jeopardy he says….?
Hmm maybe assuming Scotland trounce Haiti 1-0 we might just scrape it on three points. However knowing us I could still see Scotland miss out due to negative diff after the Morocco and Brazil games.
Imagine watching us against Brazil in the last fixture holding out for nothing more damaging than say a two goal loss.
That would just be so Scotland.

I take it all back

Tho I have no interest in international football I always root for Scotland having been born there, and also take great joy when England fail

[Colly]

The World Cup has become an inclusive tournament for everyone, you don’t have to be good to qualify, they just let everyone in. CL is the same now.

Gotta chase that money!

Whole tournament set up is daft. 48 teams doesn't even work mathematically, means 8 of 12 3rd placed teams in the group stage go through making the group stage incredibly dull.

If they wanted to expand, they should have had 64 teams qualify. Order them by FIFA World rankings, highest ranked team 1st, lowest 64th. 1st plays 64th, 2nd v 63rd etc in a one off game. 32 winners advance to group stage, 8 groups of 4, top 2 advance to round of 16. 8 group winners play 8 runners up, then quarters, semis and final knockout format as normal.

Would at least make every stage of the tournament exciting and have some sort of jeopardy on it.

Agree completely. Nintendo didn't make an N48 after all...

I'd flip your plan though, have 16 groups and an extra knockout round, stops half the field leaving after one game. Fans have to get the guarantee their side are still in for the first two weeks.

[Timshorts 2]

Besides, the fifa ranking system is seriously flawed. The elo ranking is much more reliable.

[Over The Line]

Besides, the fifa ranking system is seriously flawed. The elo ranking is much more reliable.

They really went in a different direction after Mr Blue Sky.

[overseasTOON]

Yeah - first phase is pointless now, there's literally zero jeopardy.

Zero jeopardy he says….?
Hmm maybe assuming Scotland trounce Haiti 1-0 we might just scrape it on three points. However knowing us I could still see Scotland miss out due to negative diff after the Morocco and Brazil games.
Imagine watching us against Brazil in the last fixture holding out for nothing more damaging than say a two goal loss.
That would just be so Scotland.

We'll smash Haiti 0-0, hammer Morocco 0-0 and go into the Brazil match praying.

[bodacious benny]

Besides, the fifa ranking system is seriously flawed. The elo ranking is much more reliable.

They really went in a different direction after Mr Blue Sky.