2018 WC Qual: UEFA

[UConnTrumbull]

Dale Johnson‏@dalejohnsonESPN 6m6 minutes ago
Updated FIFA Ranking for European nations. 1. Germany, 2. Belgium, 3. Netherlands, 4. Portugal, 5. Romania, 6. England, 7. Wales, 8. Spain


UEFA World Cup qualifying draw (July 25) pot 1: Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Romania, England, Wales, Portugal, Spain, Croatia

UEFA World Cup qualifying draw (July 25) pot 2: Slovakia, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic, France, Iceland, Denmark, Bosnia-Herz

I never thought I would see Wales ranked better than Spain. I never give credence to FIFA Rankings but holy cow, Spain almost fell to Pot 2? Wales is in Pot 1? Imagine a group with Germany and Italy vying for 1 automatic WC spot...

 

[BlueMAB]

1) Can Welsh and Scottish play for England? Pardon my ignorance.

2) Man has Spain really fallen

3) I still can't believe the USA beat two of the top 3 teams in the world in back to back games on their own soil.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

I never thought I would see Wales ranked better than Spain. I never give credence to FIFA Rankings but holy cow, Spain almost fell to Pot 2? Wales is in Pot 1? Imagine a group with Germany and Italy vying for 1 automatic WC spot...

Current FIFA ranking (June 4): http://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/index.html

Based on FIFA's current website, Spain (# 10) remains ranked significantly higher than Wales (# 22). Whether that's reasonable is a different topic. Initially, I thought Johnson cited more updated rankings FIFA has not updated on their site yet and was just referencing groupings (read pots) of national teams vying against each other versus an actual ranked order of teams?

Consequently, I first thought Italy, France, etc. may be happier with their Pot 2 group competitors than Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, etc. with the current overall competitiveness of their other Pot 1 countries. Then, this additional linked article shook the cobwebs in my brain (tough task), reminded me of UEFA's multiple WC-qualifying pots, and helped clarify a little. How that equates to FIFA's current website rankings remains a mystery.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...tml?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

Different topic, but some English, Scottish, and Welsh players are eligible or can qualify to play for multiple nations just as some U.S. players were/are eligible to play for multiple nations.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Spain's national team is a bit like the NY Yankees right now, a great team that got old really fast and currently does not have enough youth in the pipeline, though still dangerous based on experience.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Spain's national team is a bit like the NY Yankees right now, a great team that got old really fast and currently does not have enough youth in the pipeline, though still dangerous based on experience.

Versus Anguilla at # 209, and the bosox pulling up the rear.

 

[UCFBfan]

I love pulling for this little countries in the Euro qualifiers. Iceland and Wales have legitimate shots at making the Euros and winning their groups. It's crazy. I hope some of these teams make the World Cup as well through qualifiers. Wales looks like a solid team with Bale. I guess they were always a team where it was them and then Bale. It seems that Bale has either bought into the system or whatever but the team is flying high and is playing as one unit. Pretty awesome for them.

 

[meyers7]

1) Can Welsh and Scottish play for England? Pardon my ignorance.

No, for FIFA, Wales, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland all have kept their FA's separate. On the Olympic side though, they are considered Great Britain.

I suppose some of them could, like any countries players, be dual citizens. But each country is considered separate for FIFA/UEFA purposes.

 

[SAMCRO]

I love pulling for this little countries in the Euro qualifiers. Iceland and Wales have legitimate shots at making the Euros and winning their groups. It's crazy. I hope some of these teams make the World Cup as well through qualifiers. Wales looks like a solid team with Bale. I guess they were always a team where it was them and then Bale. It seems that Bale has either bought into the system or whatever but the team is flying high and is playing as one unit. Pretty awesome for them.

Agreed. Wales has pretty solid contributors beyond Bale too, and they are all relatively young.... Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal), Ashley Williams (Swansea), Joe Allen (Liverpool), Ben Davies (Tottenham), and the rest of the roster is all guys who are on either EPL, Scottish PL, or League Championship sides. Hopefully they will be a factor in Europe for the next 4-8 years and beyond. Wales is pretty much a shoe-in to either win their group or finish second behind Belgium. Israel and Cypress are battling for that 3rd spot and play in game (being part Welsh and Belgian myself, and married to a Jewish girl...I'm pulling for Wales, Belgium, and Israel to get thru).

With EURO 2016 going to 24 teams (it was 16 teams previously) we should see the likes of Wales, Iceland, Scotland, Israel, among others make the finals (or at least have a play-in shot at the finals). I believe the next round of qualifiers aren't until early September.

 

[meyers7]

Agreed. Wales has pretty solid contributors beyond Bale too, and they are all relatively young.... Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal), Ashley Williams (Swansea), Joe Allen (Liverpool), Ben Davies (Tottenham), and the rest of the roster is all guys who are on either EPL, Scottish PL, or League Championship sides. Hopefully they will be a factor in Europe for the next 4-8 years and beyond. Wales is pretty much a shoe-in to either win their group or finish second behind Belgium. Israel and Cypress are battling for that 3rd spot and play in game (being part Welsh and Belgian myself, and married to a Jewish girl...I'm pulling for Wales, Belgium, and Israel to get thru).

With EURO 2016 going to 24 teams (it was 16 teams previously) we should see the likes of Wales, Iceland, Scotland, Israel, among others make the finals (or at least have a play-in shot at the finals). I believe the next round of qualifiers aren't until early September.

Love it, another big tourney to watch in the summer. Of course on the down side more players playing year round.

 

[UCFBfan]

It's crazy how spread apart these qualifiers are. I understand some breaks but after one game they wait until Sept? I believe it was a few months, then one game, and then last weekend as well. In the fall they played a few games at least.

 

[UCFBfan]

Love it, another big tourney to watch in the summer. Of course on the down side more players playing year round.

Realized that 2017 is gonna be a boring year. No Euros, no summer or winter Olympics, no World Cup. Yawn!

 

[ZooCougar]

Realized that 2017 is gonna be a boring year. No Euros, no summer or winter Olympics, no World Cup. Yawn!

Confederations Cup.

2016 could suck. Copa America Centenario is run by Traffic which is under investigation by the FBI. Long odds on that one actually happening.

 

[meyers7]

Confederations Cup.

Beat me to it.

 

[UCFBfan]

Confederations Cup.

2016 could suck. Copa America Centenario is run by Traffic which is under investigation by the FBI. Long odds on that one actually happening.

Good call. For some reason I thought the Confederations Cup was held the same year, just earlier, as the World Cup. Isn't it used as a kind of trial run for the venues for the World Cup?

Summer Olympics are in 2016. Yeah it's not all about the soccer but they're always fun and something to watch.