San Marino

[The Doctor]

Dont think Liechtenstein are as bad as they used to be

Not as bad at they used to be but still pretty ****ing terrible.

[Jordan]

England, that team that has won the world cup you mean?

Yes, that team that had won the World Cup about 27 years prior to that particular England side in that video failing to even qualify for the World Cup (and that itself was a generation ago).

Anyway, this thread is about La Serenissima. And I think UEFA has got it right. CONCACAF has a multi-stage system whereby the minnows thin out their ranks earlier with better teams joining later. It's a convoluted process which IMO is unfeasable in UEFA considering the tight fixture schedule and the necessity to qualify for tournaments held every 2 years. And the method used seems fair to me this time around (unlike WC 2010 qualifiers when the playoff seeding system was changed in the middle of the process).

And besides, are San Marino, Andorra, the Faroes etc. really going to improve just by playing against each other? San Marino could have just as easily continued to have been considered as Italian in the footballing world as they once were, as IIRC Monaco is "French." However, I'd guess that being in such a tiny country yet having their own national team that can play against the best teams in the world means a little more to their citizens than a -53 goal difference.

[shen]

Dont think Liechtenstein are as bad as they used to be

The minnows are better tactically organized these days, which I believe is down to the many competitive games during qualifiers.

You do see the odd hammering, but generally the scores seem much more respectable. Nobody fancies a trip to the Faroes, Iceland, Cyprus, the Baltics etc. When even Luxembourg can beat the Swiss, it really emphasizes that if you have an off-day, they can cause an upset.

Anyway, this thread is about La Serenissima. And I think UEFA has got it right. CONCACAF has a multi-stage system whereby the minnows thin out their ranks earlier with better teams joining later. It's a convoluted process which IMO is unfeasable in UEFA considering the tight fixture schedule and the necessity to qualify for tournaments held every 2 years. And the method used seems fair to me this time around (unlike WC 2010 qualifiers when the playoff seeding system was changed in the middle of the process).

And besides, are San Marino, Andorra, the Faroes etc. really going to improve just by playing against each other? San Marino could have just as easily continued to have been considered as Italian in the footballing world as they once were, as IIRC Monaco is "French." However, I'd guess that being in such a tiny country yet having their own national team that can play against the best teams in the world means a little more to their citizens than a -53 goal difference.

I agree with this. Apart from the seeding system. If Portugal make it, that will be the second consecutive tournament that they get a higher seeding than Denmark during the group draw, despite losing out twice to us as top seeds. How frickin fair is that? And why should anyone get seeded for the playoffs? They all finished as runners-up, so they should all be treated on equal footing, no?