The Road to Qatar.

[maplebanana]

sorry to spam the board with more math, but in case I don't have time to calculate the points, I made a plot that you can look it up:

 

I limited it to -500 ... +500 because there are no teams 500 better or 500 worse than us right now. As you can see, the plot asymptotically approaches 0 for beating really bad teams, and approaches the multiplier value for beating really good teams. The multipliers here just scale the whole curve, and the points gained for beating the same rank as you is exactly 0.5 x multiplier. 

Hope this helps.

[Binky]

13 minutes ago, Kent said:

The opposite I would say. If we kill it in Nations League, we might make the hex. I'm organizing a group of 13 to go to the Canada vs USA game and when this announcement was made I started telling the people in the group that the game is even more important than I originally thought.

I guess I'm just super effing bummed out!! For over 20 years I've been waiting, hoping, wanting, praying for Canada to make it to the Hex and go head-to-head with all of the super-powers of CONCACAF. Now that we finally have the talent to do so, Mt. Vic comes up with this idiotic format, which put us at risk of getting upset by an average Central American side in a series of high-risk home-and home match-ups. Please don't do us no favours, Mt. Vic.

[Kent]

28 minutes ago, maplebanana said:

sorry to spam the board with more math, but in case I don't have time to calculate the points, I made a plot that you can look it up:

 

I limited it to -500 ... +500 because there are no teams 500 better or 500 worse than us right now. As you can see, the plot asymptotically approaches 0 for beating really bad teams, and approaches the multiplier value for beating really good teams. The multipliers here just scale the whole curve, and the points gained for beating the same rank as you is exactly 0.5 x multiplier. 

Hope this helps.

No apologies necessary for me at least. This is awesome work. Keep the math coming!

[Binky]

Anyhow!!!

The cards have been dealt. Mt. Vic has forced his master format down everybody's throat, and were still stuck with Herdman, for now. There's no option other than to play our hand as best we can, cause this game only comes to town once every four years, so it's absolutely vital that we stand united from here on in, as the Road to Qatar commences on September 7th, just 57 days from now, and our lads are going to need all the support they can get from us, cause the CSA sure as heck ain't providing it.

Basically, as I see it, we need to win our group, plus the semi-final match of the Nations League in order to qualify for the HEX. If we have any aspirations of making it to Qatar, then we need 10 quality matches against the best in CONCACAF. Sorry, but I'm too old and I just can't get it up anymore for a bunch matches against Caribbean minnows. So first things first. We open our Nations League group campaign with what should be the easiest match on paper, followed by the next easiest, then the next easiest after that, before wrapping up the group with our toughest match of the four. In other words, the best possible progression to building up momentum.

Our players need and deserve a full-house at BMO Field on September 7th. They need to know that Canada stands united behind them in this send off match. Teams in every other CONCACAF country receive that kind of support, and there's no reason why we can't do the same? A full house and a victory in our opening match is a must. If we can't fill a stadium in Canada's most populous city to kick off a World Cup campaign, then there's something seriously wrong us. Unfortunately, I will be unable to leave Victoria in September, but for those living in the Greater TO area there's no excuse. Encourage your friends to attend. Buy a ticket for someone, your Mom, or even someone you don't like. However, most of all, we have to keep the faith and believe in our players. WE ARE GOING TO BEAT THOSE YANKEE BAS_ARDS!!! We've been far too polite, for far too long. No more Mr. Nice Guys!!! Now it's time to kick some serious .... (well you know)

Edited July 13, 2019 by Binky

[Yoginess]

What I’m hearing about the fifa point system is that if we’re as good of a team as we think we are, and keep chipping away at the victories by 2026 we could firmly be in a very nice position 

[Binky]

45 minutes ago, Yoginess said:

What I’m hearing about the fifa point system is that if we’re as good of a team as we think we are, and keep chipping away at the victories by 2026 we could firmly be in a very nice position 

It will be interesting to see how that unfolds, as I believe it still has not been determined whether Mexico, the United States and Canada will all qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup Final as co-hosts? With the 2026 tournament expanding to 48 countries, and CONCACAF being awarded 6 places, will the other 32 CONCACAF nations still be using the HEX format for qualifying? If that's the case, it would leave a 0% chance of qualifying for the 26 countries that are not ranked in the top-6 of CONCACAF. Mt. Vic's format is showing more and more cracks as time goes on. Maybe his brilliant format will only be used for the Qatar World Cup, and he'll come up with another hair-brained scheme for the 2026 World Cup?

[Yoginess]

If there was a joint bid with two countries in a 32 team WC, both teams would make it. Seems silly at in a 33% larger tournament they would have a problem expanding host nation spots by 33% but I can totally see FIFA having a problem.

[Binky]

1 hour ago, Yoginess said:

If there was a joint bid with two countries in a 32 team WC, both teams would make it. Seems silly at in a 33% larger tournament they would have a problem expanding host nation spots by 33% but I can totally see FIFA having a problem.

I agree 100%. Having a country host/co-host a World Cup Final and not qualifying automatically? It seems impossible to imagine, and it has thus far never happened in the entire 89-year history of FIFA World Cup Finals! However, FIFA has already officially announced that CONCACAF will only have 6 places at the newly expanded 2026 World Cup Final, and that does not fit with the CONCACAF format that Victor Montagliani announced two days ago. The way it stands now, with the new systems, the new FIFA expanded tournament and the new CONCACAF format, there would not be a single berth, or even a half berth left for the non HEX CONCACAF countries to compete for. Mr. Montagliani's math simply does not add up!

Therefore, as I have previously mentioned in this thread, Mr. Montagliani's new format definitely leaves the door open to manipulation, because If Canada fails to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, then the pressure would really be on Gianni Infantino and FIFA to award Canada an automatic qualifying berth for co/hosting the 2026 World Cup Final. Bearing this in mind, how would it look to all CONCACAF countries, and all the FIFA countries for that matter, if Canada ends up knocking the U.S.A. out of the CONCACAF Nations League this year, as Montagliani's elitist now format very benevolently has guaranteed Mexico and the United States World Cup participation in perpetuity. All this air of possible corruption because Victor Montagliani, once again, wanted benevolently to ensure that Caribbean minnows like Montserrat are guaranteed 2 or 4 more World Cup qualifying matches every 4 years, or did he simply draft up this new format to buy CONCACAF votes?

[Binky]

Will Cuba have enough players to field a team when it plays a BMO Field on September 7th? Back in 2012 World Cup qualifying, 4 of the 15 Cuban players defected prior to the match in Toronto.

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/canada-dominates-thin-cuban-side-in-world-cup-qualifier-1.1175592

Canada dominates thin Cuban side in World Cup qualifier

Cuba dresses only 11 players after 4 leave team under murky circumstances

The Canadian Press · Posted: Oct 12, 2012 7:29 PM ET | Last Updated: October 12, 2012

 

Canada's Tosaint Ricketts, middle, celebrates with teammates Kevin McKenna, right, and David Edgar, after scoring in the first half. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

A crazy night of soccer. Missing Cubans, two red cards and 35 Canadian attempts on goal in a lopsided World Cup qualifier.

Despite the wild shooting gallery in front of Cuban goalie Odelin Molina, Canada managed only one goal in 72 minutes before scoring twice in five minutes to emerge a 3-0 winner before 17,712 on Friday night at Toronto's BMO Field.

Advancing to the final round of CONCACAF qualifying is still well within Canada's reach. A tie or win Tuesday in Honduras will be enough.

Panama tied visiting Honduras 0-0 in the other final Group C game.

That means Panama (3-1-1) and Canada (3-1-1) are tied with 10 points. Honduras (2-1-2) has eight while Cuba (0-5-0) has zero.

Panama hosts Cuba in the other game Tuesday.

Canada could even lose in Honduras and advance, in the unlikely event that Cuba beats Panama and the goal difference goes Canada's way.

The Canadians will be facing a Honduran side in need of a win to advance.

The top two in Canada's group advance to the final six-team round of qualifying in CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean.

From there, three will advance to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. A fourth CONCACAF team will take part in an intercontinental playoff with the Oceania winner to see who joins them.

Asked what a fair scoreline would have been Friday, Canadian midfielder Atiba Hutchinson paused before saying "I think we could have scored at least seven goals today, we had so many chances.

"Obviously we only had three but there could have been a lot more. And that's one of the reasons why players had their heads down a bit. Because we knew we could have had a lot more goals."

Captain Kevin McKenna was disconsolate as he left BMO Field.

"We're just not finishing our chances. It might cost us in Honduras," he said, knowing that goal difference is a tiebreaker.

"It's in our hands, obviously, if we draw or win the game (in San Pedro Sula)," he added. "But it would have been nice if we had taken a lot of pressure off ourselves by scoring more goals tonight and we didn't do that."

The Cubans dressed just 11 players for the game, meaning their bench was empty. Down the field, Canada had 10 substitutes dressed.

Pressed on the issue after the game, Cuban coach Alexander "Chandler" Gonzalez was initially reluctant to discuss anything but soccer, however, he admitted through an interpreter that some players had left the team.

Gonzalez said he had a squad of 15 players when he left Cuba and that four had since left the team. One of those was sick, he added without elaborating.

Gonzalez lamented the departures.

"As with any Cuban sport team that travels around the world, they're all chasing the American dream," he said. "And it's difficult to try to keep the team together … Obviously it's a difficult situation for the team and it's tough for me to talk about it."

FIFA rules says a team should consist of not more than 11 players, one of whom is the goalkeeper. A match may not start if either team consists of fewer than seven players."

Hart knew the Cubans were down players but opted not to tell his team about it before kickoff.

For Hart and his players, playing against a team with no substitutes was a new experience.

"It was strange," said Hart.

And Cuba was reduced to 10 men in the 70th minute after striker Roberto Linares was set off on a challenge that crumpled captain Kevin McKenna.

Three minutes later, Canadian striker Olivier Occean was sent off for a melee that ensued after Will Johnson's headed goal made it 2-0. That means Occean will have to miss the Honduras game.

Whatever the numbers, it was one-way traffic on the field and Canada — ranked No. 61 in the world — should have been ahead by a touchdown after 45 minutes.

The chances were there, but the finishing wasn't for most of the game. It's a familiar story for Hart who saw his team put 14 shots on target to Cuba's one (Canada led goal attempts 35-7) while holding 9-0 edge in corners.

Hart said he thought his team began to doubt itself and lose discipline when the goals did not keep coming in the first half.

Asked what he said at halftime, Hart replied:"The one thing I didn't want to say is keep on doing what we've been doing."

Instead he preached patience and ball movement, to see if he could stretch a tiring Cuban team and find room behind the visitors' defence.

Tosaint Ricketts scored for Canada in the 14th minute. And until Johnson's goal padded the lead with just 20 minutes remaining, the Cubans were one kick away from evening the score and silencing the enthusiastic crowd at BMO Field.

Fullback David Edgar made it 3-0 in the 78th minute with a sweet volley coming in off the flank.

"I would have liked to score six," Hart said later. "But to be honest we scored some goals, we won the game.

"And I told the players our objective should be to win the game. And what happens happens. And we did that, we scored some goals. And I'll take it."

McKenna was far gloomier, especially about the missed chances in front of goal.

"What can you say? It's been like that in Canadian soccer for a long time. I don't know."

"For me it's not good enough," he said of Friday's performance.

The Cubans, ranked 146th in the world, are just playing out the string, glued to the bottom of their four-team group.

The Cuban coach said later he was working in new talent into his squad, players chosen for "a passion and a love of the game." He noted that two of his starting 11 played injured, included one with five stitches in his leg.

Once the game started, Canada's subs and coaches sat in a line of chairs in front of the dugout. The Cuban coaching staff opted to sit in their dugout with only the coach stalking the sideline.

Ricketts finally scored for Canada in the 14th minute, set up by a beautiful interplay between Ante Jazic and Simeon Jackson. Jazic's cross eluded Hutchinson but Ricketts was there to tap it in.

The first half ended with a flurry of Canadian attacks. Canada outshooting Cuba 21-2 (9-1 in shots on target) in the half. The home side had nine corners to Cuba's none.

Cuba regained some of its poise in the second half but Canada still held the upper hand, coming at the visitors in waves. At times, it was a shooting gallery in front of Molina and more than one Canadian player should have left the ground with a big stuffed animal.

Canada is bidding to reach the final round of qualifying in the region since 1997 when it finished last in the six-man group with a 1-6-3 record.

The Canadian men have only qualified for the World Cup final once — in 1986.

Canada opened this round of qualifying with a 1-0 win over Cuba in Havana in June. The Canadians tied Honduras 0-0 in Toronto next time out.

At the recently held Gold Cup in Pasadena California, the Cuban captain defected right after Cuba's match against Mexico.

The captain of Cuba deserts the national team during the Gold Cup

Defender Yasmani López left the Cuban concentration after the match against Mexico played in Pasadena, California

Mexico 19 JUN 2019 - 09:09 CEST

Yasmani López, during a press conference of the Gold Cup. OMAR VEGA GETTY

"We only come to the field to give what we have, delivering the heart," said Cuban defender and captain Yasmani Lopez after the 7-0 loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup, played in the United States. Those were his last words as selected from Cuba.Lopez defected from the national team, as confirmed by his coach, Raul Mederos.

"With regard to the case of Yasmani, it is a decision of him, none of the comrades, we are 30, we have to do with that," Mederos added during a press conference.Yasmani Lopez, a 31-year-old central defender, represented Cuba in international soccer tournaments since 2013. His last game was against Mexico, in the first game of the group stage. Lopez, with number four in the back, played the 90 minutes with the bracelet of leader of Cuba. "The important thing is that we fight," he said at the end of the match against the Mexicans. "I'm taking nice things, it's a nice experience in the Gold Cup for us," he added.

MORE INFORMATION

• Mexico devours Cuba in the start of the Gold Cup

The Cuban national team has faced problems in the start of the Gold Cup . The Caribbean group arrived in the United States with little time to adapt: a day and a half. Yordan Santa Cruz, his first captain and scorer, who was denied his visa, could not go to the trip. The Cuban team also had problems with the distribution of uniforms and even, during the game against Mexico, its goalkeeper Sandy Sanchez wore a uniform with a coat of arms of the Cuban Federation old and different from his teammates.

The history of defections of Cuban national football and baseball teams is long. In the Gold Cup, for example, 11 players have left the team in the past six editions (2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2015). Four years ago, Ariel Martínez escaped from the hotel where they were staying despite having classified the islanders to the quarterfinals. Last November, a dozen footballers left the Cuban national team's concentration during the Concacaf Premundial sub-20.

Edited July 14, 2019 by Binky

[king1010]

They’ll have enough players. They have a large domestic league to call from. 

Of course as more players defect, the lower the quality of the remaining players. 

[Binky]

3 hours ago, king1010 said:

They’ll have enough players. They have a large domestic league to call from. 

Of course as more players defect, the lower the quality of the remaining players. 

I'd be worried about the match in Cuba. Obviously, Cuban defections are nothing new, and the Cuban authorities know that too. Because of this, the Cuban often travel with their B-team, and use their A-team for home matches only. Just go check their past line-ups. Herdman should definitely not overlook this fact. In the past Canada has done okay against Cuba on Canadian soil, but struggled in Havana. Therefore, Herdman should not get over-confident after the September 7th game in Toronto. Canada will definitely need to field our strongest possible line-up in Havana. None of this crap about saving players for other matches. We don't have the depth yet for that kind of luxury. Canada MUST get six points from these first two matches against Cuba if we are going to top the group!!!

[Bertuzzi44]

So in the lead-up to and during the Gold Cup Canada had the following effect on FIFA rankings:

Win against T&T -- oops, not an official friendly, NO POINTS FOR YOU!
Win against Matrinique -- oops not a FIFA member, NO POINTS FOR YOU!
Loss against Mexico -- oops you lost, NO POINTS FOR YOU!
Win against Cuba -- currently ranked 175th in FIFA ranking...
Loss against Haiti -- oops you lost, NO POINTS FOR YOU!

This has been our calendar year 2019 so far. Herdman better start pushing for friendlies, unless he'd rather just pad his stats against minnows only to lose out near the end to a team that "wanted it more" or whatever.

We need to make the HEX. I don't like our chances against 28 other teams, hurdle after hurdle, only to maybe get a chance to play the 4th place HEX team and if win that probably play against CONMEBOL.

Brutal.

[Binky]

1 hour ago, Bertuzzi44 said:

So in the lead-up to and during the Gold Cup Canada had the following effect on FIFA rankings:

Win against T&T -- oops, not an official friendly, NO POINTS FOR YOU!
Win against Matrinique -- oops not a FIFA member, NO POINTS FOR YOU!
Loss against Mexico -- oops you lost, NO POINTS FOR YOU!
Win against Cuba -- currently ranked 175th in FIFA ranking...
Loss against Haiti -- oops you lost, NO POINTS FOR YOU!

This has been our calendar year 2019 so far. Herdman better start pushing for friendlies, unless he'd rather just pad his stats against minnows only to lose out near the end to a team that "wanted it more" or whatever.

We need to make the HEX. I don't like our chances against 28 other teams, hurdle after hurdle, only to maybe get a chance to play the 4th place HEX team and if win that probably play against CONMEBOL.

Brutal.

Brutal? Ha!

As much as I'm no fan of Herdman, this is definitely not on him. Consider the fact that the CMNT has played only 7 international friendlies on Canadian soil over the past 10 years, then surely the CSA must be held accountable for this, as you correctly identified, brutal record.

2010-09-04  Canada - Peru  0-2  BMO Field, Toronto

2010-09-07  Canada - Honduras  2-1  Stade Saputo, Montreal

2011-06-01  Canada - Ecuador  2-2  BMO Field, Toronto

2013-05-28  Canada - Costa Rica  0-1  Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton

2014-09-09  Canada - Jamaica 3-1  BMO Field, Toronto

2017-06-13  Canada - Curacao 2-1  Stade Saputo, Montreal

2017-09-02  Canada - Jamaica 2-0  BMO Field, Toronto

I know that many of you get upset at me when I criticize the CSA, but come on now, really. Is this an acceptable track record for an national association that tries to pass itself off as being committed to the success of our national teams? Please. Give me an effing break!!!

   

[Binky]

Why are FIFA and CONCACAF making the beautiful game so convoluted? It appears that the powers in control are attempting to manipulate the outcome of matches and tournaments far too much. Not only has VAR has taken momentum out of the game, it has also deprived fans of the joy that controversy, as a result of human error, brings about. For example, years from now soccer fans will have nothing memorable to discuss, such as "the Hand of God," or "England's third goal of the 1966 World Cup Final," just to named name a couple of incidents. The powers in control have made the game as sterile as a hospital operating room. Yuk!

Even worse is the emphasis that FIFA and CONCACAF are placing on ranking systems. Talk about convolution of a game originally invented in a London tavern back in 1863 with only 13 rules. That seemed to work just fine for a century and a half. Just look at today's CONCACAF rankings with the FIFA/Coca-Cola rankings. Why the difference? Why not just put all the names in a hat and have a "fair and square" draw?

FIFA World Rankings CONCACAF FIFA Country Points +/- 1 18  Mexico 1557 2 30  United States 1495  6 3 39  Costa Rica 1453  1 4 54  Jamaica 1397  2 5 61  Honduras 1368 6 69  El Salvador 1342  2 7 75  Panama 1322  1 8 78  Canada 1314 9 79  Curaçao 1302  3 10 92  Trinidad and Tobago 1269  1 11 101  Haiti 1219  1 12 124  Antigua and Barbuda 1136  1 13 129  Nicaragua 1118 14 133  Saint Kitts and Nevis 1096  2 15 145  Guatemala 1072  2 16 152  Suriname 1045 17 154  Dominican Republic 1028 18 164  Barbados 996  3 19 166  Belize 994  3 20 172  Saint Lucia 975  2 21 173  Grenada 973  1 22 174  Bermuda 964  1 23 175  Cuba 961  1 24 177  Dominica 954  1  Guyana 954  2  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 954  1 27 180  Puerto Rico 940  1 28 189  Aruba 909  1 29 197  Montserrat 895  2 30 199  U.S. Virgin Islands 888  1 31 205  Cayman Islands 867  1  British Virgin Islands 867  1 33 208  Turks and Caicos Islands 862 34 209  Anguilla 857 35 210  Bahamas 855

CONCACAF Ranking Rank Team Pts +/- 1  Mexico 2,009 2  United States 1,879 3  Costa Rica 1,776 4  Honduras 1,641 5  Panama 1,558 6  Canada 1,502  1 7  Jamaica 1,473  1 8  Guatemala 1,431 9  El Salvador 1,424  1 10  Haiti 1,392  1 11  Trinidad and Tobago 1,335 12  Martinique 1,328 13  Cuba 1,163 14  Nicaragua 1,081  2 15  Curaçao 1,069  1 16  French Guiana 1,069  1 17  Guadeloupe 1,000 18  Suriname 997  1 19  Saint Kitts and Nevis 970  1 20  Bermuda 955  3 21  Antigua and Barbuda 955  1 Rank Team Pts +/- 22  Guyana 955  1 23  Dominican Republic 919  3 24  Belize 828 25  Saint Lucia 826 26  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 802 27  Grenada 798 28  Bonaire 735 29  Barbados 694 30  Dominica 649  1 31  Puerto Rico 609  1 32  Aruba 579 33  Montserrat 567  2 34  Bahamas 540  1 35  Cayman Islands 494  1 36  Turks and Caicos Islands 473 37  U.S. Virgin Islands 418 38  Sint Maarten 344  1 39  Saint Martin 293  1 40  British Virgin Islands 236  1 41  Anguilla 235  1

 

 

Edited July 15, 2019 by Binky

[Binky]

Great! That makes it even more convoluted. Why would Victor Montagliani use the FIFA rankings, as that is the only one that does not have Canada in the top six? Is he being typically Canadian polite? Better yet, why doesn't he use the Voyageurs ranking, in which case Canada would knock Mexico off of its perch.

FIFA:

1 Mexico  - 1,557

2 United States  - 1,495

3 Costa Rica  - 1,453

4 Jamaica  - 1,397

5 Honduras  - 1,368

6 El Salvador  - 1,342

CONCACAF:

1 Mexico  - 2,009

2 United States  - 1,879

3 Costa Rica  - 1,776

4 Honduras  - 1,641

5 Panama  - 1,558

6 Canada  - 1,502

ELO:

1 Mexico  - 1886

2 United States  - 1739

3 Costa Rica  - 1685

4 Haiti   - 1590

5 Hondurass   - 1586

6 Canada  - 1576

[Binky]

The 3 rankings above agree on the top 3 places in CONCACAF.

1 Mexico

2 United States

3 Costa Rica

So why not have the remaining 32 countries compete in two rounds of qualifiers to end up with 3 additional countries for the HEX?

First round: 4 groups of five countries, and 2 groups of 6 countries, playing home and away matches. The 6 group winners advancing to the second round.

Second round: Either 1 group of 6 countries playing home and away matches with the top 3 countries advancing to play Mexico, the United States and Costa Rica in the Hex. Or having 3 pairings playing home and away matches, with the 3 winners advancing to play Mexico, the United States and Costa Rica in the Hex.

[Kent]

2 hours ago, Binky said:

The 3 rankings above agree on the top 3 places in CONCACAF.

1 Mexico

2 United States

3 Costa Rica

So why not have the remaining 32 countries compete in two rounds of qualifiers to end up with 3 additional countries for the HEX?

First round: 4 groups of five countries, and 2 groups of 6 countries, playing home and away matches. The 6 group winners advancing to the second round.

Second round: Either 1 group of 6 countries playing home and away matches with the top 3 countries advancing to play Mexico, the United States and Costa Rica in the Hex. Or having 3 pairings playing home and away matches, with the 3 winners advancing to play Mexico, the United States and Costa Rica in the Hex.

Your proposal has 3 rounds that all include 6 team groups. That's 30 matches. I don't think there are enough international dates for that, even if there is no Nations League after the 2019-2020 edition.

[Blackdude]

2 hours ago, Binky said:

Great! That makes it even more convoluted. Why would Victor Montagliani use the FIFA rankings, as that is the only one that does not have Canada in the top six? Is he being typically Canadian polite? Better yet, why doesn't he use the Voyageurs ranking, in which case Canada would knock Mexico off of its perch.

Because FIFA forces confederations to use the FIFA rankings for any draw at the FIFA World Cup. The date is the only thing the confederation can choose.

Edited July 15, 2019 by Blackdude

[Binky]

3 hours ago, Kent said:

Your proposal has 3 rounds that all include 6 team groups. That's 30 matches. I don't think there are enough international dates for that, even if there is no Nations League after the 2019-2020 edition.

Actually, if you read my proposal carefully and with an objective mind, then you will see that there is an option for the second round which you chose to conveniently ignore, or carelessly overlook:

"Second round: Either 1 group of 6 countries playing home and away matches with the top 3 countries advancing to play Mexico, the United States and Costa Rica in the Hex. Or having 3 pairings playing home and away matches, with the 3 winners advancing to play Mexico, the United States and Costa Rica in the Hex."

So yes, you are right, in that the first proposed option for the second round would not work for this World Cup because FIFA chose to dragged its heels in trying to figure out how best to deal with the Sepp-Blatter-fiasco-awarding of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Thus, using the second option would reduce the number of matches from 28/30 to 20/22.

Also, the proposed first round features groups comprised of 5 and 6 countries, in which again you chose to only look at the one-third of the proposal that suited your point-of-point. I find keeping an open mind to be most useful when trying to work with people in finding an alternative solutions to the not so very well thought out format presented by Victor Montagliani, which he intentionally kept under wraps as long as possible before disclosing it to the world, in order to guarantee that his Mickey-Mouse format would be the one that is going to be used.

The reason I threw this proposal out there, is to see if there is a better alternative to what Mt. Vic has come up with. Sure my proposal needs to be worked on, or maybe even scrapped entirely for a better proposed format. I just wish that Mt. Vic would have had the wisdom and transparency to do the same.

 

Edited July 16, 2019 by Binky

[Kent]

15 hours ago, Binky said:

Actually, if you read my proposal carefully and with an objective mind, then you will see that there is an option for the second round which you chose to conveniently ignore, or carelessly overlook:

"Second round: Either 1 group of 6 countries playing home and away matches with the top 3 countries advancing to play Mexico, the United States and Costa Rica in the Hex. Or having 3 pairings playing home and away matches, with the 3 winners advancing to play Mexico, the United States and Costa Rica in the Hex."

So yes, you are right, in that the first proposed option for the second round would not work for this World Cup because FIFA chose to dragged its heels in trying to figure out how best to deal with the Sepp-Blatter-fiasco-awarding of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Thus, using the second option would reduce the number of matches from 28/30 to 20/22.

Also, the proposed first round features groups comprised of 5 and 6 countries, in which again you chose to only look at the one-third of the proposal that suited your point-of-point. I find keeping an open mind to be most useful when trying to work with people in finding an alternative solutions to the not so very well thought out format presented by Victor Montagliani, which he intentionally kept under wraps as long as possible before disclosing it to the world, in order to guarantee that his Mickey-Mouse format would be the one that is going to be used.

The reason I threw this proposal out there, is to see if there is a better alternative to what Mt. Vic has come up with. Sure my proposal needs to be worked on, or maybe even scrapped entirely for a better proposed format. I just wish that Mt. Vic would have had the wisdom and transparency to do the same.

 

I did read it carefully, and totally with an objective mind (you'll notice my critique was objective). I was just responding on my phone, so I was lazy about how much I got into it, and just gave a simplified, not so thorough observation. I didn't have time to check if 22 dates could be accommodated or not, but I was quite certain 30 couldn't.

[Guest]

Unrelated but North and South Korea got put in the same group for AFC qualifiers. That should be interesting

[CanadianSoccerFan]

Started to get in the World Cup mood when I realized Qatar is already nearing completion of its stadiums. The first two have fully retractable roofs with air conditioning and one of them happens to look like the world's largest vagina.

 

 

[Binky]

1 hour ago, CanadianSoccerFan said:

Started to get in the World Cup mood when I realized Qatar is already nearing completion of its stadiums. The first two have fully retractable roofs with air conditioning and one of them happens to look like the world's largest vagina.

 

 

I just pray that all of these stadiums are terrorist-attack-proof. Hopefully, FIFA has addressed all the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of players, officials and fans, because the completed stadiums sure look like very susceptible targets for neighbouring enemies.

Edited July 18, 2019 by Binky

[An Observer]

2 hours ago, Binky said:

I just pray that all of these stadiums are terrorist-attack-proof. Hopefully, FIFA has addressed all the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of players, officials and fans, because the completed stadiums sure look like very susceptible targets for neighbouring enemies.

Which neigbouring enemies?  If you are talking about Saudi Arabia, UAE, etc due to their current spat, they are not that crazy to start a terrorist attack.  Iran is an ally of Qatar.  If you are talking about ISIS, Qatar has been accused of bankrolling them or at least being permissive of their financing.  So I think its probably much safer to host the World Cup there then in Europe including Russia that went off without a hitch last summer

Edited July 18, 2019 by An Observer

[Binky]

1 hour ago, An Observer said:

Which neigbouring enemies?  If you are talking about Saudi Arabia, UAE, etc due to their current spat, they are not that crazy to start a terrorist attack.  Iran is an ally of Qatar.  If you are talking about ISIS, Qatar has been accused of bankrolling them or at least being permissive of their financing.  So I think its probably much safer to host the World Cup there then in Europe including Russia that went off without a hitch last summer

I'd say Qatar has a headache or two to contend with:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017–19_Qatar_diplomatic_crisis

Things could get mighty interesting depending on who qualifies, and who draws who in the tournament.

Almost looks like some soccer fans taking a last-minute False Creek ferry ride to BC Place to catch an Israel vs. Iran soccer match, don't it?

Edited July 18, 2019 by Binky