2022 World Cup qualification - UEFA

[Sean of the Shed]

Group draw is on 7th December at 5pm GMT.

These are the pots based on current FIFA rankings:

Pot 1: Belgium, France, England, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands.

Pot 2: Switzerland, Wales, Poland, Sweden, Austria, Ukraine, Serbia, Turkey, Slovakia, Romania.

Pot 3: Russia, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Czech Republic, Norway, Northern Ireland, Iceland, Scotland, Greece, Finland.

Pot 4: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Israel, Belarus, Georgia, Luxembourg.

Pot 5: Armenia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Latvia, Andorra.

Pot 6: Malta, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar, San Marino.

[Duncan Gardner]

I'm hoping for

Belgium (haven't played their men since WC 78, Eurostar Party Train potential)

Wales (owe them one after 2016)

Luxembourg (hopefully not conceding 4 this time)

Armenia (City in the Sky)

[Sean of the Shed]

Some additional criteria/restrictions:

Nations League finalists: The four teams participating in the 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals (Belgium, France, Italy and Spain) will be drawn into a group with five teams (Groups A–E). Additionally, these groups can only contain a maximum of one Nations League finalist.

Prohibited clashes: For political reasons, matches between following pairs of teams are considered prohibited clashes, unable to be drawn into the same group: Armenia / Azerbaijan, Gibraltar / Spain, Kosovo / Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo / Serbia, Kosovo / Russia, Russia / Ukraine.

Winter venues: A maximum of two teams whose venues are identified as having high or medium risk of severe winter conditions can be placed in each group: Belarus, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Russia, Ukraine.

The two "hard winter venues" (Faroe Islands and Iceland) generally cannot host games in March or November, and therefore cannot be drawn together; the others shall play as few home matches as possible in March and November.

Excessive travel: A maximum of one pair of teams identified with excessive travel distance in relation to other countries can be placed in each group:
Azerbaijan: with Iceland, Gibraltar, Portugal.
Iceland: with Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia, Israel.
Kazakhstan: with Andorra, England, Faroe Islands, France, Gibraltar, Iceland, Malta, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Wales.

[VillanoXIV]

Scotland to get Austria, Denmark, Belarus/Luxembourg, Andorra and San Marino please.

[Ray de Galles]

My ideal group :

Germany
Wales
Iceland
Montenegro
Cyprus
Malta

[Satchmo Distel]

There doesn't seem to be much difference in quality between Pots 2 and 3 on current form (such as Nations League rankings), as opposed to whatever formula FIFA is using. There are plenty of head to heads between those pots there that would be 50-50 calls, and some where the Pot C side would start favourite. Croatia are perhaps getting past it to be a Pot 1 side but obviously earn the slot as 2018 runners-up.

[Sean of the Shed]

With regard to excessive travel, I am bewildered as to how they manage to draw a group that Kazakhstan can suitably slot in to without drawing them first.

[Gangster Octopus]

Aren't we ignoring this tournament?

[Diable Rouge]

Only if any of the Five Nations actually qualify for the finals.

[Diable Rouge]

Ireland seem to play Denmark and Wales with bewildering regularity, so Georgia, Cyprus and Gibraltar would complete a Group of Familiarity.

[elguapo4]

I'd happily never play any of those countries again.

[Wouter D]

Aren't we ignoring this tournament?

I'm not.

Surely we can have an OTF where some of us boycott the tournament and others don't. We already have an Ignore Poster function, so why not also have an Ignore Subforum?

[Gangster Octopus]

Ha!

[Satchmo Distel]

You can refuse to take the tournament seriously as an event but still enjoy the absurdity of England fans thinking they will win it. I'm also struggling to see how Klopp and other BRC managers are going to cooperate with this, which fucks their best players' seasons, so that might be worth savouring.

The qualifying format probably means that England or another Pot 1 side will be sweating it out in the playoffs, another season fucker.

[1974ddr]

Scotland to get Austria, Denmark, Belarus/Luxembourg, Andorra and San Marino please.

We should sort the draw out like this. OK Villano, you got in first, so for England can I pick Romania, Greece, Georgia, Estonia and Gibraltar?

[Jah Womble]

You can refuse to take the tournament seriously as an event but still enjoy the absurdity of England fans thinking they will win it.

I keep hearing this type of comment, but have yet to encounter an England follower who genuinely thinks that way. (Last time out, nobody really reckoned Southgate’s squad would do anything - but inevitably the same cliches abounded.)

Sure, your Union Flag-toting die-hards will shout it from their red, white and blue rooftops - but they’d likely be doing that even if we hadn’t qualified.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

I don't see any reason, 24 months out, why England wouldn't genuinely be among the favourites. We've had golden generations before but the big flaw with the last one was that they were Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen and four midfielders who could only fill two positions. This crop of young players are all over the pitch from right-back to number 10, with a centre forward in Kane who's getting better with age. If anything Southgate's main problem is going to be who to build his first team around and who to leave out.

[Sean of the Shed]

Draw later today.

The ten matchdays will be played over just four periods, so groups with six teams will have to play three qualifiers in each of the first two periods, which should please Pep Gunnar Klopp.

March 2021: Matchday 1-3

September 2021: Matchday 4-6

October 2021: Matchday 7-8

November 2021: Matchday 9-10

There are 13 places for UEFA teams, ten group winners and three play-off winners.
The play-offs will take place in March 2022 with the ten group runners up and the two best placed Nations League winners who haven't already secured a qualifying place playing three semi-finals and finals.

[Satchmo Distel]

Ridiculous compression - yet still plenty of space for pointless friendlies in April, May, early June (pre-Euros) and August.

[G-Man]

Friendlies? There's still the very important Nations League to be played!!! No hobnobbing with assorted Third Worlders.

[Diable Rouge]

https://twitter.com/gavreilly/status/1335995327518830592

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

I do hope UEFA don't just rush this, and simply pull 55 names out of the bag in 15 minutes like doing the grand national sweepstake draw at work, but properly pad it out over 2 hours or more with some singing and dancing and announcements of UEFA Nations League player of the week awards. It's clearly what the public expects.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Wales get Belgium in one one of the groups of 5; England get Poland again in one of the groups of 6.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

The Republic of Ireland get Portugal and Serbia. Northern Ireland in with Italy and Switzerland. The Czechs join Belgium and Wales. Scotland meanwhile get Denmark and Austria, surely the best possible draw they could have hoped for. England and Poland joined by Hungary.

[Diable Rouge]

Wales get Belgium in one one of the groups of 5; England get Poland again in one of the groups of 6.

Czechia also in the Welsh group, so looks like they'll need that Nations League lifeline.