|
I don't think it's fair to compare Peru and Italy because the qualifying in each region is so different. CONMEBOL throws everyone in a group where the best have to play the best. UEFA is a battle of who can beat bad teams by the most (or avoid a catastrophic loss).
I kind of hate the UEFA qualifying system because of this. There are too many really bad nations appearing in what is essentially the final round of qualifying. Why does a result against the Faroe Islands or San Marino play a role in who qualifies?
Looking at how CONCACAF does it seems better. They whittle out the bad teams before getting to the final round. For instance, I think this would be a better system.
- Start with 55 teams. Bottom 14 ranked in the region (basically their Pot 5 and 6) play a home-and-home to advance to the next round.
- The remaining 48 teams play a home-and-home to advance to the group stage. Also seeded based on rankings. So France would play a nation like Cyprus in this.
- The final 24 teams are broken into 4 groups of 6. Top 3 in each group advance. 4-team playoff between the 4th place teams for the final spot in the World Cup.
That way you have 10 matches against teams that are for the most part, competitive.
|