The new concacaf world cup qualifying campaign is the dumbest thing ive ever seen
db707
Post #2
Wednesday July 10, 2019 9:27pm
Joined Oct 2013
Total Posts: 1,128
Just saw it, yeah that is a disaster.
db707
Post #3
Wednesday July 10, 2019 11:14pm
Joined Oct 2013
Total Posts: 1,128
To quickly recap it, Concacaf's top 6 in the FIFA rankings as of June 2020 go into a new Hex automatically, where 3 qualify. Teams 7-35 have to slog it out amongst themselves for 1 of them to win their way into a playoff against the 4th place team in the Hex, and THEN an inter-continental playoff, with only a chance at .5 of the 3.5 places offered to Concacaf in total.
It is an absurd format. If I were Panama or Haiti (who based on what we just saw could easily argue they're the third best team in Concacaf right now) or one of the other teams with a legit shot to qualify that is on the outside of the top 6 right now I would strongly consider legal action to get this changed. Every country at least having a theoretical shot at any one of the region's WC places, even if they start off in an earlier round, should be a basic principle of World Cup qualifying.
cudevil
Post #4
Wednesday July 10, 2019 11:34pm
Joined Oct 2012
Total Posts: 1,204
Aside form eliminating the early qualifying stages, what is the rationale of having team 7 jump over teams 5 and 6 to then play team 4 for chance to play whatever intercontinental playoff?
db707
Post #5
Thursday July 11, 2019 12:06am
Joined Oct 2013
Total Posts: 1,128
Original post from cudevil
Aside form eliminating the early qualifying stages, what is the rationale of having team 7 jump over teams 5 and 6 to then play team 4 for chance to play whatever intercontinental playoff?
I think the real question is what is the rationale of having teams 5 and 6 in the FIFA rankings given an opportunity to be team 1, 2 or 3 (in the Hex, noting that we despite a poor campaign were only denied 3rd last time by a phantom Panama goal, so there's plenty of margin for error to finish top 3) and team 7 be denied the same opportunity?
The absurdity gets worse actually. Trinidad and Tobago, outside the top 6 now but a Hex qualifier last time, can't improve their FIFA ranking as much as their competition because they're drawn in the Nations League against Martinique (a non-FIFA member) twice, so those games don't count. Same problem for Honduras in that group, they have less of a chance to hold on to the 5th spot they currently occupy. It's a farce.
db707
Post #6
Thursday July 11, 2019 12:31am
Joined Oct 2013
Total Posts: 1,128
Correction, Honduras was denied 3rd of course, we were denied a playoff.
EKneezy Atlanta
Post #7
Monday July 27, 2020 9:08pm
Joined May 2013
Total Posts: 3,428
New format has been confirmed Top 8 in the region home and away
Glad they finally changed it to something at least better. It kind of sucks for a Canada, Panama or Haiti that they have so much more to do than a Honduras still, but at least they have a shot at one of 3 full places plus a playoff instead of just a chance to make a playoff (to get to another playoff).
Samtom23
Post #9
Wednesday July 29, 2020 4:18pm
Joined Jun 2018
Total Posts: 555
On a more serious note. It is disappointing that some professional footballers have to deal with this shit.
More Disappointed you posted an article from fake news CNN
Samtom23
Post #11
Thursday July 30, 2020 1:25am
Joined Jun 2018
Total Posts: 555
Original post from blaise213
More Disappointed you posted an article from fake news CNN
Not a big fan of CNN either. Media in general is terrible nowadays.
hamsamwich
Post #12
Thursday July 30, 2020 2:43am
Joined Oct 2013
Total Posts: 3,630
You gotta say it's a strange format and seems like just as many games for the USA.
@db707- the six seeded teams for the first round: El Salvador, Canada, Haiti, Panama, Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago- those are pretty much the rest of any of the decent concacaf teams although of course there is always Guatemala. The group they land in seems like trouble otherwise I expect the seeded teams to roll through to their head to head matchups to determine who makes the final round. **the round 2 will be pressure packed concacaf crap at its best.
db707
Post #13
Friday July 31, 2020 6:14pm
Joined Oct 2013
Total Posts: 1,128
Original post from hamsamwich
You gotta say it's a strange format and seems like just as many games for the USA.
@db707- the six seeded teams for the first round: El Salvador, Canada, Haiti, Panama, Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago- those are pretty much the rest of any of the decent concacaf teams although of course there is always Guatemala. The group they land in seems like trouble otherwise I expect the seeded teams to roll through to their head to head matchups to determine who makes the final round. **the round 2 will be pressure packed concacaf crap at its best.
Yeah, Guatemala is artificially low because of the time they were suspended. I am just glad they did away with the whole idea that if you weren't ranked in the top 6 you could only compete for a playoff place, that idea was always terrible.
hamsamwich
Post #14
Friday July 31, 2020 9:12pm
Joined Oct 2013
Total Posts: 3,630
Now those 3 squads will be coming into the final round (cool name yet to be determined) having warmed up against weaker competition and then gone through the knockout round. Sort of like a wild card team in baseball I guess. Canada looks to be the strongest of that group but for the USA any of El Salvador, Panama, t&t, they all bring a certain element to our road games that if there are no fans it'll be different for sure. This whole thing is going to be strange and there may be a 3rd place team we don't expect. Costa Rica and Panama are revamping their teams.
hamsamwich
Post #15
Friday August 21, 2020 5:30am
Joined Oct 2013
Total Posts: 3,630
The second round matchups are the winners of group A vs F, B vs E, and C vs D. The seeded teams in those groups and potential 2nd round contenders look to be El Salvador (A), Trinidad and Tobago (F), Canada (B), Haiti (E), Curaçao (C), and Panama (D).
Total Posts: 436