DTroppens Posted April 2 Posted April 2 What does everyone think about the expanded format? I have one thing to say. If the US can't advance to the with most of the field advancing they have no one to blame but themselves. The expanded field also means it's going to be a lot tougher to fill your World Cup sticker book. I still have about 12 stickers to go from the last cycle. Quote
GalagaGuy Posted April 2 Author Posted April 2 39 minutes ago, DTroppens said: What does everyone think about the expanded format? I have one thing to say. If the US can't advance to the with most of the field advancing they have no one to blame but themselves. The expanded field also means it's going to be a lot tougher to fill your World Cup sticker book. I still have about 12 stickers to go from the last cycle. I actually think it should expand to 64 teams. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and if you're going to host a tournament every 4 years to crown the best, might as well let as many teams participate as possible. Even with the expanded format, you have teams like Italy, Denmark, Poland and Nigeria who didn't qualify. 1 Quote
DTroppens Posted April 2 Posted April 2 I am basically 50% Polish and German so I really wanted Poland to qualify. After the US, my No. 2 team is Poland (it's too easy to root for Germany), so that would be great. However, I think qualifying should matter. It shouldn't be a piece of cake. I think this is Italy's third straight World Cup vacation. That's not a mistake any more. Be better. When the US didn't qualify, I was harping two cycles prior that the US was going to struggle with the cycle eight years later. I honestly think they may have struggled this cycle if not given an auto bid. I enjoy the qualifiers and don't want to see them not matter. I went to plenty of US CONCACAF qualifiers because they mattered. I was earning my fan caps for US-Mexico games in Columbus for quite a few cycles. Six CONCACAF teams automatically in 2030, and a seventh competing in a play-in home-and-home series. Ehhh, even I think the US can blindly just walk through and qualify in that scenario. It probably will go to 64 teams one day. I think there is a little talk about it for 2030,but that probably be more likely a 2034? Maybe I'm off on that and 2030 is more on the table than I think. It's more money, more fringe teams making the cup and if half the field increasing the interest in the event world-wide, so they probably will. That probably would mean another week to the tourney as well. 1 Quote
GalagaGuy Posted April 2 Author Posted April 2 (edited) Who knows why Italy struggles when it comes to qualifying for the World Cup but they are currently the 12th ranked team in the world so not having them there just feels wrong. I agree that the qualifiers would lose a bit of their luster if the field was expanded to 64, but group play would essentially become an extension of it. Since the World Cup started, something like 80 teams have qualified so even with a field of 64, it's not like you're letting anyone and everyone with a team in. Edited April 2 by GalagaGuy Quote
DTroppens Posted Monday at 03:45 AM Posted Monday at 03:45 AM The tourney starts at the end of this week. The expanded tourney will be interesting. If the US can win its group, it will make the trip to the quarterfinal much easier. It would be nice to see them get to that point. I'm not super hopeful that happens but their pool draw is about as reasonable as anyone could ever expect. With so many third place teams advancing, not making it to the round of 32 would be an embarrassment. Quote
GalagaGuy Posted Monday at 05:15 PM Author Posted Monday at 05:15 PM If the USA were to finish second in the group, that would mean they would most likely face the runner up of Group G which happens to be the group Iran is in. The absolute chaos of that match up would be fun to watch unfold. 1 Quote
Hongbit Posted Monday at 05:58 PM Posted Monday at 05:58 PM 14 hours ago, DTroppens said: The tourney starts at the end of this week. The expanded tourney will be interesting. If the US can win its group, it will make the trip to the quarterfinal much easier. It would be nice to see them get to that point. I'm not super hopeful that happens but their pool draw is about as reasonable as anyone could ever expect. With so many third place teams advancing, not making it to the round of 32 would be an embarrassment. The time is now to win group and then win twice and make it to the final 8. They have the best player they’ve ever had, they are on home soil, and Walker Zimmerman doesn’t play anymore. 1 Quote
Deleterious Posted 23 hours ago Posted 23 hours ago I was a soccer ref, and I'm already in the country. They should hit me up. Quote
DTroppens Posted 23 hours ago Posted 23 hours ago 8 hours ago, Hongbit said: The time is now to win group and then win twice and make it to the final 8. They have the best player they’ve ever had, they are on home soil, and Walker Zimmerman doesn’t play anymore. This should be their chance. They need to win the group. That makes everything easier. Quote
buddha Posted 44 minutes ago Posted 44 minutes ago 22 hours ago, DTroppens said: This should be their chance. They need to win the group. That makes everything easier. well....maybe if the US were any good... but they are playing on home soil, in an easy group, and in an expanded tournament. and this time they have a real coach. every team with a pulse should make it out of their group. after that its a crap shoot. Quote
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