Nations League Rules Discussion
OK, I was doing some more thinking about this while out running!
At end of the 2019 NL all participating teams will have a ranking determined by clearly specified criteria (above) to determine overall ranking, 1-55.
These rankings determine your main qualification seeding and we can be no lower than 24th seed.
It’s also clear that these rankings determine - in some way - the semi finals of each of the 4 A, B, C and D Euro play offs in 2020.
It’s the “in some way” I’m not fully clear on.
Sammy, I actually don’t think it matters whether you fill up the Euro 2020 play off semi final spots from League D up, or League A down. Won’t you arrive at the same outcome?
As I now think I understand it, for the Euro 2020 play off semi finals League A's playoff may not contain any A teams - if all 12 qualify outright. If that’s the case all four League A playoffs will be B teams.
And if 8 B teams qualify automatically (so all 12 As and 8 Bs qualify, exactly as the seeding would predict) that means the League B playoff will contain 4 C teams, and the C playoff will also be 4 C teams.
There is no realistic chance of there not being enough D teams for a pair of D semi finals.
So C teams are the big winners in all likelihood? 8 of them might well have a shot at 2 spots, so have the most chances of qualifying via the NL if the main qualifying seedlings go 100% to plan.
And although a bad NL now for Ireland would relegate us and make us a 3rd seed for qualifying, it might actually be a touch easier for 2024 European qualifying, in theory. So maybe we should hope to be 20th seed but relegated to League C!
For me the only vague thing left is if, say, there are 3 A teams who make a ****** of qualifying, which B team then makes up the 4th place in the A play off? It says it’s based on ranking but lowest ranked or highest ranked? Either way it’s unfair on the highest ranked B team I think: they either have to play an A team (bad) or don’t play the weakest B team in their semi final (a bit unfair, but not as unfair as playing an A team) only the second weakest.