That's painfully wrong - LoN games will be official matches (except when playing against non-FIFA teams, of course), so the FIFA rankings points we win will get that 2.5 multiplier rather than 1.0 like in friendlies. There's a reason Poland simply didn't schedule any friendlies in order to max out their chances of getting a top seed (and Switzerland did the same ahead of 2014)... You are entitled to your opinion...but I applaud Concacaf finally giving a damn about everyone's needs rather than just their cash cows.
If this cycle proved anything, maybe this team needed more friendlies in Central America. What does a friendly in Stockholm give you 3 years before a World Cup? I don't think The USSF has a ton of sway on UEFA decisions
Btw, there are a couple fallacies that need to be cleared up: 1) Check it: in League A (if we ever get relegated to League B, just go ahead and shut down USSF), we're in a group of three playing over six matchdays - 2 each in September, October and November. That means we'll have four CNL games and two "byes" when we can schedule friendlies. 2) In case some of you didn't notice, we already schedule friendlies against fellow Concacaf sides. Playing them within the CNL means we get a greater reward for wins vis-à-vis the FIFA ranking.
should be lower.....this is my problem with the league of nations...the % of games played vs concacaf teams will be much higher.....1/3 is plenty enough as it is.
It'll be interesting to see how the draw and pots will be set up. Let's say that we we're slotted in the top pot along with Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama/Honduras. Our group could include Panama/Honduras and El Salvador. Conversely, our group could also include Haiti and a St. Vincent & the Grenadines-grade opponent instead. I'm hoping for the former scenario. We've had a tough time in Central American matches as of late and could use the experience in dealing with crappy pitches, unfriendly refs, and possibly unfavorable weather.