Impact of Nations Leagues (UEFA original, Concacaf) on World Football? [Multiple R]

For teams like Greece in League B and Bulgaria in League C - which have a chance to win their groups - the UNL games are almost like qualifiers because if they can win their groups they're very likely to guarantee at least a playoff semifinal place whatever happens in the European Qualifiers.

 

Yep. A match like Austria x Norway is far more important than any League A match this week.

 

When WC qualifiers playoffs are on the line, I think the teams that got promoted last Nations League got punished instead of rewarded.

Teams like Albania would prefer to be in League C right now and secure at least a play-off spot with an "easier group"

 

Interesting point, but I think the importance of building momentum as a team by winning and being promoted will always outweigh any potential advantage of being in an easier UNL group.

To win helps to win, you might say!

 

There is also a strong possibility that a team winning a lower division group wont be amongst the best 4 group winners to sneak into the playoffs. An even stronger possibility exists that they wont be strong enough to win through if they do make the playoffs.

 

Yeah, but winning, say, a league B pool is so much tougher than winning a league C pool (or B instead of A) that I am with @Viking lord - i.e. its an advantage to be in a lower pool. Although I suppose if you are in league C you could be placed in a lower pot for the qualifying group stage draw.

 

But isn't that relative? After all, there's a reason teams are in League B rather than A and in C rather than B, so - based on the most recent NL performance - no team is in an easier league than they ought to be.

 

hmm... maybe that's true to some extent for teams that bounce between leagues B and C. But I feel there is a pretty large gap between winning a league B pool and winning a league A pool. Just because you got promoted to league A, doesn't mean you "belong". For instance, of the 4 teams that got promoted from B to A last time, three of them are getting smoked in the current NL. Only Serbia is doing "ok" but also not likely to actually win their pool (but they have a chance to be a "1" seed in the WCQ draw).

Looking 2 years back, 3 of the 4 teams that got promoted to league A in 2020, got relegated back to B in 2022. It begs the question, has any NT gone from being promoted to league A to winning a pool in league A?

Furthermore, keep in mind that winning a league B pool is almost certainly enough to qualify for the WC2026 playoffs.

 

That seems pretty sound and adds weight to the argument that UNL is a worthwhile competition in its own right because every team wants to be promoted or to avoid relegation.

 

Its a worthwhile competition, but more can/should be done to make promotion/relegation meaningful. Being in a higher league proved beneficial in the 2018/19 NL (for Euro 2020 qualifying), but since then its almost been an advantage to be in a lower league.

 

But the seeding of the EURO 2028 Qualifiers draw will be based exclusively on the 2026-27 UNL group phase ranking.

Also to beat higher FIFA ranked teams - like in Leagues A and B for example - would yield more FIFA ranking points.

Playing in a higher league is always preferable for any team: club or country.

 

At least, Sweden almost eliminated Croatia, that reached NL final next time & Swedes relegates to C.

 

Another example is Hungary which - in four years - went from League C to finishing as a League A runner-up (would be a quarterfinalist under the current format).

 

Switzerland are first team relegated from league A. Meanwhile, Spain and Portugal clinch first place in their pools.

Of interest to some neutrals might be pool B3, where Austria and Norway are tied on points. Austria has the tiebreaker, but Norway has the easier last game. I don't think Norway has been to a qualifying playoff for a major tournament in the Haaland- Odegaard era, and top spot in that pool would effectively ensure just that.

 

If Scotland win their UNL playoff in March three of the four UK teams will be in League A (while Northern Ireland have been automatically promoted to League B).

 

Yes I've heard that. Likely format is 3 divisions with 4 groups of 4 in div 1 & 2 and groups of 4 or 3 in div 3. I guess you could squeeze it in between the WC and Asian Cup but what would be the point of that. 2027 is a more likely start date with it being held from June to November or Sept to March 28. Of course these dates would conflict with WC and AC qualifying if AFC keeps the same system so some changes would need to be made.

 

They should de-couple the Asian Cup and World Cup qualifiers so every competition - their NL and qualifiers - are completed in 12 months maximum.

 

Unfortunately for Scotland, some pretty strong teams finished 2nd in league B pools. Austria and Türkiye, in particular.

 

Would only work if they changed the current calendar and shifted the Asian Cup by 12 months. Currently the Asian Cup is scheduled within 12 months of the world cup so some shared qualification is needed.

 

Well, only 6 months separates the AFCON from the World Cup and those qualifications are de-coupled, so....