Wikipedia does not say anything about when the draw will be or what FIFA Rankings will be used. UEFA starts in March, and considering that a draw date has not been announced, I would not be surprised if they wait until after the November FIFA Rankings and do the draw in late November or December. There will be 12 groups of 4 or 5. Albania is currently 30th in UEFA in the FIFA Rankings. As of now, Pot 2 would range from Ukraine (25th and 13th among UEFA teams) to Scotland (48th and 24th among UEFA teams). In the likely event that Russia remains suspended, it would be Norway (50th and 25th among UEFA teams), and Albania would be 29th among participating UEFA teams. The FIFA Rankings change slowly, so Albania is likely to be in Pot 3. I would not count a team that previously played in a World Cup as a debutant even if they did not have to qualify. If a team is listed in the all-time World Cup table, they cannot be a debutant later.
I don’t think a date for the draw has been announced, but they have sort of confirmed that they will use the November FIFA Rankings. The top seeds are going to be all the quarterfinalists of the UNL plus the 4 highest-ranked teams. The rest of the teams will be seeded by the rankings. According to this Twitter account, Georgia and Albania (2 potential debutants) are locked into pot 3: 🆕🚨 WC SEEDING UPDATE (9 Sept)NED 🇳🇱 & ITA 🇮🇹 are now Pot 1 in 100% of our 10,000 simulations. ✅Huge win for NOR 🇳🇴 whose Pot 2 chances increased by +19% tonight ❗️This is bad news for SCO 🏴 (-8%), CZE 🇨🇿 (-6%) and GRE 🇬🇷 (-5%).BUL 🇧🇬 closer and closer to Pot 3 (+6%)! pic.twitter.com/jp0yHqCbxj— Football Meets Data (@fmeetsdata) September 9, 2024
Yes, so it really depends on the draw. Even though there arent any of the biggest teams in pot 2 according to the Twitter profile, their still are some teams that are better than others.
it's crazy how far Bulgarian football has fallen.. yes I know it was 30 years ago, but they were in a World Cup semifinal and were a force to be reckoned with throughout the 90s. But they are now a 4th tiered European team going by those seedings just above Luxembourg and far behind the likes of Georgia, Albania, Iceland, etc. That's probably Europe's biggest fall from grace...
I've read that the decline is due to a combination of factors, including lack of investment in football infrastructure, corruption and mismanagement within the Bulgarian Football Union, and the exodus of talented players to foreign leagues. It's a shame to see a team that was once so strong fall so far.
Bulgaria is top of its UNL League C group after 2 MDs, so might qualify for the 2026 playoffs via the UNL route. It seems to me that Bulgaria is slowly recovering towards a better level, with some nice new stadiums opening in the country with a view to potentially hosting the EURO U21 in the next few years. The domination of the league by Ludogorets though is a concern; hopefully CSKA Sofia's new stadium under construction can help the club become competitive again.
I went to Bulgaria 2 years ago and attended a few matches there, one game was at the national stadium, I think it was Lokomotiv Sofia v some team that went out of business and then a CSKA game... both stadiums were in a very poor state. Every other seat at CSKA's were virtually broken but I guess there's a new stadium coming. But when I talked to locals about football, they reminisced about the old days and Stoichkov but seemed really skeptical about the present state of the game.
They have fallen but I'd argue Latvia have fallen further. This is a team that qualified for the 16 team Euros in 2004 and now they are near the absolute bottom of non micronation teams
Dutch footballers are opting en masse for international careers in Asia. In the battle for a ticket to the World Cup, Indonesia played a 0-0 draw against Australia on Tuesday. Remarkable: no less than ten players with a Dutch passport came into action on behalf of the Asian country. How is this possible? And: why don't above-average Eredivisie footballers like Mees Hilgers and Thom Haye prefer to wait for the Orange Squad?
The Dutch team this last window only had 5 outfield players domestically in the squad. Hilgers barely scratched the youth system and is 23. It doesn't look like the Netherlands is interested in him at this point. Haye is 29 and never called up, his time is definitely past with the Dutch. Both are taking a shot at potentially playing in the World Cup instead of waiting for a call which may never happen or isn't happening. What would Hilgers roll be on the Netherlands if he did make the roster. Emergency CB? Would that be worth it? This is new territory for the Netherlands but welcome to dual-nationals. You've already had a taste of it with Sergino Dest. Now its gonna get worse. But don't worry, you guys are still loaded.
Yeah, aside from being favorites to win their UNL pool, I could also see Georgia getting into the playoffs via the regular WC qualifying. There are several pot 2 teams I would fancy Georgia finishing above. But will be very difficult for them to get through the playoffs (two away games, I assume?)....
Note that all 1930 WC participants eventually debuted as qualifying teams during subsequent WCs. Both CUB and IDN have remained outside of WC since 1938 precisely because qualifiers have kept them out. For my part, they would count as debutantes the next time they qualify, as to recognize their additional success to participate in contrast to the WC invitational era. Back then, they just needed to put their hand out to earn a WC ticket.