After a whopping 35 episodes, we have finally wrapped up qualifying for the 2019 Draft World Cup! 32 teams are through, shown below:
In today's episode we will outline the plans for the finals, and announce the draw!
Firstly, we need to see how the teams rank. As mentioned in the Introduction, I've introduced a more robust ranking system, and after all the qualifiers, this is how the teams look:
Firstly, we need to see how the teams rank. As mentioned in the Introduction, I've introduced a more robust ranking system, and after all the qualifiers, this is how the teams look:
From this, we can see that the highest-ranked team to fail to qualify is the USA, although Greece were ranked above them at the start of qualifying. Conversely, the lowest-ranked team to qualify is Libya.
Rule changes clearly had a huge impact. Canada, Wales and New Zealand were allowed players who play in the leagues of USA, England and Australia respectively, and the teams moved up 47, 76 and 20 places respectively. After creating J-League players, Japan rose 52 places, and came agonisingly close to qualification. Nigeria rose the highest, after a number of out-of-contract players were able to help them qualify.
We can see that under the new rankings, it's going to be very hard to defend a high points total. Of the teams in the top 19, only France have increased their points total, and that was due to a perfect run. This sees such quirks as England rising three places despite their points total going down.
Anyway, onto the draw for the finals. The teams are placed in four pots, according to their ranking. So they are:
In the Intercontinental play-off, I described Nigeria's win over Jamaica as a dead rubber. However, it appears to have put Nigeria into the third pot, which may have a knock-on effect. Meanwhile, China's poor qualification run sees them slip out of the top pot, with France moving up.
As defending champions, Spain are the top seeds in the first group. Teams are then kept apart from teams in the same continent as them, with the exception of European teams, who can share their group with up to one other European side. This is the resulting draw:
Rule changes clearly had a huge impact. Canada, Wales and New Zealand were allowed players who play in the leagues of USA, England and Australia respectively, and the teams moved up 47, 76 and 20 places respectively. After creating J-League players, Japan rose 52 places, and came agonisingly close to qualification. Nigeria rose the highest, after a number of out-of-contract players were able to help them qualify.
We can see that under the new rankings, it's going to be very hard to defend a high points total. Of the teams in the top 19, only France have increased their points total, and that was due to a perfect run. This sees such quirks as England rising three places despite their points total going down.
Anyway, onto the draw for the finals. The teams are placed in four pots, according to their ranking. So they are:
- Pot 1: Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, England, France, Netherlands, Brazil
- Pot 2: China, Mexico, Turkey, South African, Peru, Chile, Hungary, Croatia
- Pot 3: Scotland, Romania, Bulgaria, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Venezuela, Nigeria
- Pot 4: Canada, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Algeria, Wales, Costa Rica, Zambia, Libya
In the Intercontinental play-off, I described Nigeria's win over Jamaica as a dead rubber. However, it appears to have put Nigeria into the third pot, which may have a knock-on effect. Meanwhile, China's poor qualification run sees them slip out of the top pot, with France moving up.
As defending champions, Spain are the top seeds in the first group. Teams are then kept apart from teams in the same continent as them, with the exception of European teams, who can share their group with up to one other European side. This is the resulting draw:
The order of the teams dictates the order the matches are played in:
The draw throws up plenty of sub-plots, which we will cover when we reach them. One thing to note is that Nigeria pipping Canada into the third pot appears to have made no difference, since they are in the same group!
Anyway, let's quickly go over the rules of the finals:
Our next eight episodes will be previews for each of the groups, including which players have made the final squads!
- Matchday 1: Team 1 vs Team 2; Team 3 vs Team 4
- Matchday 2: Team 1 vs Team 3; Team 2 vs Team 4
- Matchday 3: Team 1 vs Team 4; Team 2 vs Team 3
The draw throws up plenty of sub-plots, which we will cover when we reach them. One thing to note is that Nigeria pipping Canada into the third pot appears to have made no difference, since they are in the same group!
Anyway, let's quickly go over the rules of the finals:
- Teams are to name a squad of 23 players, including 3 goalkeepers
- Players are eligible for a nation if they play football for a team in that nation (including on loan), or if they are out of contract and from that nation
- Squads will be based on the first database update after the January transfer window
Our next eight episodes will be previews for each of the groups, including which players have made the final squads!