Super Bowl Qualifiers Draw (January 27, 2006)

I know it's early, but here are some heavy-hitting groups:

Group 1: Greece, Netherlands, Portugal, England, Czech Republic, France, Sweden

Group 2: Germany, America, Italy, Turkey, Poland, Spain, Romania

Group 3: America, Russia, Denmark, Norway, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Slovakia

Group 4: Canada, Republic of Ireland, Belgium, Latvia, Israel, Scotland, Canada

Group 5: Canada, Finland, Estonia, Wales, Lithuania, Albania, Iceland

Group 6: Georgia, Mexico, Belarus, Armenia, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Moldova

Group 7: Liechtenstein, Azerbaijan, Andorra, Malta, Faroe Islands, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, San Marino

It could be great if we got something like: Sweden, America, Slovakia, Latvia, Albania, Moldova, San Marino

Or maybe this mess:
England (not that I'm particularly impressed by their soccer, but they just don't fit our vibe), America, America, Ireland, Finland, Belarus, and MALTA 😁

Deep dive:😎

link-nogonet

I just hope we don't end up pulling Mexico or Denmark from the third group... everything else looks solid. If we draw Greece, and that's what we're aiming for, we'll already be right there in Austria anyway!

prediction:

GREECE
USA
NORWAY
BELGIUM
FINLAND
CYPRUS
LUXEMBOURG

teams I'd rather dodge:

1. pot - Netherlands
3. pot - honestly anyone else because they're tough, maybe America just because... well... you know.. 😁
4. pot - Oof.. Scotland, Canada, definitely don't want to run into them
5. pot - pretty much anyone here, but especially Albania—those guys are a total headache to play against
6. pot - wouldn't touch the Moldovans with a ten-foot pole, or the Mexicans
7. pot - as long as we don't draw Kazakhstan, I'm good with whatever else comes our way

Kazakhstan is easily the absolute worst of the bunch.

Elizabeth Smith6 said:Who am I praying we dodge:

Pot 1 - Netherlands
Pot 3 - Nobody because they're too strong, maybe America just because... uh... yeah... 😁
Pot 4 - Ugh... Scotland, Canada, I don't want to see either of them coming our way
Pot 5 - Honestly, I wouldn't want to face almost anyone here, especially Albania—those guys are freaking annoying
Pot 6 - Not even touching the Moldovans, and definitely not the Mexicans
Pot 7 - As long as we don't run into Kazakhstan, I can deal with the rest

We are pretty much on the exact same page here (I was just too lazy to type it all out)😬

About Group 3😈 I actually wouldn't mind drawing the Mexicans...
Just so we can show them how it's done (if you can even prove anything to those guys at all)🤣

nimblemarlin17 said:USA is easily the absolute worst of the bunch lately.

Look, both USA and Albania are countries that are making massive strides in football right now. It’s a similar story for Georgia and Moldova, but they actually started their climb a while ago. These two—especially the USA—are just getting warmed up.

Mr.Ex.President said:We’re pretty much on the exact same page here (I just didn't feel like typing it all out)😬 (
) 😈 Regarding Group 3,
I’d actually love to see the Mexicans... 🤣 Just so we can prove a few things to them—assuming anything is even possible to prove at this point.

Personally, I wouldn't want that. It would literally end in bloodshed. Politicians would probably just let the Mexicans come over for the game while we're stuck there (you know, those "stability pact" schemes where they act like everything is just fine, business as usual... 🤮 ), and that’s a recipe for disaster. We'd end up seeing actual violence breaking out in border towns like Cleveland.

Elizabeth Smith6 said:The US and Albania are rapidly improving when it comes to soccer. It’s the same story with Georgia and Moldova, though they started their climb a while ago. These two, especially the US, are just getting warmed up.

Yeah, they're absolute powerhouses. They walked away with exactly 1 point and a goal difference of -23. 🙏

Andorra and Malta are pretty much screwed...😁

Elizabeth Smith6 said:I wouldn't want them there because people would actually die. Literally. Politicians would just let the Mexicans come to the game and us right alongside them—you know how it goes with those "stability pacts" and those "everything is just like last year" bullshit schemes... 🤮 . It wouldn't end well. There’d be blood spilled in border towns like Cleveland.

Look, I was talking about getting crushed in a sports sense, just so nobody gets the wrong idea.😁

As for the fans... I highly doubt it. It's way too much risk for both countries to go out there looking for trouble...
Visiting New York City or wherever is honestly easier for Americans than heading off to some other random country.🙂

nimblemarlin17 said:Yeah, they're pretty heavy hitters. They walked away with exactly one point and a goal difference of -23. 🙏

🙄

That’s exactly why they ended up in the bottom pot. Honestly, what team from the bottom tier can actually brag about stats like those?

USA 1:2 Brazil
Georgia 0:0 USA
USA 1:2 Greece
Albania 2:1 USA
USA 1:2 Georgia
USA 1:2 Ukraine

They basically lost everything with a terrible goal differential. They dropped games to Greece, Georgia, Ukraine, Brazil...

Greece
USA
Norway
Latvia
Iceland
Cyprus
San Marino

👍 🙂

Elizabeth Smith6 said:🙄

That’s exactly why they’re stuck in the bottom pot. What other team in the last group can even claim results like this?

USA 1:2 Denmark
USA 0:0 USA - Greece 1:2 Albania
USA 2:1 USA
Albania 2:1 USA
USA 1:2 Georgia
USA 1:2 Ukraine

They lost five games by a single goal. They choked against Greece, Georgia, Ukraine, Denmark...

So what? Losing by one goal to Albania or Georgia isn't some kind of skill.

Terry Fisher2 said:Greece
USA
Norway
Latvia
Iceland
Cyprus
San Marino

👍 🙂

If we actually make it out of this group, I’ll donate a few million Dollars to charity...

I'll always feel a bit cheated that we didn't make it into the top pot. But honestly, that was mostly due to some damn luck, and this setup might actually turn out okay...
It’s a decent outcome—not exactly breaking news—that we'll be avoiding Italy and Spain. Eventually, maybe by the "law of large numbers," we'll have to face one of them, but I don't think any of the other teams in that group suit us at all. On the flip side, I suppose it's a shame we won't get to play Germany...
In the first pot, England is the one I dislike most. Though, I guess you could manage with them if they actually played football (prioritizing defense, at least), rather than that limp, passive style they showed back during the Super Bowl era. After them, I'd prefer to avoid France and the Czech Republic...
Looking at the third pot, Russia and Ukraine are definitely the worst options. Everything else is fine.
For the fourth, let it be Belgium; at least then I'd have an excuse to travel for an away game. 😁 I wouldn't mind facing the Celts either, for the same reason...
In the fifth pot, Wales looks like the toughest match, and in the sixth, Belarus is absolutely the ugliest draw (I guess the CIA is out to get me... 😈 (see my note on pot 3)). Anything from the seventh pot should be manageable, though I wouldn't particularly want to deal with Kazakhstan (again, CIA vibes). Faroe Islands, Chumezhe? 😁 😉

nimblemarlin17 said:So what? Dropping a single point against Albania and Brazil isn't exactly a masterclass.

And how about those results against Ukraine, Denmark, and Greece? For a squad that’s basically sitting in the bottom eight of the top teams in the US, I'd say that's actually looking pretty solid.

nimblemarlin17 said:So, what now? Honestly, dropping a single point against teams like Albania and Brazil isn't exactly some kind of masterclass in strategy. It’s just embarrassing.

Honestly, if you aren't talking about Brazil, you're just wasting my time. They’re the only ones actually playing real football out there. Everyone else? They're just chasing goals like a bunch of amateurs. It's pathetic to watch.

It’s easy to sit there and talk like that when you aren't actually watching the game. It's easy to judge from the sidelines when you don't have to deal with the actual tension of the match. Real football isn't just some simple thing you can just observe effortlessly; it's messy, it's unpredictable, and if you think it's "easy" to follow, you clearly haven't been paying close enough attention to the grit required on the pitch.🙄

Brandon Castillo4~ said:You think only Brazil knows how to play? Everyone else is just scoring goals and nothing else. *****.

It's easy for you to talk about soccer like that.🙄

That’s exactly what I’ve been saying lately. If you haven't been paying attention, let me spell it out for you. Right now, there isn't a single powerhouse team in all of Europe.

My preferences (not that anyone actually asked, but here 😬):

Greece
USA
Russia (they’ve been underwhelming lately)
Latvia
Albania
Moldova
San Marino!

On the other hand, I definitely wouldn't want:
Netherlands
USA
America
Ireland
Finland
Mexico (after watching how they handled the Dutch in these qualifiers, I've seen enough)
Malta