A hint given by 2:0 and a 1:1 game - this European World Cup qualifier may be the most luxurious play-off in history

In this European World Cup qualifier, the schedule was compressed to an unprecedented level. The five teams have basically half of the schedule, but there are only four teams. The first round has just been held in September, which means that the World Cup qualifiers will be completed in 4 months. The shortening of the schedule means that the variables increase and the fault tolerance space becomes smaller. Why did the playoffs always appear unpopular in the early years? For example, Italy was eliminated by Sweden. It is because there are only two rounds of the game. If a strong team does not adjust well, it is very likely to be defeated by an opponent whose strength is not much worse than that of him.

In short, the shorter the schedule, the more accidents are. It’s like most league champions are strong teams, but there is a certain probability that a dark horse will appear. Last season's Crystal Palace is an example. On this day of the European World Cup, most games are still normal, such as Liechtenstein in Belgium 6:0, Bulgaria in Spain 3:0, Georgia in Türkiye 3:2, etc. However, two of them were more or less surprising. First, the Netherlands was tied 1:1 by Poland at home. According to the strength comparison, the Netherlands should have won the game, and it was still at home. But the Netherlands crushed the game, but Poland scored a world wave in the final stage. The Netherlands had beaten Poland in the World Cup with a big score, but this time, they did not do it. What's even more surprising is that Germany lost 0:2 to Slovakia away. In fact, it is an accident, but it is just because of stereotypes. Germany today seems to be getting further and further away from the top ranks; Slovakia is definitely the kind of team that looks not strong but is definitely very difficult to play. They have already shown this trait in the last European Cup. Although it is a bit early, one game 1:1 and one game 2:0 does give a hint - this European World Cup qualifier may be the most luxurious play-off in history. Even if it includes the European Cup qualifiers, the same is true. Today's European play-offs have long been changed to 3 groups, with 4 teams in each group, and semi-finals and finals. The first time this competition system was adopted was the 2022 European World Cup qualifiers. At that time, Portugal and Italy were in the same group, which shocked the fans. However, the strong showdown that everyone was looking forward to did not appear because Italy was eliminated by North Macedonia in a upset. In fact, there were no other particularly strong teams in the playoffs at that time except Italy and Portugal. In the 2024 European Cup qualifiers, the playoffs were even more dull, and there was no strong team. What impressed everyone the most was that Georgia was the sudden elimination of Greece and was shortlisted for the European Cup for the first time in history. And this European World Cup qualifier may be very lively. The Netherlands was tied by Poland at home, and there were only 4 teams in the group and only 6 games in total, which was very dangerous. It is not ruled out that the Netherlands only won the second place in the group. In Germany, if Slovakia does not lose its chain, Germany may not get the top name. Note, don't forget Italy. Italy was suppressed by Norway and lost 0:3 away. Now Norway has not made any mistakes and has won all four games. If Italy wants to win the first place, it can only win four goals at home while ensuring a complete victory in the future. The difficulty can be imagined. Therefore, in extreme cases, the possibility of the Netherlands, Germany and Italy gathering together in the playoffs is not ruled out. Moreover, the other groups have not started this round of the game, so who knows which strong team has something wrong with it? This is the ecological environment of European football today. The strong team we thought in the past really had little advantage when facing the so-called second-tier teams in Europe. The compression of the schedule reduces the fault tolerance space, so it is possible for strong teams to gather in play-offs. This has not yet considered the possibility that a strong team will only win third place in the group. Next, it depends on the performance of Portugal and France.