Well, the last four teams from Europe have qualified. Personally, very disappointed that Denmark did not qualify, but at the same time gotten a bit tired of Danish news and commentators saying that Denmark were a better team.
They were not.
Denmark had three straight chances of qualifying. Had they defeated Belarus at home, they would have qualified, but they tied. Had they not lost to Scotland away, they would have qualified. They lost after penalty kicks to the Czechs, who were both more cold-headed when taking penalties, but also seemed to want it more.
If you have that many chances and you don't make it, it is not because you are a better team. You are simply not good enough to be in the World Cup!
And if you really believe you are a better team, but did not make it, then the Manager is to blame. Mr. Brian Riemer repeatedly said that Denmark should and would qualify to the World Cup, but in the absence of qualification, he should take responsibility and leave.
Other sides were successful in their qualification: Sweden took advantage of its Nations league option, even though they ended last in the World Cup qualifying group, to defeat Poland and make it to an unlikely World Cup where, frankly, they do not belong.
Czechia, who lost to the Faroe Islands in the group stages, may have defeated my favourites Danes, but are not a team that will add anything in terms of football or fans to the World Cup; they are just there to take up space.
Turkey, defeating Kosova, are in their first World Cup since their memorable 2002 World Cup, but have struggled to be there, and is unlikely to add anything either.
Finally, while one has to respect Bosnia-Herzegovina for their heroic win against Italy, they will be nothing but an addition to a tournament with too many teams. Italy, again disappointing with another hapless qualification, is simply not good enough to be in a World Cup, despite Mr. Gattuso's previous criticism that South Americans had it too easy to qualify... I saw Bolivia play, and they were surely better than any of the eight European sides who were in the last round of play-offs, and would surely have added more to the World Cup that even the last four European teams who qualified.
The World Cup has too many teams with 48; but it has way too many European teams as well, and in a tournament of 48, it would have benefited much more with four less teams from Europe, and four more from the rest of the world.
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