DJHazey

If Israel wins their next two I think they'll make it because Romania would lose to Israel and could easily lose to Switzerland. Big 88th minute point versus the Swiss.

Saturday 25th November Manchester City 1-1 Liverpool (12:30) Burnley 1-2 West Ham United Luton Town 0-2 Crystal Palace Newcastle United 4-3 Chelsea Nottingham Forest 0-2 Brighton & Hove Albion Sheffield United 2-2 AFC Bournemouth Brentford 0-1 Arsenal (17:30) Sunday 26th November Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Aston Villa (14:00) Everton 0-1 Manchester United (16:30) Monday 27th November Fulham 4-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers (20:00)

I project the final standings in that group to be: Switzerland 20 Romania 18 Israel 16 Kosovo 13 It would have been this if Israel had gotten 3 points in Kosovo: Switzerland 20 Israel 19 Romania 18 Kosovo 13 But this is projecting 2 points from the two homes games with Romania/Switzerland and those could very well be 0, especially since they won't actually be at home. They could also win one (more likely vs. Romania) and get 3 points out of those two, then Romania will have to win vs. Switzerland where I'm projecting a draw right now.

Norris gave Max one of his only scares of the year and then quickly back to reality.

Saturday 11th November Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur (12:30) Arsenal 3-2 Burnley Crystal Palace 2-2 Everton Manchester United 1-0 Luton Town AFC Bournemouth 0-1 Newcastle United (17:30) Sunday 12th November Aston Villa 2-1 Fulham (14:00) Brighton & Hove Albion 3-0 Sheffield United (14:00) Liverpool 4-0 Brentford (14:00) West Ham United 1-3 Nottingham Forest (14:00) Chelsea 1-1 Manchester City (16:30)

November Calendar Nov 16 - Bolivia vs. Peru Nov 16 - Venezuela vs. Ecuador Nov 16 - Colombia vs. Brazil Nov 16 - Argentina vs. Uruguay Nov 16 - Chile vs. Paraguay Nov 21 - Paraguay vs. Colombia Nov 21 - Uruguay vs. Bolivia Nov 21 - Ecuador vs. Chile Nov 21 - Brazil vs. Argentina Nov 21 - Peru vs. Venezuela

Groups - Round 1 with NOV 2023 FIFA Rankings Group A Egypt - 35 Burkina Faso - 56 Guinea-Bissau - 110 Sierra Leonne - 122 Ethiopia - 143 Djibouti - 189 Group B Senegal - 20 DR Congo - 65 Mauritiana - 101 Togo - 119 Sudan - 130 South Sudan - 167 Group C Nigeria - 40 South Africa - 64 Benin - 92 Zimbabwe - 125 Rwanda - 140 Lesotho - 153 Group D Cameroon - 43 Cape Verde - 74 Angola - 116 Libya - 126 Eswatini - 146 Mauritius - 177 Group E Morocco - 13 Zambia - 81 Congo - 106 Tanzania - 121 Niger - 129 Eritrea - NR Group F Ivory Coast - 52 Gabon - 86 Kenya - 110 Gambia - 117 Burundi - 142 Seychelles - 195 Group G Algeria - 33 Guinea - 80 Uganda - 90 Mozambique - 113 Botswana - 148 Somalia - 196 Group H Tunisia - 32 Equatorial Guinea - 91 Namibia - 114 Malawi - 123 Liberia - 151 São Tomé and Príncipe - 186 Group I Mali - 47 Ghana - 60 Madagascar - 108 Central African Republic - 127 Comoros - 128 Chad - 179 November Calendar - Opening Matches A - Nov 15 - Ethiopia vs. Sierra Leone [played in Morocco] A - Nov 16 - Egypt vs. Djibouti A - Nov 17 - Burkina Faso vs. Guinea-Bissau [played in Morocco] A - Nov 19 - Sierra Leone vs. Egypt A - Nov 20 - Djibouti vs. Guinea-Bissau [played in Egypt] A - Nov 21 - Ethiopia vs. Burkina Faso [played in Morocco] B - Nov 15 - Congo DR vs. Mauritania B - Nov 16 - Sudan vs. Togo [played in Libya] B - Nov 18 - Senegal vs. South Sudan B - Nov 19 - Sudan vs. Congo DR [played in Libya] B - Nov 21 - South Sudan vs. Mauritania [played in Senegal] B - Nov 21 - Togo vs. Senegal C - Nov 15 - Rwanda vs. Zimbabwe C - Nov 16 - Nigeria vs. Lesotho C - Nov 18 - South Africa vs. Benin C - Nov 19 - Zimbabwe vs. Nigeria [played in Rwanda] C - Nov 21 - Lesotho vs. Benin [played in South Africa] C - Nov 21 - Rwanda vs. South Africa D - Nov 16 - Cape Verde Islands vs. Angola D - Nov 17 - Cameroon vs. Mauritius D - Nov 17 - Eswatini vs. Libya [played in South Africa] D - Nov 20 - Mauritius vs. Angola D - Nov 21 - Libya vs. Cameroon D - Nov 21 - Eswatini vs. Cape Verde Islands [played in South Africa] E - Nov 16 - Morocco vs. Eritrea E - Nov 17 - Zambia vs. Congo E - Nov 18 - Niger vs. Tanzania [played in Morocco] E - Nov 20 - Eritrea vs. Congo [played in Morocco] E - Nov 21 - Tanzania vs. Morocco E - Nov 21 - Niger vs. Zambia [played in Morocco] F - Nov 16 - Gabon vs. Kenya F - Nov 16 - Burundi vs. Gambia [played in Tanzania] F - Nov 17 - Ivory Coast vs. Seychelles F - Nov 19 - Burundi vs. Gabon [played in Tanzania] F - Nov 20 - Gambia vs. Ivory Coast [played in Tanzania] F - Nov 20 - Seychelles vs. Kenya [played in Ivory Coast] G - Nov 16 - Algeria vs. Somalia [played in Mali] G - Nov 16 - Botswana vs. Mozambique G - Nov 17 - Guinea vs. Uganda [played in Morocco] G - Nov 19 - Mozambique vs. Algeria G - Nov 21 - Botswana vs. Guinea G - Nov 21 - Somalia vs. Uganda [played in Morocco] H - Nov 15 - Equatorial Guinea vs. Namibia H - Nov 17 - Tunisia vs. Sao Tome H - Nov 17 - Liberia vs. Malawi H - Nov 20 - Liberia vs. Equatorial Guinea H - Nov 21 - Malawi vs. Tunisia H - Nov 21 - Sao Tome vs. Namibia [played in Morocco] I - Nov 17 - Ghana vs. Madagascar I - Nov 17 - Mali vs. Chad I - Nov 17 - Comoros vs. Central African Republic I - Nov 20 - Chad vs. Madagascar [played in Morocco] I - Nov 20 - Central African Republic vs. Mali [played in Comoros] I - Nov 20 - Comoros vs. Ghana

November Calendar - Opening Matches A - Nov 16 - Qatar vs. Afghanistan A - Nov 16 - Kuwait vs. India A - Nov 21 - Afghanistan vs. Kuwait [played in Saudi Arabia] A - Nov 21 - India vs. Qatar B - Nov 16 - Japan vs. Myanmar B - Nov 16 - Syria vs. North Korea [played in Saudi Arabia] B - Nov 21 - Myanmar vs. North Korea B - Nov 21 - Syria vs. Japan [played in Saudi Arabia] C - Nov 16 - South Korea vs. Singapore C - Nov 16 - Thailand vs. China C - Nov 21 - Singapore vs. Thailand C - Nov 21 - China vs. South Korea D - Nov 16 - Oman vs. Taiwan D - Nov 16 - Malaysia vs. Kyrgyzstan D - Nov 21 - Taiwan vs. Malaysia D - Nov 21 - Kyrgyzstan vs. Oman E - Nov 16 - Iran vs. Hong Kong E - Nov 16 - Turkmenistan vs. Uzbekistan E - Nov 21 - Hong Kong vs. Turkmenistan E - Nov 21 - Uzbekistan vs. Iran F - Nov 16 - Iraq vs. Indonesia F - Nov 16 - Philippines vs. Vietnam F - Nov 21 - Philippines vs. Indonesia F - Nov 21 - Vietnam vs. Iraq G - Nov 16 - Saudi Arabia vs. Pakistan G - Nov 16 - Tajikistan vs. Jordan G - Nov 21 - Pakistan vs. Tajikistan G - Nov 21 - Jordan vs. Saudi Arabia H - Nov 16 - United Arab Emirates vs. Nepal H - Nov 16 - Yemen vs. Bahrain [played in Saudi Arabia] H - Nov 21 - Nepal vs. Yemen H - Nov 21 - Bahrain vs. United Ara Emirates I - Nov 16 - Australia vs. Bangladesh I - Nov 16 - Lebanon vs. Palestine [played in UAE] I - Nov 21 - Bangladesh vs. Lebanon I - Nov 21 - Palestine vs. Australia [played in Kuwait]

November Calendar A - Nov 16 - Georgia vs. Scotland A - Nov 16 - Cyprus vs. Spain A - Nov 19 - Spain vs. Georgia A - Nov 19 - Scotland vs. Norway B - Nov 18 - France vs. Gibraltar B - Nov 18 - Netherlands vs. Ireland B - Nov 21 - Greece vs. France B - Nov 21 - Gibraltar vs. Netherlands C - Nov 17 - England vs. Malta C - Nov 17 - Italy vs. North Macedonia C - Nov 20 - Ukraine vs. Italy [played in Germany]* C - Nov 20 - North Macedonia vs. England D - Nov 18 - Armenia vs. Wales D - Nov 18 - Latvia vs. Croatia D - Nov 21 - Wales vs. Turkey* D - Nov 21 - Croatia vs. Armenia* E - Nov 17 - Poland vs. Czech Republic* E - Nov 17 - Moldova vs. Albania E - Nov 20 - Albania vs. Faroe Islands E - Nov 20 - Czech Republic vs. Moldova* F - Nov 16 - Azerbaijan vs. Sweden F - Nov 16 - Estonia vs. Austria F - Nov 19 - Belgium vs. Azerbaijan F - Nov 19 - Sweden vs. Estonia G - Nov 16 - Montenegro vs. Lithuania G - Nov 16 - Bulgaria vs. Hungary G - Nov 19 - Hungary vs. Montenegro G - Nov 19 - Serbia vs. Bulgaria H - Nov 17 - Denmark vs. Slovenia* H - Nov 17 - Kazakhstan vs. San Marino H - Nov 17 - Finland vs. Northern Ireland H - Nov 20 - Slovenia vs. Kazakhstan* H - Nov 20 - Northern Ireland vs. Denmark H - Nov 20 - San Marino vs. Finland I - Nov 12 - Kosovo vs. Israel I - Nov 15 - Israel vs. Switzerland [played in Hungary]* I - Nov 18 - Switzerland vs. Kosovo I - Nov 18 - Israel vs. Romania [played in Hungary]* I - Nov 18 - Belarus vs. Andorra I - Nov 21 - Romania vs. Switzerland* I - Nov 21 - Kosovo vs. Belarus I - Nov 21 - Andorra vs. Israel J - Nov 16 - Slovakia vs. Iceland J - Nov 16 - Luxembourg vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina J - Nov 16 - Liechtenstein vs. Portugal J - Nov 19 - Portugal vs. Iceland J - Nov 19 - Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Slovakia J - Nov 19 - Liechtenstein vs. Luxembourg * = has potential to have major impact to the group standings

November 2023 International Calendar EURO 2024 Qualifying A - Nov 16 - Georgia vs. Scotland A - Nov 16 - Cyprus vs. Spain A - Nov 19 - Spain vs. Georgia A - Nov 19 - Scotland vs. Norway B - Nov 18 - France vs. Gibraltar B - Nov 18 - Netherlands vs. Ireland B - Nov 21 - Greece vs. France B - Nov 21 - Gibraltar vs. Netherlands C - Nov 17 - England vs. Malta C - Nov 17 - Italy vs. North Macedonia C - Nov 20 - Ukraine vs. Italy [played in Germany] C - Nov 20 - North Macedonia vs. England D - Nov 18 - Armenia vs. Wales D - Nov 18 - Latvia vs. Croatia D - Nov 21 - Wales vs. Turkey D - Nov 21 - Croatia vs. Armenia E - Nov 17 - Poland vs. Czech Republic E - Nov 17 - Moldova vs. Albania E - Nov 20 - Albania vs. Faroe Islands E - Nov 20 - Czech Republic vs. Moldova F - Nov 16 - Azerbaijan vs. Sweden F - Nov 16 - Estonia vs. Austria F - Nov 19 - Belgium vs. Azerbaijan F - Nov 19 - Sweden vs. Estonia G - Nov 16 - Montenegro vs. Lithuania G - Nov 16 - Bulgaria vs. Hungary G - Nov 19 - Hungary vs. Montenegro G - Nov 19 - Serbia vs. Bulgaria H - Nov 17 - Denmark vs. Slovenia H - Nov 17 - Kazakhstan vs. San Marino H - Nov 17 - Finland vs. Northern Ireland H - Nov 20 - Slovenia vs. Kazakhstan H - Nov 20 - Northern Ireland vs. Denmark H - Nov 20 - San Marino vs. Finland I - Nov 12 - Kosovo vs. Israel I - Nov 15 - Israel vs. Switzerland [played in Hungary] I - Nov 18 - Switzerland vs. Kosovo I - Nov 18 - Israel vs. Romania [played in Hungary] I - Nov 18 - Belarus vs. Andorra I - Nov 21 - Romania vs. Switzerland I - Nov 21 - Kosovo vs. Belarus I - Nov 21 - Andorra vs. Israel J - Nov 16 - Slovakia vs. Iceland J - Nov 16 - Luxembourg vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina J - Nov 16 - Liechtenstein vs. Portugal J - Nov 19 - Portugal vs. Iceland J - Nov 19 - Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Slovakia J - Nov 19 - Liechtenstein vs. Luxembourg 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifying - Asia - 2nd Round A - Nov 16 - Qatar vs. Afghanistan A - Nov 16 - Kuwait vs. India A - Nov 21 - Afghanistan vs. Kuwait [played in Saudi Arabia] A - Nov 21 - India vs. Qatar B - Nov 16 - Japan vs. Myanmar B - Nov 16 - Syria vs. North Korea [played in Saudi Arabia] B - Nov 21 - Myanmar vs. North Korea B - Nov 21 - Syria vs. Japan [played in Saudi Arabia] C - Nov 16 - South Korea vs. Singapore C - Nov 16 - Thailand vs. China C - Nov 21 - Singapore vs. Thailand C - Nov 21 - China vs. South Korea D - Nov 16 - Oman vs. Taiwan D - Nov 16 - Malaysia vs. Kyrgyzstan D - Nov 21 - Taiwan vs. Malaysia D - Nov 21 - Kyrgyzstan vs. Oman E - Nov 16 - Iran vs. Hong Kong E - Nov 16 - Turkmenistan vs. Uzbekistan E - Nov 21 - Hong Kong vs. Turkmenistan E - Nov 21 - Uzbekistan vs. Iran F - Nov 16 - Iraq vs. Indonesia F - Nov 16 - Philippines vs. Vietnam F - Nov 21 - Philippines vs. Indonesia F - Nov 21 - Vietnam vs. Iraq G - Nov 16 - Saudi Arabia vs. Pakistan G - Nov 16 - Tajikistan vs. Jordan G - Nov 21 - Pakistan vs. Tajikistan G - Nov 21 - Jordan vs. Saudi Arabia H - Nov 16 - United Arab Emirates vs. Nepal H - Nov 16 - Yemen vs. Bahrain [played in Saudi Arabia] H - Nov 21 - Nepal vs. Yemen H - Nov 21 - Bahrain vs. United Ara Emirates I - Nov 16 - Australia vs. Bangladesh I - Nov 16 - Lebanon vs. Palestine [played in UAE] I - Nov 21 - Bangladesh vs. Lebanon I - Nov 21 - Palestine vs. Australia [played in Kuwait] 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifying - Africa - 1st Round A - Nov 15 - Ethiopia vs. Sierra Leone [played in Morocco] A - Nov 16 - Egypt vs. Djibouti A - Nov 17 - Burkina Faso vs. Guinea-Bissau [played in Morocco] A - Nov 19 - Sierra Leone vs. Egypt A - Nov 20 - Djibouti vs. Guinea-Bissau [played in Egypt] A - Nov 21 - Ethiopia vs. Burkina Faso [played in Morocco] B - Nov 15 - Congo DR vs. Mauritania B - Nov 16 - Sudan vs. Togo [played in Libya] B - Nov 18 - Senegal vs. South Sudan B - Nov 19 - Sudan vs. Congo DR [played in Libya] B - Nov 21 - South Sudan vs. Mauritania [played in Senegal] B - Nov 21 - Togo vs. Senegal C - Nov 15 - Rwanda vs. Zimbabwe C - Nov 16 - Nigeria vs. Lesotho C - Nov 18 - South Africa vs. Benin C - Nov 19 - Zimbabwe vs. Nigeria [played in Rwanda] C - Nov 21 - Lesotho vs. Benin [played in South Africa] C - Nov 21 - Rwanda vs. South Africa D - Nov 16 - Cape Verde Islands vs. Angola D - Nov 17 - Cameroon vs. Mauritius D - Nov 17 - Eswatini vs. Libya [played in South Africa] D - Nov 20 - Mauritius vs. Angola D - Nov 21 - Libya vs. Cameroon D - Nov 21 - Eswatini vs. Cape Verde Islands [played in South Africa] E - Nov 16 - Morocco vs. Eritrea E - Nov 17 - Zambia vs. Congo E - Nov 18 - Niger vs. Tanzania [played in Morocco] E - Nov 20 - Eritrea vs. Congo [played in Morocco] E - Nov 21 - Tanzania vs. Morocco E - Nov 21 - Niger vs. Zambia [played in Morocco] F - Nov 16 - Gabon vs. Kenya F - Nov 16 - Burundi vs. Gambia [played in Tanzania] F - Nov 17 - Ivory Coast vs. Seychelles F - Nov 19 - Burundi vs. Gabon [played in Tanzania] F - Nov 20 - Gambia vs. Ivory Coast [played in Tanzania] F - Nov 20 - Seychelles vs. Kenya [played in Ivory Coast] G - Nov 16 - Algeria vs. Somalia [played in Mali] G - Nov 16 - Botswana vs. Mozambique G - Nov 17 - Guinea vs. Uganda [played in Morocco] G - Nov 19 - Mozambique vs. Algeria G - Nov 21 - Botswana vs. Guinea G - Nov 21 - Somalia vs. Uganda [played in Morocco] H - Nov 15 - Equatorial Guinea vs. Namibia H - Nov 17 - Tunisia vs. Sao Tome H - Nov 17 - Liberia vs. Malawi H - Nov 20 - Liberia vs. Equatorial Guinea H - Nov 21 - Malawi vs. Tunisia H - Nov 21 - Sao Tome vs. Namibia [played in Morocco] I - Nov 17 - Ghana vs. Madagascar I - Nov 17 - Mali vs. Chad I - Nov 17 - Comoros vs. Central African Republic I - Nov 20 - Chad vs. Madagascar [played in Morocco] I - Nov 20 - Central African Republic vs. Mali [played in Comoros] I - Nov 20 - Comoros vs. Ghana 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifying - South America Nov 16 - Bolivia vs. Peru Nov 16 - Venezuela vs. Ecuador Nov 16 - Colombia vs. Brazil Nov 16 - Argentina vs. Uruguay Nov 16 - Chile vs. Paraguay Nov 21 - Paraguay vs. Colombia Nov 21 - Uruguay vs. Bolivia Nov 21 - Ecuador vs. Chile Nov 21 - Brazil vs. Argentina Nov 21 - Peru vs. Venezuela 2023-24 CONCACAF Nations League Quarterfinals Nov 16 - Costa Rica vs. Panama Nov 20 - Panama vs. Costa Rica Nov 16 - United States vs. Trinidad & Tobago Nov 20 - Trinidad & Tobago vs. United States Nov 17 - Jamaica vs. Canada Nov 21 - Canada vs. Jamaica Nov 17 - Honduras vs. Mexico Nov 21 - Mexico vs. Honduras League Play B - Nov 16 - St. Kitts & Nevis vs. St. Lucia B - Nov 16 - Sint Maarten vs. Guadeloupe B - Nov 19 - Guadeloupe vs. St. Kitts & Nevis B - Nov 19 - St. Lucia vs. Sint Maarten B - Nov 17 - Montserrat vs. Dominican Republic B - Nov 17 - Barbados vs. Nicaragua B - Nov 20 - Nicaragua vs. Dominica Republic B - Nov 20 - Montserrat vs. Barbados B - Nov 17 - Bermuda vs. St. Vincent & Grenadines B - Nov 17 - Belize vs. French Guiana B - Nov 21 - French Guiana vs. Bermuda B - Nov 21 - St. Vincent & Grenadines vs. Belize B - Nov 18 - Antigua & Barbuda vs. Puerto Rico B - Nov 18 - Bahamas vs. Guyana B - Nov 21 - Guyana vs. Antigua & Barbuda B - Nov 21 - Puerto Rico vs. Bahamas C - Nov 18 - Anguilla vs. Bonaire C - Nov 21 - Bonaire vs. Saint Martin C - Nov 16 - US Virgin Islands vs. Aruba C - Nov 20 - Aruba vs. Cayman Islands C - Nov 16 - British Virgin Islands vs. Dominica C - Nov 20 - Dominica vs. Turks & Caico Islands International Friendlies Nov 11 - Guatemala vs. Jamaica Nov 15 - Belgium vs. Serbia Nov 16 - Norway vs. Faroe Islands Nov 17 - Greece vs. New Zealand Nov 18 - Germany vs. Turkey Nov 19 - Cyprus vs. Lithuania Nov 21 - Austria vs. Germany Nov 21 - Ireland vs. New Zealand Nov 21 - Poland vs. Latvia

Another slavery World Cup then. I swear, we should be able to see the country's proposed stadiums and exactly how they plan to build them and do it legally.

Saturday 4th November Fulham 1-2 Manchester United (12:30) Brentford 1-1 West Ham United Burnley 1-0 Crystal Palace Everton 2-2 Brighton & Hove Albion Manchester City 1-0 AFC Bournemouth Sheffield United 0-3 Wolverhampton Wanderers Newcastle United 2-2 Arsenal (17:30) Sunday 5th November Nottingham Forest 1-2 Aston Villa (14:00) Luton Town 0-5 Liverpool (16:30) Monday 6th November Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Chelsea (20:00)

Celtics seem like they're on a mission this year. General management going all-in by trading for talent in the starting lineup, 2nd coach maturing very quickly and calling on all former Celtics to come and be around the team and support the championship push. Hoping for banner 18.

Friday 27th October Crystal Palace 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur (20:00) Saturday 28th October Chelsea 2-1 Brentford (12:30) Arsenal 3-0 Sheffield United AFC Bournemouth 3-1 Burnley Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-2 Newcastle United (17:30) Sunday 29th October West Ham United 1-0 Everton (13:00) Aston Villa 2-0 Luton Town (14:00) Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 Fulham (14:00) Liverpool 1-0 Nottingham Forest (14:00) Manchester United 2-0 Manchester City (15:30)

That argument doesn't really work with Europe's style of qualifying existing. What is the incentive of nations like England, Spain, France, etc. to really go hard when they get grouped with opponents who have no real shot against them? They'll even send the B-squad into qualifiers against them because of this. This is bound to be even worse now that they'll get more automatic qualifiers as well. Or look at this upcoming round in Asia. Why would Iran put their best XI on the field and risk injury against Hong Kong or Turkmenistan? In Argentina's case, if they don't 'try' against most of the other nations in South America than they'll undoubtedly lose those matches because the competition all around is more consistently higher. Also, there's a lot more regional pride and rivalries that play out between South American countries where each match is basically a holiday over there.

Decided to take a look at how the FIFA Rankings have changed for the European nations since pre-qualifying campaigns now before the final matches next matches. (December 2022 FIFA Rankings to the projected one to be released next week since the points are already calculated online) Spain 10 > 8 > +2 Scotland 42 > 34 > +8 Norway 43 > 43 > 0 Georgia 78 > 76 > +2 Cyprus 110 > 124 > -14 France 3 > 2 > +1 Netherlands 6 > 7 > -1 Greece 51 > 51 > 0 Ireland 48 > 58 > -10 Gibraltar 200 > 198 > +2 England 5 > 4 > +1 Ukraine 26 > 22 > +4 Italy 8 > 9 > -1 North Macedonia > 65 > 66 > -1 Malta 167 > 171 > -4 Turkey 44 > 38 > +6 Wales 28 > 28 > 0 Croatia 7 > 10 > -3 Armenia 95 > 95 > 0 Latvia 133 > 132 > +1 Albania 66 > 60 > +6 Czech Republic 38 > 41 > -3 Poland 22 > 31 > -9 Moldova 174 > 157 > +17 Faroe Islands > 123 > 135 > -12 Belgium 4 > 5 > -1 Austria 34 > 26 > +8 Sweden 23 > 23 > 0??? Azerbaijan 121 > 120 > +1 Estonia 109 > 118 > -9 Hungary 36 > 30 > +6 Serbia 29 > 29 > 0 Montenegro 69 > 70 > -1 Lithuania 144 > 134 > +10 Bulgaria 71 > 84 > -13 Slovenia 62 > 54 > +8 Denmark > 18 > 19 > -1 Kazakhstan 115 > 99 > +16 Finland 56 > 62 > -6 Northern Ireland 59 > 75 > -16 San Marino 207 > 207 > 0 Romania 52 > 48 > +4 Switzerland 12 > 14 > -2 Israel 76 > 71 > +5 Kosovo 107 > 106 > +1 Belarus 97 > 100 > -3 Andorra 153 > 159 > -6 Portugal 9 > 6 > +3 Slovakia 54 > 50 > +4 Luxembourg 92 > 87 > +5 Iceland 63 > 67 > -4 Bosnia Herzegovina 57 > 63 > -6 Liechtenstein 198 > 200 > -2

Well with the World Cup expanding to 48 teams, it's more than fair considering how highly ranked most of the region is.

Brazil lose 2-0 in Uruguay with Neymar being carted off with injury.

Afghanistan 1-0 | 1-0 | 2-0 Mongolia Maldives 1-1 | 1-2 | 2-3 Bangladesh Singapore 2-1 | 1-0 | 3-1 Guam Yemen 3-0 | 1-1 | 4-1 Sri Lanka Myanmar 5-1 | 0-0 | 5-1 Macau Cambodia 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-1 Pakistan Chinese Taipei 4-0 | 3-0 | 7-0 Timor-Leste Indonesia 6-0 | 6-0 | 12-0 Brunei Hong Kong 4-0 | 0-2 | 4-2 Bhutan Nepal 1-1 | 1-0 | 2-1 Laos Round 2's groups are now set: with NOV 2023 FIFA Ranking Group A Qatar - 61 Kuwait - 136 India - 102 Afghanistan - 154 Group B Japan - 18 Syria - 92 North Korea - 115 Myanmar - 158 Group C South Korea - 24 China - 79 Thailand - 112 Singapore - 155 Group D Oman - 72 Kyrgyzstan - 97 Malaysia - 137 Taiwan - 152 Group E Iran - 21 Uzbekistan - 73 Turkmenistan - 141 Hong Kong - 150 Group F Iraq - 68 Vietnam - 94 Philippines - 138 Indonesia - 145 Group G Saudia Arabia - 57 Jordan - 82 Tajikistan - 109 Pakistan - 193 Group H United Arab Emirates - 69 Bahrain - 83 Yemen - 156 Nepal - 173 Group I Australia - 27 Palestine - 96 Lebanon - 104 Bangladesh - 183 The top two teams from each group will advance to Round 3 and directly to the 2027 Asian Cup. I think the most contested groups for the #2 spot will be Group C and Group F. All four nations in each group are capable of pulling off upsets. I'm also not sure how strong Oman is as a top-ranked nation for one of these groups (Uzbekistan would've been better suited, being the best of 2nd slot teams) but I'm also not sure how much fight Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, and Taiwan will put up. They got a good draw.

Stock up during the qualifying (compared to how they looked going in): Scotland Turkey Albania Austria Hungary (though you could argue they're only justifying their Nations League performance) Slovenia Luxembourg (except when they're playing Portugal) Stock down during the qualifying (compared to what they were heading in): Norway Netherlands Ireland (I'm not sure anyone thought they'd qualify, but they've been even more dreadful than anyone expected) Poland Sweden Bulgaria (they've been down in recent years, but not to this extent) Northern Ireland (see Ireland) I will do a FIFA World Rankings comparison from pre-qualifying to after the November matches.

Brazil's next three matches are away to Uruguay, away to Colombia and home versus Argentina. They could come out of that mid-table.

I have Albanian natives here at my office in USA who are pumping their fists over this run and with good reason. That's why I've always been partial to them. With just a home match vs. Faroe Islands and a road trip to Moldova on the docket, it would take something unfortunate to not see Albania through and as group winners to boot.

Probably 2-0 England.

It wasn't as much of a prediction as much as it was hyperbole B-) , still wouldn't be surprised if it ends up 16-0 by the end. Alot of times to the inferior opponent tends to get massacred even more at home in these for some reason. Indonesia is the class of this stage though, I expect them to give a couple scares in Round Two. Rooting for our fellow American in Guam to pull off another upset.

After one leg: Afghanistan 1-0 Mongolia Maldives 1-1 Bangladesh Singapore 2-1 Guam Yemen 3-0 Sri Lanka Myanmar 5-1 Macau Cambodia 0-0 Pakistan Chinese Taipei 4-0 Timor-Leste Indonesia 6-0 Brunai Hong Kong 4-0 Bhutan Nepal 1-1 Laos Mongolia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Laos, and surprisingly Guam have the best chances to win the tie going to their home field. (Guam getting that precious away goal in the 90th minute)