“Krone Vorarlberg” author Harald Petermichl is a big fan of the cultivated football game. He was particularly fond of the big tournaments. That’s why in the latest edition of his column “Oh, by the way…” he not only looks at a passable tournament in a Middle Eastern emirate that will start in a few weeks, but also at one in which 2024 in Germany even the very small ones will be big could become.
After hosting the International Baumit Indoor Cup in Esternberg, the Volksbank Rhein-Lahn-Limburg Indoor Cup in Altendiez/Diez-Freiendiez (“with many trophies”) and a passable tournament in a Near Eastern emirate (with only one trophy), March In 2023 the qualification for the EM 2024 will finally start and after 230 games we will know which 20 (of 53) teams together with host Germany have the chance to give their more or less magnificent trophy collection a copy of the “Coupe Henri Delaunay”, which was bought in 2008 18cm to accommodate the inflated field and the importance of the tournament. Until then, the number of fervent prayers for the national teams of Italy, Spain, Croatia and the Netherlands should skyrocket in the pilgrimage sites of Vastseliina Episcopal Castle (Estonia), Aglona (Latvia), Saharna (Moldova) and Madonna ta’ Pinu (Malta). go. What may sound exotic at first is simply due to the Nations League regulations, because according to them, the associations of Estonia, Latvia, Moldova and Malta (League D) would inherit the right to participate in the playoff in League A, provided that there were four Group winners qualify directly and therefore do not need the playoff starting places they are entitled to. To recap: Three EM participants are recruited from the beguilingly simple and superfluous Nations League, in which the respective four group winners of leagues A to C simply compete against each other. And because there are no playoff places for Liga D, this time Nyon decided to fill up from the back so that the not-so-big soccer nations also have a chance to play. Surprisingly, if one of the teams from Estonia, Latvia, Moldova or Malta win the race in the regular qualification, even Andorra, San Marino and Liechtenstein (in this order) would move up from further behind, if necessary also the highest non-qualified nation in the Nations League final table the leagues A to C, but not when Italy, Spain, Croatia or the Netherlands mess up the regular qualification again and have to play-open themselves; because then everything would be waste for the best in League D. Well, at the moment it’s probably better to wait and see how everything develops before you end up not knowing where the back and the front are.
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