i don't read the Observer

somebody was talking about the fact that the difference in teh FIFA rankings in teh England group was about 200 from top to bottom , in Hollands group it was 75 and in Scotlands about 130 - so basically England were drawn against weaker opposition and that the weaker opposition ( NI , Wales abnd Azerbaijan) were about the weakest for teh level seeding they were at

I have no interest in England , but it does make you think , we were racking our brains to try and think who England had in qualyfying groups , and other than Germany in 2002 and Italy in 1998 , couldn't come up with anyone difficult

Interesting article I thought , basically means the loading of groups to ensure " big Revenue " nations always qualify - Italy , Holland , France , Spain etc also benefit

Posted By: south, Oct 10, 17:07:38