That’s all true, absolutely. But it’s a different and arguably much more difficult slog on a competitive basis for countries of similar standard to the USA for example, who happen to be European.
Not complaining about that. Only about the rubbish I read about how easy it is to qualify from Europe :)

We need all the luck we can get :)
Big night tomorrow!

Not sure :) For years I’ve been reading about how “difficult” it must be to play Liechtenstein or San Marino when these one off games ate mostly irrelevant to the overall challenge of qualifying from Europe.

And I say this as someone from a country that has missed out every time since 1998 after reaching virtually every World Cup from 74-98.
European qualifying got a lot harder for all but the elite with the creation of new states. In other regions, qualifying (perhaps rightly) has been made easier.

Because if you’re from a CONCACAF country or a middle ranking South American country, this would be your country’s best case path most of the time were you transported to UEFA.
Not quite as easy as you might think.

And now Scotland have clawed it back to 2:3….

Oh no! I hope you get some rest & fingers crossed you feel better soon.

I‘m sure most communities in the USA have similar gatherings.

Sorry to hear that :(
Look after yourself.
I was negative for a week feeling bad before the tests changed colour.

🙏 Du wirst den besten Blick haben und keine Überraschung, dass es so aussieht.

This was my second go around with it & it was considerably worse than the first. Can’t recall feeling as ill over such a long period. Hope your friend is doing well now, Dan.

Yes I think you’re right. And that seems to be the main driver.

Maybe. I’m not sure the calendar makes much of a difference. MLS, the A-League and the J-League are always going to feel far away & time zones contribute to that as much as calendar from a European perspective.
But I wish them success & hope it’s right for them and above all the fans who go.

At one time it was a lot longer partly to protect pitches but with better pitch technology, 6-8 weeks off is no longer necessary.
And important to note, German winters are not on the scale of Minnesota, Toronto, Chicago et al.
2/2