The second-placed teams from each European qualifying group will meet in the play-offs to decide who will go to the Brazil 2014 finals, with the match-ups decided on seedings, which in turn are based on FIFA rankings. France are looking dead-certs for second place behind Spain in Group I with one remaining qualifier to play this week, but unlike the last time they took to the play-offs in 2009 Les Blues would be unseeded.
France - who place 25th in FIFA's hugely reputable and fully believable world rankings - feel hard-done-to because Group I is alone among the UEFA qualifying group in containing only five teams - the rest contain six.
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| UEFA's world cup play-offs can be a real slap in the face |
The French are arguing that fewer fixtures equals fewer ranking points. They may have a point - but they were not so quick to take football's governing bodies to task over these fine margins four years ago, in final stages of qualifying for South Africa 2010.
No, four years ago France secured a play-off tie against the Republic of Ireland through a seeding system described by then Irish boss Giovanni Trapattoni as "the death of football" and by then first-choice goalkeeper Shay Given as "totally unfair on the smaller nations".
France, as the seeded team, secured the second leg at home and thus the advantage of having any required extra-time period played at the Stade de France. Few need reminding that extra time was required and that one member of the France squad decided to literally take matters into his own hands and steer Les Blues into the World Cup finals.
It should be interesting to see how many people France manage to rally to their cause. After 2009 and Thierry Henry's infamously shameless handball-assist of France's winning goal against the Republic, the relative grounds for complaint in the present case should largely be cast aside.
Having got to the 2010 World Cup, they could have at least had the good grace to keep their heads down, get on with it and come home quietly whenever they were knocked out. Instead, we were treated to the
It really doeesn't bode well when the whole affair requires two Youtube clips. Stay tuned, the second half has some really crackers:
That second clip raises the question of how such a reputedly good squad have ended up needing to split hairs over FIFA ranking points at this juncture should surely have the French reflecting on what the hell their players have been doing for the last few years, rather than looking to blame the rules that have so colossally benefited them in the past.
This team said nothing while exploiting this seeding system four years ago - and for a long time before - while displaying a chronic inability to behave properly and playing well below par for several years. They should be laughed out of wherever they take these complaints.
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Photo credit: Bryan Clayton
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