One defeat in 46 matches!
Let’s take the last qualifying phase contested by the Devils. Sweden – 25th in the FIFA rankings at the time of the draw – and Austria (34th) were part of Group F, of which only the first two nations qualified directly in Germany. Two opponents within reach of the Devils, then second in the world rankings behind Brazil. With 22 goals scored and only 4 conceded, including three against Austria alone, Belgium logically dominated its group a few months before a very disappointing Euro. At the same time, Didier Deschamps’ Blues faced the Netherlands and Greece. One level of difference.
For the Qatar qualifiers, Wales (well…) was the highest ranked opponent (18th). Since the famous Euro 2016 and our elimination in the quarter-final by these same Welsh people, the Dragons have very rarely left the top 30.
Moreover, it was still against our bete noire of the time that Belgium experienced its last setback in the qualifying phase. On June 12, 2015, a Wales from another era offered a victory in Cardiff that heralded a nightmare that occurred a few months later in Lyon.
The draw does not favor the Italians
The time when the Devils could approach each qualifying phase without fear does not go back very long. But rare are those where so much confidence could emerge, as with Roberto Martinez’s troops. The golden generation often took seriously these phases, which were certainly time-consuming, but which elevated them to the top of international football. The qualifications for Euro 2020 are the perfect example: ten victories in as many matches, 4 goals scored per match on average. And if the FIFA ranking did not determine the hats for the draw, it was always a good indicator of the forces present. Scotland (38th) and Russia (48th) constituted the only weak competition in this Group I.
In this same qualifier, other groups were tougher, even if the first two were directly qualified for Euro 2020. Germany and the Netherlands (group C), for example, gave the group no chance. Northern Ireland. Group D was tighter between three contenders for qualification: Switzerland and Denmark finally obtained their ticket in front of Ireland. The same was true for Spain and Sweden in Group F.
In 2018, the situation was rather simple: to hope to go directly to Russia, only first place was qualifying. Otherwise, the dams hung in the face of the unfortunate second-placed teams, with the risk of elimination far too early. The Italians remember it very well.
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2018 is obviously an excellent memory for the Devils. No need to recall this wonderful epic in the country of Vladimir Putin, it is also a qualifying phase completed with great fanfare: nine victories and a draw (against Greece, 44th in the FIFA rankings at the time of the draw in July 2015), and a double victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina, 26th nation in the world. No danger on the horizon, especially since at the same time, other meetings, much more beautiful on paper, were in full swing across the four corners of Europe.
France had to battle against Sweden and the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland were tied with 27 points out of 30, and Spain relegated Italy to the play-offs, with the fate we know for them . Finally, in a more homogeneous Group I, Iceland did well against Croatia (future finalist in Russia), Ukraine and Turkey.
When it comes to major competitions, the Devils have often been criticized for a lack of adversity. Obviously nothing can be done about the draw. Often happy for us, sometimes tragic for others.
The advantage of this domination reaps an endless circle: if the Devils fall against opponents considered less strong, they should string together more victories, and therefore find themselves among the top seeds for the next qualifiers. Enough to avoid other big names in European football. And so on!
