I was bemoaning the lack of quality in AFC and referring to Asian Cup as the mickey mouse tournament. I have quite enjoyed the group stage here, though I was hoping for a more competitive showing by Asian teams.Unfortunately - the way it is now - I don't think the tournament really begins until now
Although, the way next qualifying pans out will be interesting.
I'm not sure how the fuck they're going to do the intercontinental playoffs (as it is currently, the host confederation gets an extra spot in these playoffs - but with 3 confederations technically hosting, who gets it? My guess is Africa).
Plus we'll have US, Mexico and Canada actually in the qualifying round - while I doubt they get tripped up, probably means the usual contenders will be strong enough to qualify this time (Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama?)
Next world cup may have 64 teams, which would make the qualifiers pretty redundant. The only way I can see it working if if Europe gets most of the extra spots. Maybe 8 more for Europe, 3 more for Africa, 2 more for Asia (lol) and one each for the Americas and Oceania. We may see Vanuatu at the World Cup yet.