u/No_Metal6805

This is just a basic discussion but we see Iroh heat up his tea using heat bending in the show, we also see Sozin bend heat out of a volcano. Some people think it’s smoke bending but it’s not, it’s been proven to be heat bending.

The thing is, we have never seen smoke generation or smoke bending in the show. We have seen it in the comics when Azula and her gang does it, but it still isn’t confirmed to be smoke manipulation (even though it most likely is).

My question is do you think it is possible? Airbenders can manipulate the smoke while firebenders can create it

36 clubs is such a weird number. I get with 4 more clubs you get 16 more games (more cash), but still, it’s such a weird number. I also get that people wanted to see more high caliber games cause after MD 4 or 5 of the old format , everything was wrapped up, and I like the new format, it’s just 36 teams is such a weird number.

With all of FIFA drama going on rn, I’m not surprised if the sport goes down a full reset. I’m talking about a new global body, new club and national competitions, maybe even a super league. It’s not looking good

Every year a new winner, promotes other nations to do the same, smaller teams better chance at a cup final winning a cup and then playing in Europe

The bigger teams can’t cry about fixture congestion. I feel like it’s a proper solution to the “2 domestic cup” problem.

Inter Miami was given the spot because they won the supporters shield, but that’s not even the domestic title in the USA

To avoid shouts and cries of “corruption”, award the spot every edition with a fixed criteria, the club with the best record in continental football that resides from the host nation. So for example rhe Philadelphia Union would’ve got the host club spot, not inter Miami.

48 teams for this one is too much, I’m an advocate for club football around the world and I know 48 teams is just too much, the level is there but club football operates differently from international football and logistically it woulf be a nightmare.

The two club per nation rule is so more small teams can qualify for the tournament but imo if you’re the best of the best you deserve to be there without any restrictions to worry about. Juventus, Salzburg and Benfica benefited from the rule while Liverpool, Leipzig and Barcelona were left out.

Plus people don’t realize the new UCL format almost ensures “small teams” have a better chance to qualify. Right now Sporting, Leverkusen and Atalanta all occupy 10th, 11th and 12th respectively while Man City and Champions Chelsea are on course to not qualify for the tournament. Because teams are playing against more opponents it gives them a better chance to pick up more points, which is why those 3 teams are on course to qualify.

Barcelona occupy 4th, Atleti in 7th and Real Madrid in 8th. I don’t like Real Madrid one bit but they shouldn’t be excluded from the tournament via 2 club per nation even though they are in the top 12 to qualify. The rule needs to be abolished.

Everyone knows Liechtenstein historically has no football league due to the country being small. But let’s say a rich owner decides to found 1 more football team in the nation, would the Liechtenstein clubs in the Swiss tier want to leave to form a domestic league? The minimum requirement for a top flight domestic league is 8 clubs. If they were to have a doemstic football league, they would have 4 European spots (1 for the league champions to enter the UCL, the 3 others for UECL entries)

The pros is more cash, better development and better access to European spots while the cons are a lack of proper competition due to the Swiss system being stronger , but this would change overtime as the league develops

Would the clubs opt for a doemstic league or is it a similar to a situation with Swansea, Cardiff, Wrexham and Newport where they can leave for the Welsh League but don’t want to, due to multiple reasons.

I’m not a big fan of super cups but I will admit that Domestic Super Cups logically make sense. Super cups are seen not only as trophy warmers for the new season, but logically it is called a super cup cause you’re taking two champions of two different axis of achievement against each other. The team that was best over 30+ games against the nations elite vs. the team that peaked in a knockout format.

The UEFA Super Cup breaks that logic because UCL and UEL are tiers, not different types of competitions. It made sense back in the day cause you were taking the ‘ultimate’ domestic champions vs the ‘ultimate’ domestic cup winners, but now both competitions are simply just tiers, kinda like a domestic league pyramid. It’s like if the Community Shield had more traction, and we would be seeing Arsenal vs Coventry for the title.

Super cups don’t really get traction but the UEFA Super Cup, and any other continental super cup (CAF Super Cup, etc…) are simply just useless competitions.

I like when the WC has multiple hosts, but it’s also cool to see when a standalone nation can host the competition. The only nations I could possibly see hosting alone are USA, Mexico, China, Brazil, England, Germany, Maybe Japan and South Korea?
No idea on the rest. I like 48 teams but it was cool to see when a standalone nation hosted.

This is the final format I’ve made to help a 48 team World Cup thrive. It brings interesting matchups, and it’s just a better system than the best 3rd place teams system we have today. And to the people who say “oh the World Cup should be 32 teams!” Grow up. Expansion isn’t the problem, keeping it at 48 teams for the rest of its existence, alongside the format is the challenge. 48 should be the threshold, and with this, we need a viable format that isn’t unfair, people like, is interesting, is easy to understand, and doesn’t oversaturate the next round.

It’s 16 groups of 3, and I know you all will ask, if there are groups of 3, one team doesn’t play on a Matchday so the Disgrace of Dijon issue is back. Well I fixed that with paired groupings. Paired groupings is a system where you play teams in your group and another group. So in the 3 team groups, each team plays both teams in the group, and then plays a team in the paired group that aligns with their Pot number. This means every team plays 3 games, and on the days where two teams play in a group, the other team also takes part in a paired grouping match, that still attaches to the overall record. The group winners are the 16 teams that go through to the knockout stages, raising the stakes in group of deaths. It also means players would play a maximum of 7 games, instead of 8, and the WC would end a week earlier.

Rules for the WC group stage

1. All UEFA teams in Pot 1, meaning every team will face a max of 1 UEFA team. Pot 2 and 3 are based off FIFA rankings

2. two UEFA teams per paired groups (must be in separate groups. For example team A in group A1 and team B in group A2. Both of the UEFA teams are in separate groups but the same paired group)

3. No more than 1 non UEFA confederation nation in a paired group, but the rule can be bypassed: If a non UEFA confederation enters more than 8 nations, there can be some paired groups with 2 nations from their zone. To calculate this number, take the number of representatives OR the number of possible representatives, and subtract by 8. That is the number of paired groups that can have 2 teams from that specific confederation. The teams are in separate groups, but together they are in a paired group, like I described some notes ago. For example CAF can have 10 reps, so subtract by 8, and two paired groups can have two CAF teams in them. AFC can have 9, so subtract by 8 and 1 group can have two AFC teams

Pots
Pot 1 (all European teams): Spain, France, England, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Croatia, Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Scotland, Bosnia, Sweden, Türkiye, Czechia

Pot 2 (Non UEFA host nations AND FIFA rankings): USA, Mexico, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Australia, Panama, Egypt

Pot 3 (FIFA rankings): Algeria, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, DR Congo, Iraq

This format is the best and most interesting format for a 48 team World Cup, and can be copied by the Euros and other continental competitions with 24 teams. I’ve drawn teams randomly and I’ve conducted a draw. The draw rules are different from a tournament with no paired groups, so this is how it goes. These groups are interesting, especially considering only 1 team, being the group winners, enter the next round. Keep in mind, the draw was completely random…

Groups
Group A1- Germany, Mexico, Paraguay
Group A2- Scotland, Australia, Ghana

Group B1- Bosnia, Canada, Algeria
Group B2- Türkiye, Japan, Ivory Coast

Group C1- Spain, Brazil, DR Congo
Group C2- Austria, South Korea, Tunisia

Group D1- Belgium, USA, Jordan
Group D2- Sweden, Colombia, South Africa

Group E1- Switzerland, Egypt, Qatar
Group E2- France, Ecuador, Haiti

Group F1- Czechia, Senegal, Saudi Arabia
Group F2- Netherlands, Uruguay, New Zealand

Group G1- Norway, Morocco, Uzbekistan
Group G2- Portugal, Panama, Iraq

Group H1- England, Argentina, Cape Verde
Group H2- Croatia, Iran, Curaçao
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Example 1: England would play Croatia, Argentina and Cape Verde, while Argentina play England, Iran and Cape Verde.

FYI 1: Only the group winners are allowed to go to the next stage (Round of 16). Every other team is out of the WC. This makes every game interesting, and essentially do or die. Any mess up from the start would most likely bite nations in the back.

FYI 2: Group B, C and G use the bypass rule

FYI 3: the 1000th World Cup game if anyone cared would be between: Belgium vs Jordan

FYI 4: The bracket for the KO stages would be a fixed bracket (like 2022 and all other past editions) where the group winner of A1 plays B2, C1 v D2, E1 v F2, G1 v H2, etc… So for example due to my draw, if Portugal would win their group, they would face either Argentina or England in the round of 16.
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Match schedules
MD 1: Pot 2 v Pot 3 teams; Pot 1 paired grouping showdowns (all UEFA)

MD 2: Pot 3 v Pot 1; Pot 2 paired grouping showdowns

MD 3: Pot 1 v Pot 2; Pot 3 paired grouping showdowns

FYI 5: If the tournament format is copied by a continental championship with 24 or 12 teams, the hosts are in Pot 1, and the schedule looks different. MD 1 would be Pot 1 v 3 (2 in paired matches), MD 2 would be Pot 2 v 3 (1 in paired matches), MD 3 is Pot 1 v 2 (3 in paired matches). This is also the schedule for if a European team hosts the WC due to all European teams being in Pot 1.
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This format is ultimately the best way to get the group stage to still have meaning, now that only one team advances, it lets teams play against an opponent in every pot, it sets up interesting matches, it solves the 3 team group and the 3rd place teams advancing issue, it lets the cup end a week earlier. All in all, this is the perfect format for 48 teams, and can well and truly be replicated by the Euros, or AFCON, the Asian Cup, and if Copa America ever returns to 12 teams, even that competition. Hope you enjoyed.