Boredom setting in?

Day -579. WorldCup2018

A smorgasbord of international football. That's what these international long weekends, or short weeks, are. It should be so exciting, but am I losing my enthusiasm for this long run to Russia 2018 that I don't feel much of that excitement? Or is because it feels more like a slow stroll?

It's the European qualifying, that's what it is. The most competitive of all the continental qualifying is probably producing the most tedious matches. I say probably because I may be prejudiced in that I'm expecting too much. Or it could simply be that I watched Brazil-Argentina on Thursday and it looked like a different sport.

Yesterday I had two screens going at the same time: England-Scotland and Malta-Slovenia. No passion in the big British derby and a sense of gloom in Malta. And the football wasn't very good in either. Today I tried Austria-Ireland. Edgy and snappy. Not make any sense? But that's what comes to mind, just like when my teacher many years ago asked us all to say the first word that came to mind to describe how we felt one morning. There's two words for you, Sir. Because the typical match in European qualifying needs two words like that. Snappy? Yes. When one team doesn't have the ball the other 11 players are buzzing around like pests snapping at their opponents' ankles. Foul. Move on. Foul the other way. Move the other way up the pitch. Foul. Back the other way. And edgy. There's little will to win. More fear of losing. A continuation of Euro 2016.

Maybe it's just my desire to find excitement in these international weeks so that this project of mine has a simple subject. What better topic for a World Cup countdown than actual football being played. So I look forward to it and then England sleep walk through a win against a team who forgot they are supposed to play like they are facing the bitter enemy. And then there's Austria, who came from nowhere to qualify incredibly easily for Euro 2016 but were missed in all the hysteria about Iceland. Let's see what makes them so good, I thought. And they lose to the Republic of Ireland, at home- one of those teams low on skill but who grind out wins with one decent chance in a match.

The irony is that to qualify from Europe is a lot harder now then it was even just two World Cups ago. The quality of football has increased in so many of the smaller countries that the traditional big teams do not have a guaranteed easy ride anymore. I will excuse the Germans as an exception to this new reality. This increased competition should make for unending excitement. Instead, any drama we witness is only borne out of the tension and tightness on the pitch. Nobody wants to lose.

And the surprise teams of 2016 are at risk of being the one hit wonders. Iceland lost against group leaders Croatia today and Albania, another Euro 2016 finalist, were comprehensively beaten by Israel. Wales, Euro 2016 semi finalists, drew at home to Serbia and are now 4 points behind the Republic of Ireland. There is a very good chance that Albania, Iceland, Austria and Wales won't be in Russia.

Wales' group is a tough one to call. Ireland, Serbia, Wales, Austria. That's the order right now. Who misses out? Or look at France, Sweden and Netherlands in another group. One of them will not make the playoffs. Another Euro 2016 team, Romania, are only 4th in their group behind Poland, Montenegro and Denmark.

This all sounds very exciting, so much to play for. It just doesn't show yet. As it gets closer to the end, next September and October, it'll be better. The teams that need the wins will have to take the risks.

Today I watched a few minutes of Nigeria-Algeria, in the African group of death. Nigeria won 3-1 and after two matches it already looks bad for Algeria. The other two teams in the group, Cameroon and Zambia, drew leaving Nigeria as the the to catch. Only the group winners qualify.

As I watched I realised that's what I have to do: watch more non-European football. I'm watching more South American now, a bit of African. Now I need to find out how to watch Solomon Islands v Tahiti from Oceania, playing right now (it's 0-0 at half-time).

There, that feels better. The thought of watching Brazil again or New Zealand play New Caledonia on Tuesday is more uplifting than the dread of sitting through England's awful, meaningless friendly against Spain. Which I won't watch.

So day -579 has felt like a day of doubt, almost touching on a philosophical reflection of why I follow the football trip to Russia so closely. It was bound to happen. But I still love it and I will be back again tomorrow.