A POEM: Qualifying Thoughts

By Paul Gardner

Goodbye,
Uruguay.
And thanks a lot,
Now we've got –
Following your failure –
To put up with Austrailure.

The World Cup once meant just the best,
Pele, Maradona, Cruyff and the rest.
But now we welcome everyone, it's much more democratic.
Qualifying, we confess, can be somewhat erratic,
But even though, this time around, there will be no Diego,
We do not doubt you'll soon get used to Trinidad and Tobago.