World Cup 2014 qualifiers: five talking points from the latest action

Time has come for pre-qualifying It is hard to take much, other than satisfaction at a professional job well executed, from such a mismatch as that in the Zimbru stadium last Friday . England may have been impressive as an attacking unit, with the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Tom Cleverley excelling, but the standard of opposition was nondescript at best. Dismal at worst. The most troubling aspect is that Moldova are not even the worst ranked side in Group H, with San Marino – in 206th, joint last with Bhutan, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands – still to come. Which makes one wonder whether a better system might indeed involve a pre-qualifying round ahead of the qualifiers, as in the Champions League. Dominic Fifield McClean is not alone Clearly James McClean's outburst on Twitter after the Republic of Ireland scraped past Kazakhstan was unacceptable but he was only saying what a lot of people are thinking. Comfortably the worst side at Euro 2012, watching the Republic of Ireland's hoof-ball is not much fun at the moment and the players certainly appear drained by it. How long before Giovanni Trapattoni faces full-scale mutiny? Jacob Steinberg Belgium still look a little blunt With a squad featuring Moussa Dembélé, Eden Hazard and Vincent Kompany it is no wonder that people talk admiringly of Belgium's golden generation . Yet they could do with a touch of ruthlessness. Despite enjoying 71% of possession against 10-man Wales, their goals came from set-pieces and a massed defence could frustrate this side in open play, as England managed in June. There has to be a purpose to the possession. Jacob Steinberg Portuguese worries despite win You have to hand it to Portugal. Having required play-offs to qualify for the last two tournaments, they began this campaign in endearingly farcical fashion, falling behind early on against Luxembourg . Luxembourg! They fought back to win 2-1 but, really, this was hardly becoming of a side that was a penalty shoot-out away from reaching the final of Euro 2012. Jacob Steinberg National managers get sacked, too It is a mistake to suppose that international football releases managers from the hysteria of the club culture. Craig Levein, appointed in December 2009, is the longest serving manager in Group A. The realistic SFA didn't sack him for coming third in the qualification group for Euro 2012. Kevin McCarra