In the days when the tournament was just 8 teams, qualifying rounds definitely made sense. Even, at a stretch, when it was bumped up to 16. With 24 teams the qualifying now seems a little less important. I don’t think that scores like this help anything apart from to pad the record books. Competition should have at least the faint prospect that either side could win, otherwise its more like an exhibition match than anything with a real consequence.
In the days when the tournament was just 8 teams, qualifying rounds definitely made sense. Even, at a stretch, when it was bumped up to 16. With 24 teams the qualifying now seems a little less important. I don’t think that scores like this help anything apart from to pad the record books. Competition should have at least the faint prospect that either side could win, otherwise its more like an exhibition match than anything with a real consequence.