I think you are right: they didn't need to draw the line anywhere, so they didn't need to take a decision on who goes in the merge and who doesn't. Every single nation clearly fit any criteria you could pick.
I think that if they find a way to find a solution that works for the NT and U21 they could do the same for many small nations by merging them with nations which make sense also for other reasons (like Moldova and Romania or Wales and England). I don't know, but to me the community in this game is mostly built around U21/NT and national forums. As long as you keep (or strengthen) all of those then you will have taken out very little out of the game for micronation users.
But the time to address the U21/NT worries is now, S39, not in 5 seasons. Announce something mid season as draftees are created and implement it starting with the next draft. There are plenty of solutions possible, just pick one and go with it. Changing a player's nationality flag should be very easy.
Last edited by Lemonshine at 7/1/2017 9:15:42 AM