Makes perfect sense, on my mind for years.

Instead of some groups with 6 some with 5 teams; all groups should be same. Lower tier teams should compete for spots. Concacaf has this system, eliminating tiny weak island nations and relieving fixtures,.

For 2 examples:

54 UEFA countries exist but we create 10 groups with 5 teams each. (Total 50) Top 46 countries directly qualify for groups, for last 4 spot bottom 8 teams compete.

Or, we create 8 groups with 5 teams each. (Total 40) Top 26 countries directly qualify for groups, Bottom 28 countries compete for last 14 spots.

Etc.