International Football
Spain are among five big national teams at risk of missing the 2022 World Cup
The World Cup qualifiers are in full swing in almost all the confederations -Africa, Europe and South America.
There’s still a long way to go until the 2022 finals in Qatar, with fans having to wait a few extra months for next year’s tournament due to it being held in the winter. That said, there are some big-name countries already at risk of missing out on qualification.
Having failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup but going on to win Euro 2020, Italy have shown that failure to reach the greatest show on earth isn’t always as bad as it first appears, but the following countries will nonetheless be desperate to avoid the humiliation of missing out.
Spain
It may be pain for Spain as the La Roja suffered their first World Cup qualifying defeat since 1993 on Thursday in Sweden, ending a 66-game streak, but that is just the latest of Luis Enrique‘s concerns.
The national team haven’t enjoyed the same success in his second spell as the promise they showed in his first might have hinted at, and there is a need to find a regular goalscorer who can deliver at international level.
Alvaro Morata has had his share of criticism since before Euro 2020, while other options have endured similar complications when handed a place in the XI.
Spain must now win all their matches and hope Sweden slip up in order to have a chance of taking first place in their group, but even winning all their remaining games could be a tough task.
Colombia
Almost at the mid-way point of South American qualification, Colombia are in a position that they’d rather not find themselves in, sitting fifth and out of the automatic qualification places.
Currently occupying the spot that would take them into an inter-confederation play-off, Colombia are level on points with Uruguay ahead of them, but just two ahead of Paraguay behind them.
Controversy surrounding the national team and James Rodriguez from before the summer’s Copa America hasn’t helped things.
Netherlands
The European qualifiers are still at their early stages, but the Netherlands have found a lot of stiff competition in Group G.
Currently second on seven points – level with Montenegro and Norway – the Dutch trail leaders Turkey, following their underwhelming European Championship performance.
Ronald Koeman‘s time in charge is just a memory now. They haven’t hit those same heights since he left his job.
Chile
Another South American side who find themselves in trouble. Chile are seventh from 10 sides in qualification and don’t look as though they’ll make it, despite there being time for them to make up ground.
Having enjoyed success in recent Copa Americas and having been an exciting side at a couple of World Cups, their participation in Qatar is very much at risk.
Japan
Japan are a side who should be at every World Cup and they always offer a lot to the tournament.
Just one matchday into Group B of the third round of qualification in Asia, though, they are pointless behind Australia, Saudi Arabia and Oman, who all won their opening games.
There is plenty of time left, but Japan have started in the worst possible way by losing to Oman. The top two teams make the World Cup, with the third team advancing to a fourth round.
-Marca
Representatives from four national players’ unions on Thursday launched a new global organisation in Madrid, which they say will strengthen footballers’ rights and improve dialogue with governing bodies.
Opening a new front in the battle over who speaks for players, the International Footballers’ Association (AIF) was unveiled, with David Aganzo, president of Spain’s Association of Footballers (AFE) and a former head of the global union FIFPRO, appointed to lead the organisation.
Players’ unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland were also represented.
The initiative drew a swift rebuke from FIFPRO, which said in a statement that Aganzo was acting out of self-interest and aligning himself with organisations linked to football governing bodies, as well as groups expelled from FIFPRO over alleged mismanagement.
Aganzo rejected the criticism, saying he “will not seek confrontation with FIFPRO”.
The launch comes amid strained relations between players’ unions and football authorities, particularly over the expanding international match calendar.
Relations between FIFA and FIFPRO deteriorated in 2024 after the union lodged a complaint with the European Commission, arguing that the global governing body was abusing its dominant position by adding competitions without sufficient consultation.
Aganzo denied suggestions that the new initiative was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but said “direct dialogue with FIFA” was essential.
AFE’s Extraordinary General Assembly approved the initiative in February with 99.8% of votes cast in favour of spearheading the creation of the AIF.
The same assembly also backed AFE’s withdrawal from FIFPRO, citing what it described as a “complete lack of transparency, as well as its total lack of dialogue with international bodies.”
“We represent over 30,000 footballers, and we come here with a new model aimed at safeguarding players’ rights and facilitating direct communication with all international bodies,” Aganzo told reporters.
“We are in contact with 15 to 20 unions already who were very aware of this moment and waiting for this announcement to make their move and join our initiative.”
He declined to identify any unions beyond those present.
Asked about a report that a senior envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump had urged FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, Aganzo urged caution.
“These are more political issues; on April 30th, I’ll be speaking to Gianni (Infantino) at the FIFA Congress, and we will discuss those things,” Aganzo said.
“People who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit.”
-Reuters
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A new trial over the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will begin on Tuesday, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in a mistrial.
An enduring presence in Argentina – from towering murals to tattoos, opens new tab – Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.
A court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses as it tries Maradona’s medical team over alleged negligence in the death of the 1986 World Cup champion.
His medical team has denied wrongdoing. The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni, and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a separate jury trial, with no date yet set.
Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed by a camera crew in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office as part of a documentary, in breach of judicial rules.
The retrial will require both prosecutors and defense lawyers to reassess their strategies after the first trial aired photographs, videos, audio recordings and forensic evidence. Many witnesses, including Maradona’s children and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, have already testified.
Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a “theatre of horror,” where necessary care was not provided.
The defense countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction.
The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona’s death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner.
-Reuters
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Aliou Cisse has been named coach of the Angola national team, the country’s football federation (FAF) announced on Thursday, 24 hours after the Senegalese left his post in Libya.
The 50-year-old coach, who led Senegal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, ended his short stint with the Libyan national team on Wednesday, after taking charge in March 2025.
“Welcome, Aliou Cisse, head coach of the Angola national team,” the FAF said on Facebook. Angola, which failed to reach this year’s World Cup, will start their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign in September.
-Reuters
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