World Cup
Five Most Disappointing Teams in World Cup Qualifiers So Far
With only two matches remaining in the World Cup qualifiers for each squad, time is running out for a few teams that are on the outside looking in, reports America based Sports Daily.
While most teams have performed at or above expectations, a few have underperformed on the pitch, and have either been eliminated or are fighting for a final qualifying spot in their group. Let’s take a closer look at those teams.
ARGENTINA
While there has been some recent turmoil in their organizational structure, no one can question the talent available to the Albiceleste. Led by superstar Lionel Messi, this is a squad that no one would’ve predicted to be in danger of missing a trip to the World Cup for the first time since 1970. Yet with two games remaining in CONMEBOL group play, Argentina finds itself in fifth place, a point ahead of Chile.
With their final two matches against Peru and Ecuador, conventional wisdom would see Argentina punch their ticket to Russia. Of course, that same wisdom wouldn’t have predicted last-place Venezuela to tie Argentina 1-1 at Estadio Monumental in their most recent match.
THE NETHERLANDS
With only two games remaining in group play, the Orangemen currently find themselves out of a World Cup spot.
Unhappy with previous manager Danny Blind’s start to the World Cup qualifiers, he was replaced by 69-year-old Dick Advocaat, who had managed the Dutch team three times previously and was seen largely as a caretaker.
Recent results have made him appear as more of an undertaker, with the Orangemen on the verge of elimination.
With the team itself captained by Arjen Robben, and comprised of mostly European international players, one would think the Dutch FA has buyers’ remorse in appointing Advocaat to the managerial post.
Expect Advocaat to be removed immediately as manager after the final group match, given how badly the team has under performed.
CHILE
A team ranked in the top ten of the FIFA World Rankings should’ve already qualified for the World Cup, but Chile has struggled in group play.
With two games remaining, Chile finds itself needing at least four and possibly six points in order to advance beyond the group. But in the CONMEBOL group, every point is difficult and they have an uphill battle to advance to Russia.
Their underperformance is a bit surprising, given their recent successes in tournaments against the same teams.
While the squad is largely the same, there seems to be some dissension among the players. After the 1-0 loss against second-to-last-place Bolivia, star forward Alexis Sanchez ripped his critics (including reporters) on social media and indicated that the negativity was affecting his level of play.
A few days prior to the Sanchez comments, midfielder Arturo Vidal also lashed out at the media following a 3-0 loss at home to Paraguay.
Vidal also announced that he will retire from international play after the current World Cup competition is over for Chile. Based upon where Chile is in the current group stage, that figures to be next month.
CHINA
The last decade has seen China infuse hundreds of millions of dollars into their soccer program in order to establish a foothold on the world stage.
After the creation of their professional football league, they sought out the best managers available to train their players professionally.
Top-flight managers in the China Super League include Luiz Felipe Scolari, Manuel Pellegrini, Andre Villas-Boa and Sven-Goren Eriksson.
They then proceeded to purchase players whom they felt could improve the play of their home-grown players, often paying exorbitant amounts of cash.
While many of these players may have seemed past their prime in terms of ability, the hope was that they would pass along their knowledge of the game to their Chinese teammates and thus improve their play.
The results in the Chinese Super League were lacking, and their home-grown players failed to show improvement on the world stage. The Chinese squad sits in fifth place in the AFC group, behind teams such as Syria and Uzbekistan, and that’s about as disappointing as it gets.
AUSTRIA
Barely a year ago, Das Team was ranked tenth in the FIFA World Rankings. Manager Marcel Koller, appointed to the position in 2011, was considered somewhat of a genius for his ability to cobble together such a successful team without any world-renowned players.
Fast-forward to 2017, and Austria finds itself eliminated from advancing to World Cup competition after only eight games in a relatively weak group.
With the majority of their roster playing across the border in the Bundesliga, Austria certainly seemed to possess the talent to have been more successful within their group.
But after two more matches in October, Das Team’s players will be returning to their clubs, and one would think that Koller will be returning to his native Switzerland in search of his next job assignment.
Saudi Arabia would be ready and willing to host a 64-team World Cup in 2034 if FIFA accepts a controversial proposal to expand the tournament from 48, according to the kingdom’s sports minister.
South America’s CONMEBOL has officially suggested staging the centenary 2030 World Cup in Spain, Portugal and Morocco with 64 teams, but the idea has been opposed by some other continental confederations.
Next year’s tournament, hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, will have 48 countries participating, up from 32 in 2022.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal told a select group of reporters at the Saudi Arabian Formula One Grand Prix in Jeddah that his country would have no objection to an increase in the numbers for 2034.
“We’re ready, or we will be ready, inshallah (God willing). If that’s a decision that FIFA takes and thinks that that’s a good decision for everyone, then we’re more than happy to deliver on it,” he said.
He pointed to the infrastructure already in place for Islamic pilgrims, with four million people attending Mecca for Umrah during Ramadan this year and five million expected for the Hajj.
FIFA expected to confirm Saudi Arabia as 2034 World Cup hosts – Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – December 11, 2024 A model of the proposed Roshn Stadium is seen inside the Saudi Arabia World Cup bid exhibition REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
The global soccer governing body officially announced Saudi Arabia as hosts of the 2034 men’s World Cup in December, a bid that was uncontested but strongly criticised by rights organisations.
The Kingdom has invested heavily in sport over the last few years, but critics accuse it of ‘sportswashing’ its human rights record. The country denies accusations of human rights abuses and says it protects its national security through its laws.
The bid book pledged 15 stadiums, new or refurbished, by 2032 and which are expected to be completed with the help of migrant labour.
Al-Faisal said worker safety was of the highest priority and Saudi organisers were talking regularly with FIFA and 2022 hosts and neighbours Qatar, the first World Cup in the region, to learn from their experience.
He said the death, reported last month, of a worker at the Aramco Stadium construction site in Al Khobar had come after millions of hours without issue.
“Every incident we take seriously, we file an investigation, we look what went wrong,” said the minister. “Unfortunately, in construction, these things happen.”
He said Saudi Arabia was part of the International Labour Organisation and a 2021 Labour Reform Act had abolished the kafala system that binds migrant workers to one employer and prevents them from leaving without the employer’s approval.
Alcohol, prohibited for observant Muslims, is banned in Saudi Arabia and Al-Faisal confirmed the World Cup would be dry.
“The law now here in Saudi is that there’s no alcohol. Will that change in the future? We don’t know. But I don’t see it really affecting our sporting events at all,” he said.
“We’ve had more than 100 international events so far. We’ve had people come from all over the world to attend these sporting events. And everyone’s happy with the hospitality, the setup, the experience that they get.
“I don’t see it as an issue, to be honest. So I hope it’s not going to be an issue”.
Alcohol was not sold at stadiums in Qatar, where drinking in public is illegal, in 2022 but beer was available at designated fan zones and in some hotels.
-Reuters
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A 64-team World Cup in 2030 should not be considered, CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani has said, joining some other confederations in opposing a plan presented by CONMEBOL.
CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez last week officially proposed staging the 2030 World Cup with 64 teams, up from the 48 set to take part in next year’s edition, with the tournament to be hosted largely by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.
The opening matches will take place in Uruguay, where the first World Cup was hosted in 1930, along with Argentina and Paraguay.
“I don’t believe expanding the men’s World Cup to 64 teams is the right move for the tournament itself and the broader football ecosystem, from national teams to club competitions, leagues, and players,” Montagliani told ESPN, opens new tab.
CONCACAF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The CONMEBOL plan would have a long way to go for approval, with the 48-team 2026 edition already expanded from the 2022 tournament, when 32 countries took part.
The 2026 tournament is set to be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.
“We haven’t even kicked off the new 48-team World Cup yet, so personally, I don’t think that expanding to 64 teams should even be on the table,” said Montagliani.
His comments echoed complaints by UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin, who this month voiced opposition to the idea, and Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, who told AFP, opens new tab he fears expansion would lead to chaos.
-Reuters
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Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa has strongly opposed South American football body CONMEBOL’s proposal to expand the 2030 FIFA World Cup to 64 teams, warning such a move would lead to “chaos” in the tournament structure.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 35th AFC Congress in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, Sheikh Salman rejected the expansion plan put forward by CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez earlier this week.
“Personally, I don’t agree,” the Bahraini leader told AFP, insisting the 2030 edition had already settled on 48 teams “so the matter is settled.”
The AFC president warned that continually increasing the tournament size would create significant problems for the competition’s structure and organization.
“If the issue remains open to change, then the door will not only be open to expanding the tournament to 64 teams, but someone might come along and demand raising the number to 132 teams,” said Sheikh Salman. “Where would we end up then? It would become chaos.”
The 2030 World Cup, set to commemorate the centenary of the tournament, is already planned as an unprecedented multi-continental event.
While Spain, Portugal and Morocco will host the majority of matches, three opening games will be staged in South America – in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay – recognizing Uruguay as the host of the inaugural 1930 World Cup.
The tournament will feature 48 teams, expanding from the 32-team format used in Qatar 2022. This expansion was already approved for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
CONMEBOL’s Dominguez formally proposed the further expansion to 64 teams during the South American body’s 80th Congress on Thursday, suggesting it as a one-time increase to celebrate the centennial.
“We are proposing, for the only time, to hold this centennial with 64 teams on three continents, simultaneously, so that all countries have the opportunity to experience a World Cup and so that no one on this planet is left out of this celebration,” Dominguez said.
The South American proposal would likely guarantee all 10 CONMEBOL member nations a place in the tournament. Venezuela is currently the only South American country that has never qualified for a World Cup.
If approved, the expansion would effectively double the tournament size to 128 matches, compared to the 64-game format used from 1998 through 2022.
While Sheikh Salman rejected changes for 2030, he did not dismiss potential format adjustments for future tournaments beyond the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia.
“If we want to discuss subsequent tournaments… that’s a different matter,” he said.
The proposal has received a mixed response from football’s governing bodies. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin previously dismissed it as a “bad idea,” while FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom said the world governing body would “analyse” the suggestion.
“There are many things that need to be studied, and we will take our time, consult everyone,” Grafstrom said.
Critics argue that expanding to 64 teams would dilute the quality of play and devalue continental qualifying competitions, while supporters suggest it would give more nations the opportunity to participate in football’s premier event.
The idea was initially raised at a FIFA Council meeting in March by Uruguay Football Federation chief Ignacio Alonso, before being formally proposed by CONMEBOL’s Dominguez this week.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who participated in Thursday’s CONMEBOL Congress via videoconference, has previously supported tournament expansions during his presidency, which began in 2016, seeking increased revenue for FIFA’s 211 member federations and more opportunities for national teams to qualify.
The final decision on the tournament structure remains with FIFA, which must balance the celebration of the World Cup’s centenary with maintaining the tournament’s competitive integrity and logistical feasibility.
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