|
|
Post by manulike on Jun 28, 2021 20:58:53 GMT
I'm still flirting with the idea if I'm honest.. I'd love to go if we qualify. Plus, I'm not a big drinker so the conservative attitudes to alcohol won't bother me, personally. On another positive note, it'll be a relatively lout-free zone đ Not sure if the Royal Opera house in Doha is any good ... but surely the belly dancing and snake charming must be something else ;-) |
|
|
|
Post by pendragon on Jun 28, 2021 21:34:34 GMT
I'm still flirting with the idea if I'm honest.. I'd love to go if we qualify. Plus, I'm not a big drinker so the conservative attitudes to alcohol won't bother me, personally. On another positive note, it'll be a relatively lout-free zone đ Not sure if the Royal Opera house in Doha is any good ... but surely the belly dancing and snake charming must be something else ;-) If the snake-charming brings some luck, I'll be all for it 𤣠|
|
|
|
Post by squatter1 on Jun 29, 2021 9:46:25 GMT
Such a shite place for a World Cup. A real shame since it will be our star players' last oportunity. Its not often that I disagree with you ... Although I am a strong objector to the Qatari politics and human rights.
Nonetheless, having that location is a massive Fan's Tournament. All stadia are within 20 miles away from down-town Doha - all within an hour on public transport... Unlike Azerbaijan - that was a step too far for me, with very recent agendas - Qatar is a place I will look forward to seeing us quality and I have those five weeks earmarked already ;-)
I hope you enjoy sitting in those stadiums built on the piles of Bangladeshi slave-wage workers corpses, and you enjoy the general vibe of spending time in a oppressive feudal monarchy. |
|
|
|
Post by dai on Jun 29, 2021 9:53:50 GMT
Its not often that I disagree with you ... Although I am a strong objector to the Qatari politics and human rights.
Nonetheless, having that location is a massive Fan's Tournament. All stadia are within 20 miles away from down-town Doha - all within an hour on public transport... Unlike Azerbaijan - that was a step too far for me, with very recent agendas - Qatar is a place I will look forward to seeing us quality and I have those five weeks earmarked already ;-)
I hope you enjoy sitting in those stadiums built on the piles of Bangladeshi slave-wage workers corpses, and you enjoy the general vibe of spending time in a oppressive feudal monarchy. Oh dear, that soured the mood. You're not wrong though. |
|
|
|
Post by squatter1 on Jun 29, 2021 10:45:40 GMT
The current Euros (designed with fans at the bottom of the list and money at the top) and the forthcoming World Cup (given to the highest bidder no matter their crimes against human rights and democracy) sadly exemplify the rank, corrupted heart of the modern football governing authorities.
|
|
|
|
Post by insertname on Jun 29, 2021 11:22:45 GMT
And a winter World Cup to boot.
For me Iâve still not been satisfied by Euros semi finals. I want to see Wales play at a World Cup where we can be drawn with all sorts of random nations and of course the chance to play Argentina or Brazil in an actual competitive game. Thatâs the holy grail for me, itâs arguably weaker than the Euros but the bigger tournament in terms statute. As such I was gutted we didnât make it to Russia, both because of how interesting the location is, the players being fresh from their Euros peak and it being the last World Cup before the format became fucked up.
I couldnât go to Qatar - shit location, itâs in winter and all the aforementioned issues with human rights abuses. As much as I want to see Wales in a World Cup I donât want to see them that badly.
I think Iâd try and get a month off work or working from home and go somewhere hot that isnât Qatar so it feels like a proper summer tournament. Imagine watching games on the TV when itâs cold and frosty outside. The final is 6 days from Christmas ffs!
Just ugh.
Oh, and then we have the 48 team World Cup to look forward to in 2026 complete with 3 team groups! Can you imagine all the qualifying effort just to play two fucking games!!
|
|
|
|
Post by fiveattheback on Jun 29, 2021 11:30:37 GMT
And a winter World Cup to boot. For me Iâve still not been satisfied by Euros semi finals. I want to see Wales play at a World Cup where we can be drawn with all sorts of random nations and of course the chance to play Argentina or Brazil in an actual competitive game. Thatâs the holy grail for me. As such I was gutted we didnât make it to Russia, both because of how interesting the location is, the players being fresh from their Euros peak and it being the last World Cup before the format became fucked up. I couldnât go to Qatar - shit location, itâs in winter and all the aforementioned issues with human rights abuses. As much as I want to see Wales in a World Cup I donât want to see them that badly. I think Iâd try and get a month off work or working from home and go somewhere hot that isnât Qatar so it feels like a proper summer tournament. Imagine watching games on the TV when itâs cold and frosty outside. The final is 6 days from Christmas ffs! Just ugh. Oh, and then we have the 48 team World Cup to look forward to in 2026 complete with 3 team groups! Can you imagine all the qualifying effort just to play two fucking games!! There's going to be some proper shite in the 48 team WC as well. The distribution of WC spots already ensures some dross (Panama, Saudi Arabia), just wait until the UAE and El Salvador rock up at a finals |
|
|
|
Post by insertname on Jun 29, 2021 12:04:51 GMT
And a winter World Cup to boot. For me Iâve still not been satisfied by Euros semi finals. I want to see Wales play at a World Cup where we can be drawn with all sorts of random nations and of course the chance to play Argentina or Brazil in an actual competitive game. Thatâs the holy grail for me. As such I was gutted we didnât make it to Russia, both because of how interesting the location is, the players being fresh from their Euros peak and it being the last World Cup before the format became fucked up. I couldnât go to Qatar - shit location, itâs in winter and all the aforementioned issues with human rights abuses. As much as I want to see Wales in a World Cup I donât want to see them that badly. I think Iâd try and get a month off work or working from home and go somewhere hot that isnât Qatar so it feels like a proper summer tournament. Imagine watching games on the TV when itâs cold and frosty outside. The final is 6 days from Christmas ffs! Just ugh. Oh, and then we have the 48 team World Cup to look forward to in 2026 complete with 3 team groups! Can you imagine all the qualifying effort just to play two fucking games!! There's going to be some proper shite in the 48 team WC as well. The distribution of WC spots already ensures some dross (Panama, Saudi Arabia), just wait until the UAE and El Salvador rock up at a finals Yep, as far as I understand it Europe is getting one extra place (even though itâs got the biggest concentration of quality and one of the toughest qualification formats) and the rest given to Africa and the Americas. I understand they want to promote the game by giving poorer nations more of a chance but there has to be a better way than a fucking 48 team format. International football has been totally under attack of late by the governing bodies what with this bollocks 8+ host nation Euros and now whatâs being done to the World Cup. Itâs so sad because itâs just giving ammo to the big clubs to argue how decadent and full of excess international football has got. The one saving grace is that the media narrative is that this has been a good tournament so far in terms of number of goals and entertaining matches and the 24 team format is not being criticised as much as it was in 2016 for âdiluting the qualityâ |
|
|
|
Post by cynonvalley on Jun 29, 2021 12:11:28 GMT
Look at the other bids for 2022. Japan, Australia, South Korea, and the USA.
Australia only got a single vote. Ridiculous.
|
|
|
|
Post by CrackityJones on Jun 29, 2021 12:18:27 GMT
Australia was the obvious one to give it to in that list, a new host with a burgeoning football culture that could really take off if they hosted a WC.
|
|
|
|
Post by insertname on Jun 29, 2021 12:23:31 GMT
Australia was the obvious one to give it to in that list, a new host with a burgeoning football culture that could really take off if they hosted a WC. There obviously wasnât enough money in it for them. Probably some combination that they werenât confident fans would travel and tickets would be sold and Qatar offering to guarantee a return for them (including âancillary paymentsâ) that made it the ideal choice even despite the numerous negatives. Just awful. Edit: oh hang on, silly me, what I meant to say was that Qatar offered the best opportunity to grow the game by taking it to the Asian continent. Yes, thatâs it. |
|
|
|
Post by manulike on Jun 29, 2021 19:02:42 GMT
The current Euros (designed with fans at the bottom of the list and money at the top) and the forthcoming World Cup (given to the highest bidder no matter their crimes against human rights and democracy) sadly exemplify the rank, corrupted heart of the modern football governing authorities. 100% agree. Still, compared to Euro 2020 that was never designed with fans in mind, Qatar at least may well offer a naive unsuspecting fan, a memorable experience. As for me, I feel that I may swallow hard and just keep my mouth shut for five weeks while out there... |
|
|
|
Post by quetzal on Jun 30, 2021 19:42:18 GMT
The current Euros (designed with fans at the bottom of the list and money at the top) and the forthcoming World Cup (given to the highest bidder no matter their crimes against human rights and democracy) sadly exemplify the rank, corrupted heart of the modern football governing authorities. 100% agree. Still, compared to Euro 2020 that was never designed with fans in mind, Qatar at least may well offer a naive unsuspecting fan, a memorable experience. As for me, I feel that I may swallow hard and just keep my mouth shut for five weeks while out there... Iâll be there supporting Cymru. That win again Czechs was a great result. |
|
|
|
Post by ontheroadagain2 on Jun 30, 2021 20:19:45 GMT
100% agree. Still, compared to Euro 2020 that was never designed with fans in mind, Qatar at least may well offer a naive unsuspecting fan, a memorable experience. As for me, I feel that I may swallow hard and just keep my mouth shut for five weeks while out there... Iâll be there supporting Cymru. That win again Czechs was a great result. An ex-work colleague was travelling out there on a regular basis to visit his wife who is working out there and regularly gave me updates on the stadia. All the infrastructure is being put in place to ensure the experience for the fans that go have a great experience. He finally moved out there full time in April and I have a promise of a floor to sleep on if Wales qualify. |
|
|
|
Post by jbt95 on Jun 30, 2021 21:24:04 GMT
There's going to be some proper shite in the 48 team WC as well. The distribution of WC spots already ensures some dross (Panama, Saudi Arabia), just wait until the UAE and El Salvador rock up at a finals Yep, as far as I understand it Europe is getting one extra place (even though itâs got the biggest concentration of quality and one of the toughest qualification formats) and the rest given to Africa and the Americas. I understand they want to promote the game by giving poorer nations more of a chance but there has to be a better way than a fucking 48 team format. International football has been totally under attack of late by the governing bodies what with this bollocks 8+ host nation Euros and now whatâs being done to the World Cup. Itâs so sad because itâs just giving ammo to the big clubs to argue how decadent and full of excess international football has got. The one saving grace is that the media narrative is that this has been a good tournament so far in terms of number of goals and entertaining matches and the 24 team format is not being criticised as much as it was in 2016 for âdiluting the qualityâ Europe is getting three extra slots (16 from 13). South America take the mick. At the moment they get 4 plus a play-off with Oceania. From 2026, they will get 6. There's only 10 teams! |
|
|
|
Post by jbt95 on Jun 30, 2021 21:25:33 GMT
Oh, and then we have the 48 team World Cup to look forward to in 2026 complete with 3 team groups! Can you imagine all the qualifying effort just to play two fucking games!! The 3 team group phase thing is far from ideal, but any European side that competes will surely not finish bottom and get through to the round of 32, and hence have 3 games at least. |
|
|
|
Post by allezlesrouges on Jul 1, 2021 10:11:03 GMT
I hate the 3 team group thing. 2 games at the tournament? Absolute rubbish. I don't think fans will like that either. I wasn't necessarily against expansion, but under a 3 team group I am against it
|
|
|
|
Post by insertname on Jul 1, 2021 12:34:51 GMT
Yep, as far as I understand it Europe is getting one extra place (even though itâs got the biggest concentration of quality and one of the toughest qualification formats) and the rest given to Africa and the Americas. I understand they want to promote the game by giving poorer nations more of a chance but there has to be a better way than a fucking 48 team format. International football has been totally under attack of late by the governing bodies what with this bollocks 8+ host nation Euros and now whatâs being done to the World Cup. Itâs so sad because itâs just giving ammo to the big clubs to argue how decadent and full of excess international football has got. The one saving grace is that the media narrative is that this has been a good tournament so far in terms of number of goals and entertaining matches and the 24 team format is not being criticised as much as it was in 2016 for âdiluting the qualityâ Europe is getting three extra slots (16 from 13). South America take the mick. At the moment they get 4 plus a play-off with Oceania. From 2026, they will get 6. There's only 10 teams! I wonder if thatâs an acknowledgement of Brazil and Argentina always qualifyingâŚcurrently itâs effectively 2.5 spots from 8 competitors if you accept that Brazil and Argentina will always qualify (which they pretty much do). 4 from 8 gives even little old Bolivia the chance to compete every time. In some ways I can see how thatâs a good thingâŚ.but Bolivia are barely any better than a European minnow so itâs like giving Latvia a 50/50 chance of getting to the World Cup when they would typically have to perform a miracle to qualify from the European qualifying. Thatâs what irks me most about World Cup qualifying, at least with the Euros itâs a reasonably fair system once seeding has been taken into account- all the weaker sides are in it together. With World Cup qualifying some weaker sides are advantaged more than others depending on which geographical region your state has the misfortune to reside in. |
|
|
|
Post by jbt95 on Jul 1, 2021 17:38:11 GMT
Europe is getting three extra slots (16 from 13). South America take the mick. At the moment they get 4 plus a play-off with Oceania. From 2026, they will get 6. There's only 10 teams! I wonder if thatâs an acknowledgement of Brazil and Argentina always qualifyingâŚcurrently itâs effectively 2.5 spots from 8 competitors if you accept that Brazil and Argentina will always qualify (which they pretty much do). 4 from 8 gives even little old Bolivia the chance to compete every time. In some ways I can see how thatâs a good thingâŚ.but Bolivia are barely any better than a European minnow so itâs like giving Latvia a 50/50 chance of getting to the World Cup when they would typically have to perform a miracle to qualify from the European qualifying. Thatâs what irks me most about World Cup qualifying, at least with the Euros itâs a reasonably fair system once seeding has been taken into account- all the weaker sides are in it together. With World Cup qualifying some weaker sides are advantaged more than others depending on which geographical region your state has the misfortune to reside in. Argentina nearly missed out last time, but giving 6 out of 10 is crazy. Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay are all pretty much nailed on from now on. Venezuela have never qualified as well. There's also a six team play-off tournament to decide 2 spaces, featuring the 5 other confederations except UEFA, so they could have 7 teams. Bonkers. Oceania are guaranteed 1 entry now rather than just a play off, but 1 out of 11 teams. How on earth is that fair? |
|
|
|
Post by insertname on Jul 1, 2021 18:42:33 GMT
I wonder if thatâs an acknowledgement of Brazil and Argentina always qualifyingâŚcurrently itâs effectively 2.5 spots from 8 competitors if you accept that Brazil and Argentina will always qualify (which they pretty much do). 4 from 8 gives even little old Bolivia the chance to compete every time. In some ways I can see how thatâs a good thingâŚ.but Bolivia are barely any better than a European minnow so itâs like giving Latvia a 50/50 chance of getting to the World Cup when they would typically have to perform a miracle to qualify from the European qualifying. Thatâs what irks me most about World Cup qualifying, at least with the Euros itâs a reasonably fair system once seeding has been taken into account- all the weaker sides are in it together. With World Cup qualifying some weaker sides are advantaged more than others depending on which geographical region your state has the misfortune to reside in. Argentina nearly missed out last time, but giving 6 out of 10 is crazy. Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay are all pretty much nailed on from now on. Venezuela have never qualified as well. There's also a six team play-off tournament to decide 2 spaces, featuring the 5 other confederations except UEFA, so they could have 7 teams. Bonkers. Oceania are guaranteed 1 entry now rather than just a play off, but 1 out of 11 teams. How on earth is that fair? itâs not fair in a representation and opportunity sense but itâs probably more than fair in a competitive one. Again though itâs problematic: imagine Vanuatu qualifying alongside New Zealand. Itâs great for them but ultimately not great for the World Cup as they just donât get exposed to the best sides enough to be any good. 1 guaranteed place for Oceania will now mean that we see New Zealand at every World Cup until the sun blows up. I wonder if Australia wish they hadnât joined the Asian federation as that seemed to be predicated on them always losing the play off with South America and Asia deemed an easier route? I dunno, there is no perfect global qualifying system but Iâm not sure it could be worse than it is now. I wish there was a way of tackling representation that a) doesnât dilute the quality b) provides qualification variety and fairness c) doesnât provide a guaranteed spot to certain countries where competition is weak but thatâs like trying to catch the rain |
|
|
|
Post by jbt95 on Jul 1, 2021 19:32:51 GMT
Argentina nearly missed out last time, but giving 6 out of 10 is crazy. Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay are all pretty much nailed on from now on. Venezuela have never qualified as well. There's also a six team play-off tournament to decide 2 spaces, featuring the 5 other confederations except UEFA, so they could have 7 teams. Bonkers. Oceania are guaranteed 1 entry now rather than just a play off, but 1 out of 11 teams. How on earth is that fair? itâs not fair in a representation and opportunity sense but itâs probably more than fair in a competitive one. Again though itâs problematic: imagine Vanuatu qualifying alongside New Zealand. Itâs great for them but ultimately not great for the World Cup as they just donât get exposed to the best sides enough to be any good. 1 guaranteed place for Oceania will now mean that we see New Zealand at every World Cup until the sun blows up. I wonder if Australia wish they hadnât joined the Asian federation as that seemed to be predicated on them always losing the play off with South America and Asia deemed an easier route? I dunno, there is no perfect global qualifying system but Iâm not sure it could be worse than it is now. I wish there was a way of tackling representation that a) doesnât dilute the quality b) provides qualification variety and fairness c) doesnât provide a guaranteed spot to certain countries where competition is weak but thatâs like trying to catch the rain I just can't see how they can justify giving 60% of South America a WC spot, plus another chance that UEFA are excluded from, despite both being the two strongest confederations, yet only 29% of UEFA can qualify. |
|
|
|
Post by allezlesrouges on Jul 1, 2021 22:50:58 GMT
Argentina nearly missed out last time, but giving 6 out of 10 is crazy. Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay are all pretty much nailed on from now on. Venezuela have never qualified as well. There's also a six team play-off tournament to decide 2 spaces, featuring the 5 other confederations except UEFA, so they could have 7 teams. Bonkers. Oceania are guaranteed 1 entry now rather than just a play off, but 1 out of 11 teams. How on earth is that fair? itâs not fair in a representation and opportunity sense but itâs probably more than fair in a competitive one. Again though itâs problematic: imagine Vanuatu qualifying alongside New Zealand. Itâs great for them but ultimately not great for the World Cup as they just donât get exposed to the best sides enough to be any good. 1 guaranteed place for Oceania will now mean that we see New Zealand at every World Cup until the sun blows up. I wonder if Australia wish they hadnât joined the Asian federation as that seemed to be predicated on them always losing the play off with South America and Asia deemed an easier route? I dunno, there is no perfect global qualifying system but Iâm not sure it could be worse than it is now. I wish there was a way of tackling representation that a) doesnât dilute the quality b) provides qualification variety and fairness c) doesnât provide a guaranteed spot to certain countries where competition is weak but thatâs like trying to catch the rain I think Australia would have just benefitted from more regular games against better teams to be honest. Yes their qualifying is somewhat less guaranteed, but when they do qualify they will be better placed to perform well at a World Cup. To be honest, they are still one of the strongest teams in Asia, so they are still pretty guaranteed to qualify. I do wonder whether Oceania would just benefit from fully integrating with the Asian qualifiers. It would improve New Zealand, and would stop the whole guarantee for them to be in every World Cup I'd also like to see a similar thing done for North America / South America. At the moment you have Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay who are pretty guaranteed. Then you have Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay, Colombia, Peru who tend to compete for the last auto and play off spots. Obvs Venezuela and Bolivia have never qualified. Then in North America you have USA, Costa Rica & Mexico who are pretty guaranteed. Then Honduras, Panama, Canada and Jamaica who compete with them for the playoff. Wouldn't it be more interesting to see all those teams compete for the 12 spots they currently get between those two confederations? You could have two groups like this... Group ABrazilUruguayChileParaguayBoliviaUSACosta RicaHondurasCanadaGroup BArgentina
Colombia
Ecuador
Peru
Venezuela
Mexico
Jamaica
Panama
Best of the rest out of El Salvador/Trinidad & Tobago/Curacao/HaitiTop 6 qualify from each group, At least then you'd mix up which of these get through, and it would probably improve the North American nations, and the like of Venezuela/Bolivia |
|
|
|
Post by insertname on Jul 1, 2021 23:16:08 GMT
itâs not fair in a representation and opportunity sense but itâs probably more than fair in a competitive one. Again though itâs problematic: imagine Vanuatu qualifying alongside New Zealand. Itâs great for them but ultimately not great for the World Cup as they just donât get exposed to the best sides enough to be any good. 1 guaranteed place for Oceania will now mean that we see New Zealand at every World Cup until the sun blows up. I wonder if Australia wish they hadnât joined the Asian federation as that seemed to be predicated on them always losing the play off with South America and Asia deemed an easier route? I dunno, there is no perfect global qualifying system but Iâm not sure it could be worse than it is now. I wish there was a way of tackling representation that a) doesnât dilute the quality b) provides qualification variety and fairness c) doesnât provide a guaranteed spot to certain countries where competition is weak but thatâs like trying to catch the rain I think Australia would have just benefitted from more regular games against better teams to be honest. Yes their qualifying is somewhat less guaranteed, but when they do qualify they will be better placed to perform well at a World Cup. To be honest, they are still one of the strongest teams in Asia, so they are still pretty guaranteed to qualify. I do wonder whether Oceania would just benefit from fully integrating with the Asian qualifiers. It would improve New Zealand, and would stop the whole guarantee for them to be in every World Cup I'd also like to see a similar thing done for North America / South America. At the moment you have Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay who are pretty guaranteed. Then you have Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay, Colombia, Peru who tend to compete for the last auto and play off spots. Obvs Venezuela and Bolivia have never qualified. Then in North America you have USA, Costa Rica & Mexico who are pretty guaranteed. Then Honduras, Panama, Canada and Jamaica who compete with them for the playoff. Wouldn't it be more interesting to see all those teams compete for the 12 spots they currently get between those two confederations? You could have two groups like this... Group ABrazilUruguayChileParaguayBoliviaUSACosta RicaHondurasCanadaGroup BArgentina
Colombia
Ecuador
Peru
Venezuela
Mexico
Jamaica
Panama
Best of the rest out of El Salvador/Trinidad & Tobago/Curacao/HaitiTop 6 qualify from each group, At least then you'd mix up which of these get through, and it would probably improve the North American nations, and the like of Venezuela/Bolivia Yeah good points, there is also economic factors involved too no doubt, eg playing Japan or South Korea at home must bring in more revenue than playing New Caledonia and for the Asian nations the financial perks of hosting Australia is what must have made them vote to effectively sign away a qualifying berth by allowing Australia into their zone. I agree about Oceania, it shouldnât really exist as a separate federation as it poses too many awkward questions that could be neatly solved by having an Asia-Pacific federation. *ahem* Bolivia qualified for World Cup â94 (my favourite World Cup) đ I donât know any of their other World Cup appearances so must presume that that was their only finals to date. Thatâs a good idea about merging SA and NA qualifying (so long as it doesnât unduly disadvantage the weaker sides)âŚit looks like it might make for a more interesting competition too having the US and Mexico having to play decent teams to qualify. The sad thing is there are too many powerful vested interests for a system like that to work. I expect the medium size FAs in South America love the âprotection racketâ theyâve got going on with their 45% of the federation qualifying for every World Cup, soon to be as much as 60%. And Iâll bet the US and Mexico love not having any serious competition for their World Cup berths too. |
|
|
|
Post by allezlesrouges on Jul 2, 2021 10:55:42 GMT
I think Australia would have just benefitted from more regular games against better teams to be honest. Yes their qualifying is somewhat less guaranteed, but when they do qualify they will be better placed to perform well at a World Cup. To be honest, they are still one of the strongest teams in Asia, so they are still pretty guaranteed to qualify. I do wonder whether Oceania would just benefit from fully integrating with the Asian qualifiers. It would improve New Zealand, and would stop the whole guarantee for them to be in every World Cup I'd also like to see a similar thing done for North America / South America. At the moment you have Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay who are pretty guaranteed. Then you have Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay, Colombia, Peru who tend to compete for the last auto and play off spots. Obvs Venezuela and Bolivia have never qualified. Then in North America you have USA, Costa Rica & Mexico who are pretty guaranteed. Then Honduras, Panama, Canada and Jamaica who compete with them for the playoff. Wouldn't it be more interesting to see all those teams compete for the 12 spots they currently get between those two confederations? You could have two groups like this... Group ABrazilUruguayChileParaguayBoliviaUSACosta RicaHondurasCanadaGroup BArgentina
Colombia
Ecuador
Peru
Venezuela
Mexico
Jamaica
Panama
Best of the rest out of El Salvador/Trinidad & Tobago/Curacao/HaitiTop 6 qualify from each group, At least then you'd mix up which of these get through, and it would probably improve the North American nations, and the like of Venezuela/Bolivia Yeah good points, there is also economic factors involved too no doubt, eg playing Japan or South Korea at home must bring in more revenue than playing New Caledonia and for the Asian nations the financial perks of hosting Australia is what must have made them vote to effectively sign away a qualifying berth by allowing Australia into their zone. I agree about Oceania, it shouldnât really exist as a separate federation as it poses too many awkward questions that could be neatly solved by having an Asia-Pacific federation. *ahem* Bolivia qualified for World Cup â94 (my favourite World Cup) đ I donât know any of their other World Cup appearances so must presume that that was their only finals to date. Thatâs a good idea about merging SA and NA qualifying (so long as it doesnât unduly disadvantage the weaker sides)âŚit looks like it might make for a more interesting competition too having the US and Mexico having to play decent teams to qualify. The sad thing is there are too many powerful vested interests for a system like that to work. I expect the medium size FAs in South America love the âprotection racketâ theyâve got going on with their 45% of the federation qualifying for every World Cup, soon to be as much as 60%. And Iâll bet the US and Mexico love not having any serious competition for their World Cup berths too. Fair enough I didn't realise they had qualified. I think you're right re: the political side of it. It's nice for us neutrals to have these ideas, but in reality like you say they probably just want an easy ride to a WC. It would definitely be better if they expanded the Copa America this way though. I'd actually be really interested in keeping up with it if they had all these countries competing In the current Copa America / Gold Cup format it's just a repeat of the qualifying campaigns essentially |
|
|
|
Post by insertname on Jul 2, 2021 12:05:32 GMT
Yeah youâve literally expressed my exact thoughts on it. I watched a bit of the WC qualifiers as an extension of watching Euros warm up games and you had Argentina vs Chile who then played each other a week later in the copa America. There is too much overlap really. Iâd be really interested in an Americaâs competition that mixed it up a bit. The Copa America was invitational prior to Covid but the invitees was a bit of a closed shopâŚIâd like to see them invite the winners of the Euros on a regular basis to keep things competitive and fresh. In general I agree that the competitions in that part of the world need shaking up to maximise their interest potential. Theyâve got a really competitive and marketable competition there if they united north and South America and got the regularity right. As separate entities the Gold cup and the Copa America just donât have enough meat on the bones.
|
|
|
|
Post by conwy10 on Jul 2, 2021 14:54:05 GMT
Would it really be fair to have such massive distance combining the Americas? Surely Canada vs Chile is like Wales vs South Africa?
|
|
|
|
Post by welshowl on Jul 2, 2021 23:29:25 GMT
First post since the Denmark game..like everybody else it was a gutting performance / result which I'm just about getting over (partly).
The Belgians are out tonight of Euro 2020. 2016 - Wales, 2018 - France, 2020 - Italy. From the BBC - "End of an era for Belgium? Belgium are ranked number one in the world... but fell even shorter this time than they did at the 2018 World Cup (semis). Their back three had an average age of 33 - and only two of the starting line-up are younger than 28."
Dare we hope for a few of their players retiring over the summer given the age profile? If they do and standard drops, then the impressive Czechs could conceivably win our 2022 qualifying group unless we hit the ground running in September / improve on Euro 2020 performances. In qualifying for WC2018, Wales were top seeds in our group remember, Austria were second seeds and eventual group winners Serbia were only third seeds .... Let's hope that pattern of an Eastern European team doing that is not repeated.
|
|
|
|
Post by erasedcitizen on Jul 3, 2021 7:53:32 GMT
That Doku for Belgium looks an extremely talented teenager. They might not be done just yet.
|
|
|
|
Post by msjohns on Jul 3, 2021 8:10:05 GMT
First post since the Denmark game..like everybody else it was a gutting performance / result which I'm just about getting over (partly). The Belgians are out tonight of Euro 2020. 2016 - Wales, 2018 - France, 2020 - Italy. From the BBC - "End of an era for Belgium? Belgium are ranked number one in the world... but fell even shorter this time than they did at the 2018 World Cup (semis). Their back three had an average age of 33 - and only two of the starting line-up are younger than 28." Dare we hope for a few of their players retiring over the summer given the age profile? If they do and standard drops, then the impressive Czechs could conceivably win our 2022 qualifying group unless we hit the ground running in September / improve on Euro 2020 performances. In qualifying for WC2018, Wales were top seeds in our group remember, Austria were second seeds and eventual group winners Serbia were only third seeds .... Let's hope that pattern of an Eastern European team doing that is not repeated. Belgium have a Nation's League Semi-final against France, and potentially a final against Italy or Spain in October. I can't see anyone retiring prior to those matches. |
|
|
|
Post by hooky on Jul 3, 2021 10:08:22 GMT
Doku was sensational!
Could you imagine our reaction if James, Bale or Ramsey had such an impact versus the Italians - the best defenders in the world! He is only 19 isn't he. It makes the lack of impact of any of our players versus Denmark deeply regretable.
I think the older players may be tempted to hold on to the world cup unfortunately for us. To have a chance of winning the group we need to win all our games before Belgium at home and lets be honest that looks unlikely? The Czechs are much better than I assumed and I now understand why they dominated us in Cardiff, while you could also see us slipping up to a draw vs Belarus away if we are not careful.
|
|
