World Cup 2022 Qualifiers

[Jive Turkey 12609]

 

[TXSG8R 3362]

So are we really a McKinnie injury/card away from being completely ass in the midfield?  Was Musah just gassed from the previous game or maybe a little rattled against Jamaica with it being a road game?  Was the pitch really that bad that it took us completely out of our game?  
 

I thought Busio was ok, but he definitely didn’t boss the middle like McKinnie.  Musah didn’t have any explosive runs or even much in the way of hold up play to help the attack build. Very quiet game for him. Adams was non existent, but with Antonio lurking it’s understandable that he was cheating to our box.
 

Robinson had a horrible game. Plenty of runs down the flank but his service was abysmal. I think Jamaica made the decision to give him those runs because of how poor he was finishing them. Outside of Weah’s hot start to the game he was relatively quiet as well. It seemed like we got locked into running the left side through Robinson and took him completely out of the game. Again, that may have been by design from Jamaica, and that sucks that we couldn’t figure that out.
 

Aaronson was his usual energetic self but offensively he couldn’t make that final pass. Pepi was quiet but he had no service to work with all night. CP seemed to make the same run most of the night (check to the line, square cut and get fouled) and overall there wasn’t a ton of creativity or interchange up top. Again, not sure if they were spent from the Mexico game or just that weak mentally after Antonio’s goal.
 

We sorely missed McKinnie, but I think even having Dest or Reyna as subs for this game would have made a difference. I’m wondering long term if we should stagger McKinnie and Musah to ensure at least one is fresh on the field.  Maybe start WM and Busio and sub Musah for Busio at the half.  Next game give Musah 90 and swap Busio and WM at the half. They need to figure out how to keep that energy from the Mexico game up for more than one game a cycle because the WC schedule won’t be any easier to navigate.

[Braff Zacklin 13604]

6 minutes ago, TXSG8R said:

So are we really a McKinnie injury/card away from being completely ass in the midfield?  Was Musah just gassed from the previous game or maybe a little rattled against Jamaica with it being a road game?  Was the pitch really that bad that it took us completely out of our game?  
 

I thought Busio was ok, but he definitely didn’t boss the middle like McKinnie.  Musah didn’t have any explosive runs or even much in the way of hold up play to help the attack build. Very quiet game for him. Adams was non existent, but with Antonio lurking it’s understandable that he was cheating to our box.
 

Robinson had a horrible game. Plenty of runs down the flank but his service was abysmal. I think Jamaica made the decision to give him those runs because of how poor he was finishing them. Outside of Weah’s hot start to the game he was relatively quiet as well. It seemed like we got locked into running the left side through Robinson and took him completely out of the game. Again, that may have been by design from Jamaica, and that sucks that we couldn’t figure that out.
 

Aaronson was his usual energetic self but offensively he couldn’t make that final pass. Pepi was quiet but he had no service to work with all night. CP seemed to make the same run most of the night (check to the line, square cut and get fouled) and overall there wasn’t a ton of creativity or interchange up top. Again, not sure if they were spent from the Mexico game or just that weak mentally after Antonio’s goal.
 

We sorely missed McKinnie, but I think even having Dest or Reyna as subs for this game would have made a difference. I’m wondering long term if we should stagger McKinnie and Musah to ensure at least one is fresh on the field.  Maybe start WM and Busio and sub Musah for Busio at the half.  Next game give Musah 90 and swap Busio and WM at the half. They need to figure out how to keep that energy from the Mexico game up for more than one game a cycle because the WC schedule won’t be any easier to navigate.

Seems a bit focused for the general WCQ thread.

 

[TXSG8R 3362]

Shit, posted in the wrong thread. 

[Captain Ron 12883]

Just a quick hit from who's in thus far - mostly usual suspects at this point

UEFA
Group A - Serbia
Group B - Spain
Group C - Switzerland
Group D - France
Group E - Belgium
Group F - Denmark
Group G - Netherlands
Group H - Croatia
Group I - England
Group J - Germany

CONMEBOL
Brazil
Argentina

Given that Asia and North America have long qualifying processes, they won't start getting in teams until the next window or likely the very end.

Europe's playoff is brutal (draw Nov 26th) and Africa's qualifiers are easily the least forgiving, their draw date is unknown.

[Captain Ron 12883]

FIFA has setup/changed the rules for the Intercontinental playoffs. They are scrapping the Home and home two leg series for a single game in a neutral location, that being Qatar.

The draw to figure out the matchups will be next week on Nov 26. They matches will be played Jun 13 and 14. This is going to be months after the World Cup group draw which is April 1.

[WBT 20586]

Gotta get your full money's worth out of those slave-built stadia

[Captain Ron 12883]

I wonder if they will count the dead buried in the concrete in the attendance?

[Hagbard Celine 10867]

serbia is a surprise

several big euro sides are not going

the world cup kicks off 1 year from tomorrow

US not rated at all

https://www.theguardian.com/football/who-scored-blog/2021/nov/17/world-cup-2022-qatar-top-10-contenders

[flatdawgs 1278]

June in Doha? Do not want.

[SimonBolivar 10958]

I hate CAF....

 

Ivory Coast and South Africa got eliminated after going 4-1-1 in their group stage because of their stupid setup. 

Edited November 24, 2021 by SimonBolivar

[Napoleon 8682]

9 hours ago, SimonBolivar said:

I hate CAF....

Ivory Coast and South Africa got eliminated after going 4-1-1 in their group stage because of their stupid setup. 

Won’t have to worry about that in 2026.

Gracias a FIFA! 🙏

[Captain Ron 12883]

9 hours ago, SimonBolivar said:

I hate CAF....

 

Ivory Coast and South Africa got eliminated after going 4-1-1 in their group stage because of their stupid setup. 

Their process is brutal. Even making it through this round guarantees nothing. You have to make it through a head to head. Africa’s qualification is easily the hardest.

the longer the process is, with more teams, the easier it is for good teams. CONMEBOL’s might be the purest, but it is also the easiest for teams to have a bad game here or there (those that say otherwise are fools).

 

[Knoxtnhorn 5991]

Portugal and Italy drawn into the same group.  At least one of them will not make the WC.  Wow.

[Napoleon 8682]

🤌 🤌

That’s a bummer for this soccer fan.

🥺

[Captain Ron 12883]

That's pretty funny if you ask me. Though FIFA likely believes this justifies their decision to expand to a 48 team bracket. Teams like one of these two aren't good (to them). Though honestly it is what makes the qualification great, because sometimes good teams miss out.

BTW the whole UEFA bracket:

Path A
Wales v Austria
Scotland v Ukraine

Path B
Russia v Poland
Sweden v Czech Republic

Path C
Portugal v Turkey
Italy v North Macedonia

The hosts are listed first and the host of the final is the winner of the first matchup in each path. First round matches are March 24 and Finals are March 29th.

 

They also drew the Intercontinental playoffs today, the matchups will be:

AFC v CONMEBOL

CONCACAF v OFC

Just pencil in 4th place CONCACAF and 5th place CONMEBOL now.

 

[NorthLoop 14214]

[Captain Ron 12883]

Asia is about to become pretty clear with who makes the World Cup after this window.

In Group A:
Iran beat Iraq to punch their ticket.
South Korea beat Lebanon to just about punch their ticket.
UAE has a gap on 3rd place (and the playoff spot), but that is still up for grabs.

With the standings UAE can't drop any more points and South Korea will lock up a spot with 2 more points across 3 games.

Group B:
At this point its a 3 team race for 2 1/2 spots
Saudia Arabia 19 pts, Japan 15, Australia 14.
The best part is that they all play head to head in the next 3 games.

[SimonBolivar 10958]

Japan/Australia vs Chile/Uruguay in an Inter-confederation play-off would be fun as hell.

[NorthLoop 14214]

So if Ukraine doesn't exist anymore on March 24th, does Scotland get a free win? 

[Guest Lobo]

1 hour ago, NorthLoop said:

So if Ukraine doesn't exist anymore on March 24th, does Scotland get a free win? 

No, but the Ukrainian keeper has to spend several weeks inside the Glasgow airport terminal finding romance and jazz.  

[Napoleon 8682]

3 hours ago, Lobo said:

No, but the Ukrainian keeper has to spend several weeks inside the Glasgow airport terminal finding romance and jazz.  

Better than spending several weeks inside a&m’s farm animal corral finding romance & jizz.

🤷‍♂️

[Captain Ron 12883]

Day off tomorrow for qualifiers and then on the 1st we get Asia and South America.

AFC games of note:
Group A:
Syria-S. Korea 9 AM
Iran-UAE 9:30 AM 
With an 8 point lead South Korea will qualify for the World Cup with a win or if UAE doesn't win. A UAE win will also put them in a solid position to lock up their spot in the playoff (should they not overtake S. Korea)

Group B:
Japan-Saudi Arabia 5:15 AM
Oman-Australia 11:00 AM 
The Japan-Saudi Arabia game is the key as Saudi Arabia can clinch a spot with a win. A loss or draw will make the whole race come down to the final window. Australia can get right into the mix with a win

CONMEBOL has 1 major game:
Peru-Ecuador 9:00 PM - With a win Equador can clinch their spot in the World Cup

[Captain Ron 12883]

Japan 2-0 Saudi Arabia

This tightened up the top of the standings. It's now Saudi 19, Japan 18. If Australia beats Oman they will be at 17. That would also lock out the rest of the teams in the group from the top 3.

Syria-S. Korea are about halfway through the first half tied 0-0.

[Captain Ron 12883]

Syria clearly opened the game going for it. They had a goal waved off for offsides. And almost scored on a defensive boner by the Koreans. But as the match has progressed, the field appears to be tilting more toward Korea.

[Captain Ron 12883]

Syria made them sweat a little, but Korea broke through, it was only a matter of time. 1-0.

[Captain Ron 12883]

Syria has continued to get chances, but Korea likely just put them to the sword with a nice goal from just outside the box.

2-0 72'

[Captain Ron 12883]

Korea is in.

[Captain Ron 12883]

One thing I blanked on about Oman-Australia is that Oman needs to win the game to stay alive for a World Cup berth. They tied it up early in the 2nd half it's 1-1 now.

This game is pretty good, because both teams need the win.

[Captain Ron 12883]

79' Australia scores to go up 2-1.

[Captain Ron 12883]

87' penalty for Oman. This could even it up at 2-2.

 

Goal. 2-2. Oman not showing a lot of hustle to restart the game.

[Captain Ron 12883]

Wow, Oman took that draw. I'm not sure they knew that eliminated them, but they are out.

Australia isn't in an awful place, but they have work to do. But their next window they host Japan (2nd) and go to Saudia Arabia (1st), so they can clinch a spot on their own.

[Captain Ron 12883]

I went to bed last night and Ecuador was up 1-0 on Peru, but Peru would tie it 1-1, how it would end.

So that didn't allow Ecuador to claim their spot just yet. But they are now guaranteed at least the intercontinental playoff against Oceana, basically a guarantee. Even then, they just need a combination of points won and points dropped by Peru to be 3. Their next two are @Paraguay and hosting Argentina. I would assume they get it done.

Because of that, you now have Uruguay, Peru, Chile and Colombia competing for 1.5 spots. Here is the run in for those:

Uruguay (22) - Peru, @Chile 

Peru (21) - @Uruguay, Paraguay

Chile (19) - @Brazil, Uruguay 

Colombia (17) - Bolivia, @Venezuela

I don't see Colombia getting the luck they need to win out. And unless Chile can upset Brazil, I don't see them making it either.

 

[Napoleon 8682]

1 hour ago, Captain Ron said:

I went to bed last night and Ecuador was up 1-0 on Peru, but Peru would tie it 1-1, how it would end.

So that didn't allow Ecuador to claim their spot just yet. But they are now guaranteed at least the intercontinental playoff against Oceana, basically a guarantee. Even then, they just need a combination of points won and points dropped by Peru to be 3. Their next two are @Paraguay and hosting Argentina. I would assume they get it done.

Because of that, you now have Uruguay, Peru, Chile and Colombia competing for 1.5 spots. Here is the run in for those:

Uruguay (22) - Peru, @Chile 

Peru (21) - @Uruguay, Paraguay

Chile (19) - @Brazil, Uruguay 

Colombia (17) - Bolivia, @Venezuela

I don't see Colombia getting the luck they need to win out. And unless Chile can upset Brazil, I don't see them making it either.

CONCACAF’s #4 plays vs Oceana

CONMEBOL’s #5 plays Africa or Asia in a playoff. 

Edited February 2, 2022 by Napoleon

[Captain Ron 12883]

Whoops, I know they play Asia, we play Oceana. I said Oceana by mistake.

It also doesn't matter, CONMEBOL 5 can beat any of the other intercontinental participants.

[Guest Lobo]

We have always been at football war with Oceana.  

[Captain Ron 12883]

On 11/26/2021 at 5:42 PM, Captain Ron said:

That's pretty funny if you ask me. Though FIFA likely believes this justifies their decision to expand to a 48 team bracket. Teams like one of these two aren't good (to them). Though honestly it is what makes the qualification great, because sometimes good teams miss out.

BTW the whole UEFA bracket:

Path A
Wales v Austria
Scotland v Ukraine

Path B
Russia v Poland

...

Here is an interesting one. Wonder if this gets to happen either.

[Braff Zacklin 13604]

For that matter, I hope the Ukrainian team is already in Scotland. Christ, what a time for them.

[Ted Lange 16109]

 

 

[Napoleon 8682]

6 hours ago, Ted Lange said:

 

 

Russia should be ousted.

Russian tennis players, and there are a lot of them, should be allowed to compete either. It’s not their fault at all, but punishment at all levels would send a message to the population when the number of distractions from life suddenly disappeare. 

[InkaUtexas 25952]

Fuck Russia. Ban them from all competitions until they stop their invasion AND pay for all damage. 

[Captain Ron 12883]

Interesting question- is this FIFA’s call or UEFA’s?

[InkaUtexas 25952]

12 minutes ago, Captain Ron said:

Interesting question- is this FIFA’s call or UEFA’s?

Their clubs should be banned, their national team, all their athletes from competition. 

[Captain Ron 12883]

7 hours ago, Captain Ron said:

Interesting question- is this FIFA’s call or UEFA’s?

Just saw in an article talking about the champions league move - this is FIFA’s jurisdiction. 

[flatdawgs 1278]

Perhaps Coca-Cola, Visa, McDonald's, Budweiser (InBev), Adidas and Hyundai could do something about it (the other FIFA sponsors are all Chinese and Qatar Airways).

Lol no, sorry, what was I thinking? 😂

[InkaUtexas 25952]

FIFA/UEFA need to follow this lead. 

 

[InkaUtexas 25952]

As a Chelsea fan, sanction Abrahimovic 

[Guest Lobo]

This is a scene from next season of Ted Lasso, right?  

I have been asked by the government of Madagascar to intervene.

[NorthLoop 14214]

1 hour ago, InkaUtexas said:

 

[ztejas 43464]

1 hour ago, InkaUtexas said:

As a Chelsea fan, sanction Abrahimovic 

This is obviously the wrong thread - but all of the futbol threads bleed into each other anyway - how much power does the FA or PL have over each team? Like what steps could they take against Roman?