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World Cup qualifiers - Qatar 2022


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4 minutes ago, Grangemouth Bairn said:

That is bonkers - what is also bonkers is that 4 time champions Italy haven’t qualified and Qatar are 1st seeds. Every year that passes, money becomes more and more dominant in the game we love.

I broadly agree with you but hosts are always a top seed, Japan, South Korea and South Africa included. wether they should be hosting the wc is another debate. Italy only have themselves to blame anyway. It’ll be easier to qualify next time if the bloated 48 team wc goes ahead.
 

 

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Italians are such a weird team.
The thought of them not making two world cups in a row is crazy enough. The fact they win the Euros in the middle of that run just makes it stranger.
Its hard to imagine teams like Germany, France, Spain or England not qualifying these days. Italian manage it consistently though.

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16 minutes ago, Grangemouth Bairn said:

That is bonkers - what is also bonkers is that 4 time champions Italy haven’t qualified and Qatar are 1st seeds. Every year that passes, money becomes more and more dominant in the game we love.


What does that have to do with money? Italy didn't fail to qualify due to the money in the game - if anything it should have helped them have an even bigger advantage over other nations.

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5 minutes ago, craigkillie said:


What does that have to do with money? Italy didn't fail to qualify due to the money in the game - if anything it should have helped them have an even bigger advantage over other nations.

I was making the point that the whole landscape has changed in football. We all have our opinions mate - if you think Qatar hosting the World Cup has nothing to do with money as you stated then I disagree with you 1000%.

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22 minutes ago, Latino Lover said:

I broadly agree with you but hosts are always a top seed, Japan, South Korea and South Africa included. wether they should be hosting the wc is another debate. Italy only have themselves to blame anyway. It’ll be easier to qualify next time if the bloated 48 team wc goes ahead.

Putting aside the corruption and human rights abuses for something more important*, I'm not a fan of awarding tournaments to countries who wouldn't be there otherwise. Japan was dodgy as they'd never qualified for a World Cup, but it was mitigated by the necessity of somebody sharing with the Koreans, who were almost ever-presents by that stage. South Africa kind of got away with it, having just qualified for two in a row and being international pariahs for most of the tournament's history, although another African nation should have been the first hosts for that very reason IMO. Also, nobody could have realistically predicted that they'd be a bit shit by 2010.

There's an argument that Qatar might now have had a chance of qualifying for this tournament anyway - maybe - but in 2010 they were absolute no-hopers that would've been ridden raw at the big table. It might just be me that's bothered by this, but I think there should be some kind of justification that a host nation might have been there anyway, and not just because they just offered us so much money, you guys!?

*this was a joke

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You have to feel for Italy, only in the playoffs because Jorginho misses a last minute penalty, then get a sucker punch wonder goal in the last minute in a game they dominated.

The World Cup will be poorer without them, but they were no where near the best team at the Euros. Spain dominated them in the semi final, and France (despite having a crazy period against Switzerland) are still by far the most talented team.

It was a shock to see how much they dominated the final, especially after conceding early but it's not a vintage Italy team.

Italy always had a poor record in friendlies and qualifies because they quite obviously weren't bothered about them, lesser teams might focus on qualification but Italy were a team that has won it all (several times) and they view the tournament itself as the only thing worth focusing on. An attitude that has come home to roost recently. 

Good to see Wales as potential play off opponents, think Scotland will have the beating of them if we get past Ukraine. Bale is hardly getting club football at all anymore, he's as likely to have a shocker as a game like he did against Austria.

Hope Portugal and Sweden take the other spots, the world cup is at its best with the best teams in it. 

Edited by Satoshi
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Whether likely or not, the fear is nonetheless present of England shanning their way to the final and Harry Maguire lifting the World Cup trophy above his head; thus breaking the sport irreparably. As many knockout specialists as possible for this reason.

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Canada all but through despite defeat as Panama failed to win. USA and Mexico likely to, boringly, join them with Costa Rica and Panama probably battling for the playoff spot.

Elsewhere Uruguay's win sees them through with Ecuador, who qualify despite losing. Peru lead the race for a playoff place but could still be caught by Colombia or Chile.

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