Continental Championships & World Cup Qualifiers For 2022

Having watched the CONMEBOL qualifiers prior to this cancelled round wfc4ever VAR was very much in evidence in several disputed decisions. There was the controversy in the Serbia-Ireland match as well which also did not have VAR. It does seem odd that qualifiers overseen by UEFA do not have a uniform policy.Dusan Vlahovic bagged a brace adding to his increasing reputation. It will be hard for La Viola to keep hold of the Partizan product.

Not sure about some of the pre-qualifiers in Africa or Asia where you might expect Bhutan or the Seychelles struggle to provide the infrastructure or have it brought in due to cost and location. In which case it really ought to be the continental associations responsibility. How Serbia or Turkey cannot have provided VAR beats me.

​

So some unusual results as expected in the first round.Belgium off to a bright start and France struggling. Spain, Italy, Portugal and Germany start their campaigns tonight along with England. African qualifiers began last night with the highest ranked clash of Guinea against Mali.

​

Bafana Bafana versus the Black Stars is the pick of CAF group fixtures tonight. https://www.youtube.com/c/CAFTVafricanfootball/videos

 

Of course the next World Cup is in the middle of the season during December so be interesting to see how fit the players are having already had half a season of domestic football.

 

It's only San Marino. Do they even have a professional now in the squad. They used to have one or two.

 

Seems like they are trying to get some sort of structure in place but isn't totally going to plan.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56514260

I guess we will win 3/4-0 with about 6 or 7 defensive players starting against a team of teachers/accountants and plumbers.

 

Marketing I guess.

 

Nice moment for Watkins

San Marino goalie played well.

 

Most exciting game of the night where Poland who despite an ageing Lewandowski seem to have found a decent young core of players emerging.

​

ACON qualifier as a prelude to the same match in WC qualification saw South Africa and Ghana play out a tepid 1-1 draw with Ghana far from full strength.

​

America has dominated womens football for many years. Now unsurprisingly to me it is making rapid strides in the mens game. Numerous young players ply their trade at top European clubs or are present in their academies. It was only going to be a matter of time before they do make an impact at the highest level. Some of the players that they have acquired as it were have been a little dubious but those are the way qualification rules are structured as Italy try and steal some more young Argentines along with Spain. Shameless that. Luka Romero turned down Spain again thankfully.

Yunus Musah will prove a steal for them but is sole link being born in NY but having his soccer education at Woolwich. England will not be happy or Italy or indeed Ghana for that matter. Giovanni son of Claudio Reyna and of Argentine descent is the next big thing tipped to follow the footsteps of Cristian Pulisic. And almost literally playing currently for Dortmund. There are other very exciting players in Weston McKennie. Johnny Cardoso and Tyler Adams and the USSF have tried to tap up one or two Argentines as well who grew up initially in the US but returned to Argentina to play in the Primera.

​

The US is almost already to outgrow CONACAF along with Mexico. The best solution may well be to join CONMEBOL.

 

I see Steven Berghuis scored - really was wasted with us under Flores.

Seems to be having a solid International career.

 

Oh dear Ireland losing to Luxembourg!

Worse result in their history ?

 

Match of the round Serbia came back from 2-0 down to tie Portugal. Cristina was rather upset at the end.

​

Here is a result Jack Charlton would not have been happy with and Steven Kenny is under a huge cloud. He will be getting short shrift from the Irish press. I did have a look at the Luxembourg squad and it is no longer Mr.Frick and ten amateurs though. Most of the team are professionals and play at more than a very decent level and only a couple are naturalized citizens. So while a surprise and a nasty one at that for Ireland which puts their qualification in jeopardy perhaps not as big a shock as some may think.

​

Noticeable in some of the European qualifiers for example the Norwegians who had a shocker last night was the wearing of shirts before the match which direct a finger at Qatars continuing abominable treatment of overseas workers. The death toll stands at over nine thousand since the tournament was awarded to the country for purely footballing reasons of course. Many are linked to the infrastructure being built for the tournament and when these workers die there is practically little work done in investigating the cause often heat stroke or implementing the relevant measures to make sure it does not happen again. Many of those who have died have been the main breadwinner for families back home and the anguish they feel not knowing how their loved one has died and the scant respect paid by the authorities in Doha magnifies that.

It is a bit more than repulsive that FIFA awarded this tournament to Qatar in the first place. This week Bloater and Valkyrie had their punishments extended in terms of bans from being involved with football ever again.

​

 

Got the excuses about the pitch in already.

 

Mount and Kane are probably the first 2 names on the team sheet for Southgate.