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Post by Panda on Dec 17, 2020 17:08:35 GMT 1
Russia will not play at the 2022 World Cup after the country's ban from international sport was partially upheld by Cas. The ban was reduced from four years to two, but it means Russia will still miss the Tokyo Summer Olympics, Beijing Winter Olympics and the 2022 World Cup (they can still play at Euro 2020 because hilariously, Cas doesn't regard UEFA as a major international sporting body).
FIFA will now have to decide what to do if Russia qualifies. In theory, a Russian team could still play at the finals but not under the Russian flag or using the Russian national anthem.
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Post by Panda on Feb 17, 2021 19:05:23 GMT 1
This is how the 48-team 2026 World Cup would look based on the current world rankings: HOSTS United States Mexico Canada EUROPE (16 places) Belgium France England Portugal Spain Italy Croatia Denmark Germany Netherlands Switzerland Wales Poland Sweden Austria Ukraine SOUTH AMERICA (6 places) Brazil Argentina Uruguay Colombia Chile Peru AFRICA (9 places) Senegal Tunisia Algeria Morocco Nigeria Egypt Cameroon Ghana Mali ASIA (8 places) Japan Iran South Korea Australia Qatar Saudi Arabia Iraq United Arab Emirates CONCACAF (6 places minus the 3 for the hosts) Jamaica Costa Rica Honduras OCEANIA (1 place) New Zealand PLAYOFF TOURNAMENT (1 team from each confederation apart from Europe + 1 from the host confederation. 2 qualifying places available) Venezuela Burkina Faso El Salvador China Curacao Solomon Islands
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Post by suedehead on Mar 7, 2021 15:12:31 GMT 1
The two rounds of South American qualifiers scheduled for the end of March have been postponed, largely due to the quarantine restrictions that would have applied to a lot of the European-based players.
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Post by Panda on Mar 7, 2021 16:17:28 GMT 1
This is starting to present a bit of a problem in terms of getting it finished. An 18-match schedule doesn't leave much room for extra dates and with the original finish date of November already pushed back to next March, and the intercontinental playoffs moved to June 2022, it'll be impossible for CONMEBOL to get its qualifying tournament finished without going outside the established international window unless they try and play triple-header matches within individual windows, like Europe has done recently but that could present travel issues.
Meanwhile, Oceania's qualifying competition is set to be delayed until the start of next year.
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Post by Panda on Mar 17, 2021 18:25:26 GMT 1
Another Covid-related update to qualifying. It's been announced the remaining 2nd round fixtures in Asia will be played at single venue for each group, over the course of two weeks in June.
The venue for each group will be: Group A: China Group B: Kuwait Group C: Bahrain Group D: Saudi Arabia Group E: Qatar Group F: Japan Group G: United Arab Emirates Group H: South Korea
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Post by Panda on Mar 17, 2021 18:59:51 GMT 1
10 largest attendances of qualifying so far: 75,044 - Malaysia 2-0 Indonesia (Kuala Lumpur) 54,659 - Indonesia 2-3 Malaysia (Jakarta) 53,286 - India 1-1 Bangladesh (Kolkata) 48,258 - Cambodia 0-4 Iraq (Phnom Penh) 45,500 - Cambodia 1-1 Hong Kong (Phnom Penh) 45,000 - Cambodia 0-1 Bahrain (Phnom Penh) 43,200 - Malaysia 1-2 United Arab Emirates (Kuala Lumpur) 43,122 - Japan 6-0 Mongolia (Saitama) 40,000 - Vietnam 0-0 Thailand (Hanoi) 40,000 - North Korea 2-0 Lebanon (Pyongyang)
10 smallest attendances of qualifying so far, where an official attendance has been recorded: (not including matches played behind closed doors or at neutral venues) 714 - Guam 0-1 Maldives (Dededo) 1,029 - Guam 5-0 Bhutan (Dededo) 1,044 - Qatar 5-0 Bangladesh (Doha) 1,052 - Sri Lanka 0-3 Lebanon (Colombo) 1,096 - Guam 1-4 Philippines (Dededo) 1,120 - Sri Lanka 0-2 Turkmenistan (Colombo) 1,258 - Sri Lanka 0-1 North Korea (Colombo) 1,300 - Seychelles 0-3 Rwanda (Victoria) 1,685 - Mongolia 2-1 Brunei (Ulaanbaatar) 2,000 - Eswatini 0-0 Djibouti (Manzini)
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Post by Panda on Mar 17, 2021 22:34:44 GMT 1
Number of qualifiers played in 2019: 136
Number of qualifiers played in 2020: 21
Number of qualifiers still to be played: 670
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Post by Panda on Mar 17, 2021 22:47:13 GMT 1
Revised minimum and maximum number of games to qualify:
EUROPE Min: 8 Max: 12
SOUTH AMERICA Min: 18 Max: 20
AFRICA Min: 8 Max: 10
ASIA Min: 18 Max: 24
CONCACAF Min: 14 Max: 22
OCEANIA Min: 10 Max: 11
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Post by Panda on Mar 24, 2021 3:21:35 GMT 1
The first qualifying matches of 2021 will be played this week with a triple-header to kick things off in Europe, the start of the first round in CONCACAF, plus three matches in Asia. Europe is having a triple-header, rather than the usual double-header, in order to accommodate June's qualifying window being cancelled due to the delayed Euros. There will be another triple-header in September. The first half of CONCACAF's opening round will be played this month with the rest played in June, followed by the second round. Haiti v Belize is set to go ahead, despite the Belize team being held at gunpoint shortly after their arrival. Meanwhile, St. Lucia have apparently withdrawn from the competition. South America's scheduled qualifiers for this month were postponed so they will resume in June, which is also when Asia's second round will come to a conclusion. It's 18 months since any qualifiers were played in Africa. They're busy with Africa Cup of Nations qualifying this month so their second round will get underway in June. These are this week's matches: WEDNESDAYEurope Group A: Portugal v Azerbaijan (being played in Italy) Serbia v Ireland Europe Group D: Finland v Bosnia & Herzegovina France v Ukraine Europe Group E: Belgium v Wales Estonia v Czech Republic (being played in Poland) Europe Group G: Gibraltar v Norway Latvia v Montenegro Turkey v Netherlands Europe Group H: Cyprus v Slovakia Malta v Russia Slovenia v Croatia CONCACAF Group A: Antigua & Barbuda v Montserrat (being played in Curacao) CONCACAF Group B: Suriname v Cayman Islands CONCACAF Group C: Guatemala v Cuba CONCACAF Group D: Dominican Republic v Dominica CONCACAF Group F: St. Kitts & Nevis v Puerto Rico (being played in Dominican Republic) THURSDAYEurope Group B: Spain v Greece Sweden v Georgia Europe Group C: Bulgaria v Switzerland Italy v Northern Ireland Europe Group F: Israel v Denmark Moldova v Faroe Islands Scotland v Austria Europe Group I: Andorra v Albania England v San Marino Hungary v Poland Europe Group J: Germany v Iceland Liechtenstein v Armenia Romania v North Macedonia CONCACAF Group A: El Salvador v Grenada CONCACAF Group B: Canada v Bermuda (being played in the USA) CONCACAF Group C: Curacao v St. Vincent & The Grenadines CONCACAF Group D: Panama v Barbados (being played in Dominican Republic) CONCACAF Group E: Haiti v Belize CONCACAF Group F: Trinidad & Tobago v Guyana (being played in Dominican Republic) Asia Group F: Tajikistan v Mongolia SATURDAYEurope Group A: Ireland v Luxembourg Serbia v Portugal Europe Group E: Belarus v Estonia Czech Republic v Belgium Europe Group G: Montenegro v Gibraltar Netherlands v Latvia Norway v Turkey (being played in Spain) Europe Group H: Croatia v Cyprus Russia v Slovenia Slovakia v Malta CONCACAF Group A: US Virgin Islands v Antigua & Barbuda CONCACAF Group B: Aruba v Suriname (being played in the USA) CONCACAF Group C: British Virgin Islands v Guatemala (being played in Curacao) CONCACAF Group D: Anguilla v Dominican Republic (being played in the USA) CONCACAF Group E: Turks & Caicos Islands v Nicaragua (being played in Dominican Republic) CONCACAF Group F: Bahamas v St. Kitts & Nevis SUNDAYEurope Group B: Georgia v Spain Kosovo v Sweden Europe Group C: Bulgaria v Italy Switzerland v Lithuania Europe Group D: Kazakhstan v France Ukraine v Finland Europe Group F: Austria v Faroe Islands Denmark v Moldova Israel v Scotland Europe Group I: Albania v England Poland v Andorra San Marino v Hungary Europe Group J: Armenia v Iceland North Macedonia v Liechtenstein Romania v Germany CONCACAF Group A: Montserrat v El Salvador (being played in Curacao) CONCACAF Group B: Cayman Islands v Canada (being played in the USA) CONCACAF Group C: Cuba v Curacao (being played in Guatemala) CONCACAF Group D: Dominica v Panama (being played in Dominican Republic) CONCACAF Group F: Puerto Rico v Trinidad & Tobago TUESDAYEurope Group A: Azerbaijan v Serbia Luxembourg v Portugal Europe Group E: Belgium v Belarus Wales v Czech Republic Europe Group G: Gibraltar v Netherlands Montenegro v Norway Turkey v Latvia Europe Group H: Croatia v Malta Cyprus v Slovenia Slovakia v Russia CONCACAF Group A: Grenada v US Virgin Islands CONCACAF Group B: Bermuda v Aruba CONCACAF Group C: St. Vincent & The Grenadines v British Virgin Islands (being played in Curacao) CONCACAF Group D: Barbados v Anguilla (being played in Dominican Republic) CONCACAF Group E: Belize v Turks & Caicos Islands (being played in Dominican Republic) CONCACAF Group F: Guyana v Bahamas Asia Group D: Saudi Arabia v Palestine Asia Group F: Japan v Mongolia WEDNESDAYEurope Group B: Greece v Georgia Spain v Kosovo Europe Group C: Lithuania v Italy Northern Ireland v Bulgaria Europe Group D: Bosnia & Herzegovina v France Ukraine v Kazakhstan Europe Group F: Austria v Denmark Moldova v Israel Scotland v Faroe Islands Europe Group I: Andorra v Hungary England v Poland San Marino v Albania Europe Group J: Armenia v Romania Germany v North Macedonia Liechtenstein v Iceland
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Post by Panda on Mar 24, 2021 23:29:46 GMT 1
EUROPEGroup A: Pos | Team | Pld | GD | Pts | 1 | | 1 | +1 | 3 | 2 | | 1 | +1 | 3 | 3 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | | 1 | -1 | 0 | 5 | | 1 | -1 | 0 |
So European qualifying gets underway and it's a winning start for European champions Portugal, though once again they struggled against a lower-ranked team, with a first half own goal the only thing that separated them and Azerbaijan. The match was played at Juventus' stadium in Turin due to Portugal's current Covid restrictions. Ireland took an early lead in Serbia but two goals from Aleksandr Mitrovic, which saw him become his country's joint all-time leading scorer, helped the home side pick up the points. Hosts Qatar are playing friendlies against the Group A teams, coinciding with the World Cup fixtures. Tonight they beat Luxembourg 1-0, with the game played in Hungary.
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Post by Panda on Mar 24, 2021 23:35:16 GMT 1
EUROPEGroup D: Pos | Team | Pld | GD | Pts | 1 | | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
World champions France were held to a draw by Ukraine as they started their defence of the title they won in Russia in 2018. Antoine Griezmann put them ahead in the first half but an own goal by Presnel Kimpembe gave Ukraine a point. Norwich striker Teemu Pukki scored twice for Finland but it wasn't enough to beat Bosnia & Herzegovina, who earned a late draw thanks to Miroslav Stefanovic's late equaliser.
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Post by Panda on Mar 24, 2021 23:41:22 GMT 1
EUROPEGroup E: Pos | Team | Pld | GD | Pts | 1 | | 1 | +4 | 3 | 2 | | 1 | +2 | 3 | 3 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | | 1 | -2 | 0 | 5 | | 1 | -4 | 0 |
Belgium, ranked no.1 in FIFA's world rankings, went behind early on at home to Wales after a superb move finished by Harry Wilson. But goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Thorgan Hazard put Belgium ahead before half-time and they sealed victory through a second half penalty from Romelu Lukaku. Estonia took the lead at home to the Czech Republic but the visitors were 4-1 up by half-time as they got their attempt to qualify for the first time since 2006 off to a winning start.
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Post by Panda on Mar 24, 2021 23:53:41 GMT 1
EUROPEGroup G: Pos | Team | Pld | GD | Pts | 1 | | 1 | +3 | 3 | 2 | | 1 | +2 | 3 | 3 | | 1 | +1 | 3 | 4 | | 1 | -1 | 0 | 5 | | 1 | -2 | 0 | 6 | | 1 | -3 | 0 |
A nightmare start for the Dutch as they found themselves 3-0 down in Turkey before they threatened a dramatic fightback in the last 15 minutes, scoring two goals in as many minutes to bring score back to 3-2. However, Burak Yilmaz struck a superb free kick to complete his hat-trick and make the game safe before Memphis Depay had a stoppage time penalty saved. Norway's superstar Erling Braut Haaland surprisingly didn't get on the scoresheet in their 3-0 win over Gibraltar, while Montenegro picked up three points against Latvia with two goals from former Man City striker Stevan Jovetic.
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Post by Panda on Mar 25, 2021 0:01:11 GMT 1
EUROPEGroup H: Pos | Team | Pld | GD | Pts | 1 | | 1 | +2 | 3 | 2 | | 1 | +1 | 3 | 3 | | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | | 1 | -1 | 0 | 6 | | 1 | -2 | 0 |
2018 runners-up are off to a losing, suffering a 1-0 defeat in Slovenia. The blow is perhaps softened by the fact Slovakia were held to a goalless draw in Cyprus. 2018 hosts Russia made hard work of beating Malta, who'd reduced the deficit to one during the second half before a 90th minute goal calmed any lingering nerves.
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Post by Panda on Mar 25, 2021 2:59:29 GMT 1
CONCACAF1st round, Group A: Pos | Team | Pld | GD | Pts | 1 | | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Montserrat have never won a World Cup match, coming into this competition with a record of played 9, lost 8, drawn 1. However, they've showed signs of improvement in recent years, winning five of the ten Nations League matches they've played. They came close to a maiden World Cup victory in this game, played in Curacao, leading through a brace from Nottingham Forest's Lyle Taylor, but Antigua & Barbuda equalised on the stroke of half-time to earn a point in a group where El Salvador are the overwhelming favourites to progress. That said, with the teams only playing each other once, there is little margin for error.
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Post by Panda on Mar 25, 2021 3:11:01 GMT 1
CONCACAF1st round, Group B: Pos | Team | Pld | GD | Pts | 1 | | 1 | +3 | 3 | 2 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | | 1 | -3 | 0 |
A comfortable win for Suriname to give them an early advantage over top seeds Canada, who face Bermuda on Thursday. Suriname's team featured Nigel Hasselbaink, nephew of Suriname-born former Netherlands striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
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Post by Panda on Mar 25, 2021 3:19:53 GMT 1
CONCACAF1st round, Group C: Pos | Team | Pld | GD | Pts | 1 | | 1 | +1 | 3 | 2 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | | 1 | -1 | 0 |
A narrow win for Guatemala, who are one of the highest ranked CONCACAF teams never to qualify for the World Cup. Curacao, who have made great strides in recent years, are the top seeds in this group but it looks much more open than some of the others.
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Post by Panda on Mar 25, 2021 3:29:19 GMT 1
CONCACAF1st round, Group D: Pos | Team | Pld | GD | Pts | 1 | | 1 | +1 | 3 | 2 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | | 1 | -1 | 0 |
An important win for the Dominican Republic who may well need to win all four games to deny 2018 finalists Panama, who find themselves playing in this round, rather than getting a golden ticket to the final round, due to them slipping to 9th in the CONCACAF rankings. The top 5 (Mexico, USA, Costa Rica, Honduras and Jamaica) go straight through to the final group of eight (instead of the usual six). The six group winners from the 1st round will play a knockout round in June to decide which three teams join the top five seeds.
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Post by Panda on Mar 25, 2021 3:33:51 GMT 1
CONCACAF1st round, Group F: Pos | Team | Pld | GD | Pts | 1 | | 1 | +1 | 3 | 2 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | | 1 | -1 | 0 |
St. Kitts & Nevis are another side who've improved their standing lately thanks to CONCACAF's Nations League (which works in a similar way to UEFA's). It means they're the second seeds in this group and may well fancy their chances of upsetting top seeds Trinidad & Tobago to progress to the next round.
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Post by Panda on Mar 25, 2021 18:37:33 GMT 1
ASIA2nd round, Group F: Pos | Team | Pld | GD | Pts | 1 | | 4 | +13 | 12 | 2 | | 6 | +1 | 10 | 3 | | 5 | +5 | 7 | 4 | | 5 | -8 | 6 | 5 | | 6 | -11 | 3 |
A comfortable win for Tajikistan, who keep their hopes of progressing alive. Mongolia are now eliminated. Asian runners-up table: (top 4 qualify for the next round, 5th place also qualifies if Qatar finish in a qualification position) 1. Oman 5-12 (+7) 2. Kuwait 5-10 (+14) 3. Tajikistan 6-10 (+1) 4. Malaysia 5-9 (+2) -------------------- 5. Bahrain 5-9 (+2) -------------------- 6. South Korea 4-8 (+10) 7. Saudi Arabia 4-8 (+4) 8. China 4-7 (+11)
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