2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar - UEFA Qualifiers

[kro55]

I will be surprised to see Turkey winning vs Norway even without Haaland in honestly. They showed one of their worst performance this year.. Meanwhile Turkey odds are better @2 than Norway @3.5! we will see what they can do!

If Håland is injured, then it will get tough for Norway. They are very heavily dependent on him. And for Turkey, let's not forget their good performances over the last few years, although their recent form is not good. I would say without Håland, Turkey would be the solid favorites against Norway. Another important factor to remember here is that the match will take place at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul, and Turkey will be having the home advantage. Now I don't know whether the odds are justified or not. Turkey at 2.00? Not enough to compel me to make a bet in their favor.

I will not say that Turkey performed well in last few matches. Their performance in the last few matches is very poor. Yet Turkey played great in their last match against Norway. With players like Haaland in the squad, Norway could not score a goal against Turkey. Turkey won that match by 3-0 goals. The next match is Turkey's home match. I think they can win this match too.

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[W Jr.]

WCQ matches are starting again. Group G will continue with the match between Turkey and Norway to be played in Turkey. In the first match, Turkey won 3-0 in Norway. I read that Haaland will not be in this match. Great loss for Norway. It will be the first match of Turkey with the new coach Stefan Kuntz. I'm curious about the mental and tactical changes in the game.

By looking at the rosters I could say that there won't be too much change. Turkish team has the advantage of sending its players to decent teams and get good minutes and training and that is why when they play inside the season they are better than when they are playing in the cups when they are all together.

However the roster stayed basically the same for world cup and that means the new coach probably has some of the old coaches staff or at least helpers, I doubt that he had the time to watch every single game the Turkish players around the world had, and it was seriously hated by twitter for a while as well. Which means that maybe the manager will be good later on, but since that 3-0 win against Norway, Turkey has been losing big time and I am not seeing that change the moment they end up with a brand new coach, it will probably take some time.

It is true that the new coach Kuntz does not have the opportunity to watch all the players in a short time. However, we can say that Turkey's squad is also very good. Goalkeepers Uğurcan and Altay are in great form. Defenders Söyüncü, Demiral and Kabak really give confidence. Right and left-back positions that I see missing in Turkey. With a good player reinforcement that can come here, the defense line will become very strong. I saw that he played well when he played Kaan Ayhan at right-back.

 The offensive line is also of good quality.  Çalhanoğlu, Yazıcı, Burak and Ünder are playing very well. In fact, former coach Şenol Güneş was mostly criticized for this reason. The squad he has is of above-average quality. However, they could not play the squad in harmony. They should make good use of the absence of Haaland and Sörloth in the Norway match. These bad results will end somewhere. I think Kuntz will have an influence on this. All of these are guesses, of course. We can talk about the final results again after the game.

[cryptofrka]

Croatia has 2 really easy games on paper, with 2 wins we'd all but confirm our qualification. First we're playing Cyprus away and after that we're hosting Slovakia, meanwhile Russia is hosting Slovakia and then playing Slovenia away.

Our team looks ready, we're in good shape and I hope we'll take all 6 points so we can experiment a bit more in the last 2 qualifying games.

[KTChampions]

It is not entirely FIFA's call. Qatar already hinted that all participating players and staff will have to be vaccinated, I doubt that FIFA can influence the country's health rules in any way.

They can move the World Cup, but I assume there would be heavy penalties involved and I doubt that they are even considering it.

I would really like for World Cup to be distanced from politics and topics like these but in reality I think we will have hard Covid rules, with some important players missing because they will not want to get the vaccine. Hope I'm wrong though.

I strongly doubt that Qatar's opinion is interesting to anyone and it will be allowed to impose it. It is clear that countries have sovereignty and can set their own rules on their territory and not give permission to enter those who do not agree with them, but if at least a few major players boycott the World Cup because of the issue of vaccinations, it will be a huge blow to everything football.

[poldanmig]

It is not entirely FIFA's call. Qatar already hinted that all participating players and staff will have to be vaccinated, I doubt that FIFA can influence the country's health rules in any way.

They can move the World Cup, but I assume there would be heavy penalties involved and I doubt that they are even considering it.

I would really like for World Cup to be distanced from politics and topics like these but in reality I think we will have hard Covid rules, with some important players missing because they will not want to get the vaccine. Hope I'm wrong though.

I strongly doubt that Qatar's opinion is interesting to anyone and it will be allowed to impose it. It is clear that countries have sovereignty and can set their own rules on their territory and not give permission to enter those who do not agree with them, but if at least a few major players boycott the World Cup because of the issue of vaccinations, it will be a huge blow to everything football.

I personally agree with what Qatar is doing, because in my opinion now reducing the risk of spreading the corona is more important and of course Qatar has the right to impose strict regulations for anyone who wants to enter their country, besides that what Qatar has done has received positive support from FIFA and it is clear that the safety and health of many people is Qatar priority, as far as I know Qatar is a strict country and even according to my friend who works there, the safety of human life is first  ​for the government of qatar, even if they are not citizens of qatar

[KTChampions]

I strongly doubt that Qatar's opinion is interesting to anyone and it will be allowed to impose it. It is clear that countries have sovereignty and can set their own rules on their territory and not give permission to enter those who do not agree with them, but if at least a few major players boycott the World Cup because of the issue of vaccinations, it will be a huge blow to everything football.

I personally agree with what Qatar is doing, because in my opinion now reducing the risk of spreading the corona is more important and of course Qatar has the right to impose strict regulations for anyone who wants to enter their country, besides that what Qatar has done has received positive support from FIFA and it is clear that the safety and health of many people is Qatar priority, as far as I know Qatar is a strict country and even according to my friend who works there, the safety of human life is first  ​for the government of qatar, even if they are not citizens of qatar

It makes no difference whether you (or I) agree with Qatar or not. Football is business and if Qatar's actions hurt business, then such inflexible countries will never qualify to host the World Cup. Many athletes refuse to be vaccinated (and this is their right) and I am sure that in the midst of the struggle for and against vaccination, sports officials will exacerbate this issue by removing athletes from the competition.

[bryant.coleman]

I strongly doubt that Qatar's opinion is interesting to anyone and it will be allowed to impose it. It is clear that countries have sovereignty and can set their own rules on their territory and not give permission to enter those who do not agree with them, but if at least a few major players boycott the World Cup because of the issue of vaccinations, it will be a huge blow to everything football.

I don't think that FIFA will oppose the requirement from the Qatari government. Even during the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics, it was mandatory for all the athletes and the support staff to get vaccinated. I am more worried about the quarantine requirements, in case someone test positive inside the bio-bubble. If someone tests positive for COVID, then those who are in close contact with him need to be quarantined for a few days. This can result in the postponement of matches, or even outright cancellation.

[Daniel91]

Croatia has 2 really easy games on paper, with 2 wins we'd all but confirm our qualification. First we're playing Cyprus away and after that we're hosting Slovakia, meanwhile Russia is hosting Slovakia and then playing Slovenia away.

Our team looks ready, we're in good shape and I hope we'll take all 6 points so we can experiment a bit more in the last 2 qualifying games.

I wouldn't really say that two easy and simple matches await Croatia.
Everyone praises Croatia after the last 3 matches, but in fact in the match against Russia, Croatia played poorly, and against Slovakia they won with a lucky goal at the end of the match, and only the last match against Slovenia was played very well.
The problem of Croatian fans is that they are not objective and they easily and quickly go from depression to euphoria.
Cyprus is a very dangerous national team at home and Slovakia has not lost its chances to qualify for the World Cup, so both matches will be difficult for Croatia.
Of course, Croatia is the favorite in both matches, but the fact is that since the World Cup, with a few exceptions, Croatia has not played well and is struggling in many matches.

[Slow death]

I strongly doubt that Qatar's opinion is interesting to anyone and it will be allowed to impose it. It is clear that countries have sovereignty and can set their own rules on their territory and not give permission to enter those who do not agree with them, but if at least a few major players boycott the World Cup because of the issue of vaccinations, it will be a huge blow to everything football.

I personally agree with what Qatar is doing, because in my opinion now reducing the risk of spreading the corona is more important and of course Qatar has the right to impose strict regulations for anyone who wants to enter their country, besides that what Qatar has done has received positive support from FIFA and it is clear that the safety and health of many people is Qatar priority, as far as I know Qatar is a strict country and even according to my friend who works there, the safety of human life is first  ​for the government of qatar, even if they are not citizens of qatar

It makes no difference whether you (or I) agree with Qatar or not. Football is business and if Qatar's actions hurt business, then such inflexible countries will never qualify to host the World Cup. Many athletes refuse to be vaccinated (and this is their right) and I am sure that in the midst of the struggle for and against vaccination, sports officials will exacerbate this issue by removing athletes from the competition.

athletes who refuse to be vaccinated are being very irresponsible and if they want to go play in Qatar they are obliged to respect Qatar rules, I don't think Qatar is wrong, on the contrary they are right and players must be professional people and understand and comply with the rules of each country. they as athletes should be the first to set an example and get vaccinated... almost all countries have already vaccinated more than 3% of the population and there aren't many cases to say that vaccines are dangerous, so the refusal of certain athletes in not wanting to be vaccinated is not justified.

[KTChampions]

I strongly doubt that Qatar's opinion is interesting to anyone and it will be allowed to impose it. It is clear that countries have sovereignty and can set their own rules on their territory and not give permission to enter those who do not agree with them, but if at least a few major players boycott the World Cup because of the issue of vaccinations, it will be a huge blow to everything football.

I don't think that FIFA will oppose the requirement from the Qatari government. Even during the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics, it was mandatory for all the athletes and the support staff to get vaccinated. I am more worried about the quarantine requirements, in case someone test positive inside the bio-bubble. If someone tests positive for COVID, then those who are in close contact with him need to be quarantined for a few days. This can result in the postponement of matches, or even outright cancellation.

You are wrong, there was no such requirement. This was a personal matter for each athlete and many chose the option not to be vaccinated, for example Mike Andrew, a swimmer from the United States, whose position (refusal to vaccinate) caused many scandals in his homeland.

athletes who refuse to be vaccinated are being very irresponsible and if they want to go play in Qatar they are obliged to respect Qatar rules, I don't think Qatar is wrong, on the contrary they are right and players must be professional people and understand and comply with the rules of each country. they as athletes should be the first to set an example and get vaccinated... almost all countries have already vaccinated more than 3% of the population and there aren't many cases to say that vaccines are dangerous, so the refusal of certain athletes in not wanting to be vaccinated is not justified.

My body is my choice. For athletes, their body is the main asset, so this principle becomes even more important. It is their personal choice to make the vaccine or not, I am sure that many will refuse to travel to the World Cup if this requirement is made mandatory. Will the World Cup be any better from that? I strongly doubt and in the future, it may generally fade into the background like in hockey (especially if the Super League is created).

[Spack17]

The national matches are nearly starting and I wonder what kind of results we will get. I'll most probably watch the Turkey - Norway match as it is a very crucial match for these teams. Because the winner will have a huge advantage about advancing to the World Cup as their remaining matches will not be this hard. Haaland and Sörloth are big losses for Norway. So I see that Turkey are the closer side to a victory.

[Silberman]

Well, COVID can be a big concern not only for this month's games, but also for the world cup next year, because I have read some players from England national team are refusing to take the vaccine. I don't know if it's really true, because no names were mentioned, but an article says 5 of them refused the vaccine justifying the virus is harmless to young, athletic people, while others use conspiracy theories as excuse.
From 32 national teams it's likely one or another player refuses being vaccinated for different reasons. I ask myself how the organizing committee is going to deal with this situation when the time comes.

England Team World Cup: England World Cup hopes in complete disarray as 5 players refuse Covid-19 Vaccine

I think they are free to not get vaccine but FIFA is also free to not accept those players in their competition. I guess it's not a big deal for federations, they have a lot of players they can use. Unless a huge group of players is unvaccinated, it won't be a problem. Vaccination is important for the health of all players and workers in the organisation. It would not be right for vaccinated people to be in the same environment as unvaccinated people just because someone is producing conspiracy theories.

We will have to see what is the official policy on this, after all they could allow unvaccinated players to play as long as they are able to fulfill more strict conditions when it comes to protecting themselves and others, but try to do that with young, athletic millionaires who think they know it all, this is proving to be a problem for many sport federations, and unlike other sports in which you can maintain a decent distance from your opponents and they are not at risk of passing the virus to each other this is not possible when it comes to soccer.

[Wawa2013]

The national matches are nearly starting and I wonder what kind of results we will get. I'll most probably watch the Turkey - Norway match as it is a very crucial match for these teams. Because the winner will have a huge advantage about advancing to the World Cup as their remaining matches will not be this hard. Haaland and Sörloth are big losses for Norway. So I see that Turkey are the closer side to a victory.

The 2022 World Cup qualifiers will indeed start again, and one of them will be an important match between Turkey and Norway. Because for these
two teams a crucial match, then both teams will try to win the match, especially Turkey who is in third place will try to take advantage of
the situation where Norway lost their goal machine Haaland. Moreover, in the previous meeting, Norway was defeated by Turkey, this became
the motivation for Turkey to win the match. I agree with you that Turkey's chances of winning the game are much bigger.

[CryptocurencyKing]

I will be surprised to see Turkey winning vs Norway even without Haaland in honestly. They showed one of their worst performance this year.. Meanwhile Turkey odds are better @2 than Norway @3.5! we will see what they can do!

If Håland is injured, then it will get tough for Norway. They are very heavily dependent on him. And for Turkey, let's not forget their good performances over the last few years, although their recent form is not good. I would say without Håland, Turkey would be the solid favorites against Norway. Another important factor to remember here is that the match will take place at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul, and Turkey will be having the home advantage. Now I don't know whether the odds are justified or not. Turkey at 2.00? Not enough to compel me to make a bet in their favor.

I will not say that Turkey performed well in last few matches. Their performance in the last few matches is very poor. Yet Turkey played great in their last match against Norway. With players like Haaland in the squad, Norway could not score a goal against Turkey. Turkey won that match by 3-0 goals. The next match is Turkey's home match. I think they can win this match too.

I don’t seem to understand why Turkey have been so bad in recent games. The team needs re-evaluation. The Coach needs to address the team and know what they’ve been underperforming. They had a good run of games in 2019 and early this year even defeated France and Netherland. They have some quality players, players that play in the Top teams. These qualities should be able to produce good results. They’re struggling against the big Football counties and winning against these normal small teams like Norway, Latvia and Gibraltar. They have good players that can match these big guns.

[Sithara007]

My body is my choice. For athletes, their body is the main asset, so this principle becomes even more important. It is their personal choice to make the vaccine or not, I am sure that many will refuse to travel to the World Cup if this requirement is made mandatory. Will the World Cup be any better from that? I strongly doubt and in the future, it may generally fade into the background like in hockey (especially if the Super League is created).

First of all you need to travel to Qatar in order to attend the world cup. If the Qatari government prohibits the unvaccinated from traveling to that country, how you are supposed to attend the world cup? You may be having a ticket with you, but still the government can ban you from entering the country. So in a way, it is not up to FIFA to decide these things. And given how strict the middle-eastern nations are on vaccination, I am not expecting any relaxation on this regard from Qatar. Those who are not vaccinated will not be allowed in to the stadiums or in the national contingents. As simple as that.

[cryptofrka]

It makes no difference whether you (or I) agree with Qatar or not. Football is business and if Qatar's actions hurt business, then such inflexible countries will never qualify to host the World Cup. Many athletes refuse to be vaccinated (and this is their right) and I am sure that in the midst of the struggle for and against vaccination, sports officials will exacerbate this issue by removing athletes from the competition.

I feel the same, I'm just saying that the World Cup is approaching fast and that you cannot change the host nation 2 weeks before the beginning of the competition. There are a lot of requirements put in place in order to organize such a huge tournament, if they want to take it away from Qatar the time is now.

I agree that vaccination should be a choice and that it's harmful to sport overall to force players to take it in order to be able to participate.

[Juggy777]

It makes no difference whether you (or I) agree with Qatar or not. Football is business and if Qatar's actions hurt business, then such inflexible countries will never qualify to host the World Cup. Many athletes refuse to be vaccinated (and this is their right) and I am sure that in the midst of the struggle for and against vaccination, sports officials will exacerbate this issue by removing athletes from the competition.

I feel the same, I'm just saying that the World Cup is approaching fast and that you cannot change the host nation 2 weeks before the beginning of the competition. There are a lot of requirements put in place in order to organize such a huge tournament, if they want to take it away from Qatar the time is now.

I agree that vaccination should be a choice and that it's harmful to sport overall to force players to take it in order to be able to participate.

@cryptofrka I have said if before in a different thread when it comes to money nothing really matters irrespective of the sport, and football is no different so even if we the fans make a huge noise nothing will happen so just enjoy the game. Also vaccination is a tricky issue at this stage, because if they drop player’s then the player's may approach the court and it could become messy, so I feel they’ll allow non vaccinated player’s too.

[Bohdan820]

As for me in today's match Italy - Spain looks stronger in terms of players but Italy is more result-oriented and that's why i think they won't lose today's match.
Tomorrow i think the favorites are the French of course if they can get together and show a good game and not as PSG in their championship.

[poldanmig]

I strongly doubt that Qatar's opinion is interesting to anyone and it will be allowed to impose it. It is clear that countries have sovereignty and can set their own rules on their territory and not give permission to enter those who do not agree with them, but if at least a few major players boycott the World Cup because of the issue of vaccinations, it will be a huge blow to everything football.

I personally agree with what Qatar is doing, because in my opinion now reducing the risk of spreading the corona is more important and of course Qatar has the right to impose strict regulations for anyone who wants to enter their country, besides that what Qatar has done has received positive support from FIFA and it is clear that the safety and health of many people is Qatar priority, as far as I know Qatar is a strict country and even according to my friend who works there, the safety of human life is first  ​for the government of qatar, even if they are not citizens of qatar

It makes no difference whether you (or I) agree with Qatar or not. Football is business and if Qatar's actions hurt business, then such inflexible countries will never qualify to host the World Cup. Many athletes refuse to be vaccinated (and this is their right) and I am sure that in the midst of the struggle for and against vaccination, sports officials will exacerbate this issue by removing athletes from the competition.

If we look at it from a business perspective, of course we agree with you, but so far there have been no major problems that have arisen over the implementation set by Qatar and actually FiFA has also agreed on the regulation, although the implementation of the vaccine is quite strict but there is a bit of leeway for players who don't want to be vaccinated on the condition that they have to be willing to be tested negative every three days, so there is no reason for players to refuse to play later, even though there are players who refuse to play in Qatar later, I don't think Qatar will feel a loss with that and even that will make the player country disadvantaged.

[casperBGD]

~snip

First of all you need to travel to Qatar in order to attend the world cup. If the Qatari government prohibits the unvaccinated from traveling to that country, how you are supposed to attend the world cup? You may be having a ticket with you, but still the government can ban you from entering the country. So in a way, it is not up to FIFA to decide these things. And given how strict the middle-eastern nations are on vaccination, I am not expecting any relaxation on this regard from Qatar. Those who are not vaccinated will not be allowed in to the stadiums or in the national contingents. As simple as that.

agree on this one, Qatar will probably stay with their requirements, and there will be less audience on Stadiums, you will have your chance to get refund, and that is it
FIFA cannot force Qatar to take in-vaccinated in the country, what they could do is to change the host, which I do not think they will do at this stage, it would probably be played without full Stadiums, and Qatar did not applied for host, to earn, they are spending massively on this, and they want to promote their country, nothing more than that