2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar - UEFA Qualifiers

[LUCKMCFLY]

Actually both of Pogba'l parents  from Guniea but have settled in France, actually Pogba who was born in France can choose between defending the French or Guniea national team, but instead Pogba prefers France while his two brothers are currently defending the Guniea National Team
Defending the National Team is a form of our loyalty to country and I think, every player certainly has the desire to defend their respective country regardless of the salary they get, but obviously the salary they get from the country is not as big as what they get from the club, but of course defending the country in international tournaments is a matter of pride invaluable to a football player.
I personally hope that if Pogba, who is a in France, does not experience the same thing as what Mesut Ozil got when he was still with the German national team, which when Ozil performed well and Germany won they would treat him quite well, but when Germany lost of course ozil will be blamed and considered a turkish immigrant.

Sometimes football is ungrateful to its best players, I only remember Romario's saying that he had to train very hard to be one of the best, and sometimes fame comes for a short time to those who try hard, from In fact, Pogba's problem is somewhat difficult, in the Venezuelan team there are many players who are in Spain, Italy and Portugal, they are great but when you ask them why they do not play for their national team they say never, because they did not give them the opportunity, then this can sometimes come from a very deep problem that only those players have experienced.

[mv1986]

Actually both of Pogba'l parents  from Guniea but have settled in France, actually Pogba who was born in France can choose between defending the French or Guniea national team, but instead Pogba prefers France while his two brothers are currently defending the Guniea National Team
Defending the National Team is a form of our loyalty to country and I think, every player certainly has the desire to defend their respective country regardless of the salary they get, but obviously the salary they get from the country is not as big as what they get from the club, but of course defending the country in international tournaments is a matter of pride invaluable to a football player.
I personally hope that if Pogba, who is a in France, does not experience the same thing as what Mesut Ozil got when he was still with the German national team, which when Ozil performed well and Germany won they would treat him quite well, but when Germany lost of course ozil will be blamed and considered a turkish immigrant.

Same for me. I just pray and hope he doesn't get the same treatment as Ozil did. What happened with Ozil is very unfortunate and I still think he should not have been treated like that. It's like when they are winning Ozil was one of there, but once they were losing, it felt like everything was going south because of Ozil which is unfair. Pogba is born to French but his parent is from Guinea. So I think there's less chance that he might experience what Ozil had previously.

I think Ozil caused some controversy if I remember correctly meeting with some president and commenting on China and that’s when he started receiving backlash, do correct me if I’m wrong cause I remember this in bits only.

Also Pogba is a global star and if France tries to screw him they’ll suffer the wrath of his fans, so rest assured he’s not going to suffer the same fate as Ozil, and I do believe that he’ll play an important role for France in 2022 World Cup.

Ozil met with Erdogan in a very controversial moment to say the least. He now recently supported a radical, very questionable new party at the German elections. He supported Team Todenhöfer. I am not going to go into details, but Todenhöfer is a guy who manages to contract himself 10 times within half an hour regarding his own "outstanding" achievements.

I really haven't anything that controversial about Pogba, like political stances that are quite odd in the eyes of the democratic and liberal majority.

[Sithara007]

Ozil met with Erdogan in a very controversial moment to say the least. He now recently supported a radical, very questionable new party at the German elections. He supported Team Todenhöfer. I am not going to go into details, but Todenhöfer is a guy who manages to contract himself 10 times within half an hour regarding his own "outstanding" achievements.

I really haven't anything that controversial about Pogba, like political stances that are quite odd in the eyes of the democratic and liberal majority.

Surprised to see so many people defending Mesut Özil here. A lot of people posted here that players should represent the country which they feel the most loyal towards. But then what happened to Özil? What was the need to meet Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, when he was killing thousands in Syria? I will not say that players should stay away from politics. But at least they could stay away from murderous dictators. Would you guys say the same if Steven Gerrard meets the head of the British National Front?

[KTChampions]

According to FIFA rules, a player cannot change the national team for which he is playing. In 2020, this rule was slightly weakened, but in fact it remains impossible for someone who has already started playing seriously (there are a number of very difficult conditions to fulfill). Aymeric Laporte never played for the French national team as part of the senior national team, so he was able to easily start his performance for the senior team in Spain.

I think the rules states that if the player played for the first nation before turning 21 then he can switch national teams. The only condition where this can't happen is when the match was in the tournament phases of the World Cup or a continental competition

That is why I indicated that he did not play for the senior national team. And your case is not a complete list of exceptions, for example, if he played for the senior national team at least several matches (more than one) in any official match, then the transition becomes impossible. On the one hand, these are rather tough conditions, but on the other hand, it is justified, since otherwise the players would change teams like gloves and we would have a situation similar to the situation in club football.

[uneng]

Actually both of Pogba'l parents  from Guniea but have settled in France, actually Pogba who was born in France can choose between defending the French or Guniea national team, but instead Pogba prefers France while his two brothers are currently defending the Guniea National Team
Defending the National Team is a form of our loyalty to country and I think, every player certainly has the desire to defend their respective country regardless of the salary they get, but obviously the salary they get from the country is not as big as what they get from the club, but of course defending the country in international tournaments is a matter of pride invaluable to a football player.
I personally hope that if Pogba, who is a in France, does not experience the same thing as what Mesut Ozil got when he was still with the German national team, which when Ozil performed well and Germany won they would treat him quite well, but when Germany lost of course ozil will be blamed and considered a turkish immigrant.

Sometimes football is ungrateful to its best players, I only remember Romario's saying that he had to train very hard to be one of the best, and sometimes fame comes for a short time to those who try hard, from In fact, Pogba's problem is somewhat difficult, in the Venezuelan team there are many players who are in Spain, Italy and Portugal, they are great but when you ask them why they do not play for their national team they say never, because they did not give them the opportunity, then this can sometimes come from a very deep problem that only those players have experienced.

Every players in a situation like this have their own personal reasons to not accept playing for their original national teams and in my opinion their decision should be respected by others because we don't know the difficulties, challenges and experiences they passed during the initial period of their lives that lead them to make that choice.

In my country there is also a professional player who refused to play for the local national team. Instead, he played for spanish national team. I don't remember exactly if it was in 2014 or 2018 world cup, but I do remember when Spain played and this specific player carried the ball my countrymen booed him on the stadium and I felt disgusted for that behavior.

Patriotism, love for the country can't be imposed to someone. It must be conquered daily with good examples coming from those who rule the society and the elder ones. But when it doesn't happen, naturally the younger generations will fell nothing for their homeland, especially when they have better examples living in foreigner countries.

[mv1986]

Ozil met with Erdogan in a very controversial moment to say the least. He now recently supported a radical, very questionable new party at the German elections. He supported Team Todenhöfer. I am not going to go into details, but Todenhöfer is a guy who manages to contract himself 10 times within half an hour regarding his own "outstanding" achievements.

I really haven't anything that controversial about Pogba, like political stances that are quite odd in the eyes of the democratic and liberal majority.

Surprised to see so many people defending Mesut Özil here. A lot of people posted here that players should represent the country which they feel the most loyal towards. But then what happened to Özil? What was the need to meet Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, when he was killing thousands in Syria? I will not say that players should stay away from politics. But at least they could stay away from murderous dictators. Would you guys say the same if Steven Gerrard meets the head of the British National Front?

I wasn't sure how precise I should describe what Özil actually did, but you hit the nail on the head of course. The moment he met Erdogan was just... wow...

I was really hoping for him that it was a dumb mistake, but when I read that he is supporting team Todenhöfer, I thought my lord... what's wrong with that dude.

When he met Erdogan I was presuming that there might be economic interests involved, like real estate and stuff like that in Turkey. But what the heck should be involved when you support Todenhöfer? Well maybe something is involved that actually doesn't exist for him: a well functioning brain.

[Silberman]

Actually both of Pogba'l parents  from Guniea but have settled in France, actually Pogba who was born in France can choose between defending the French or Guniea national team, but instead Pogba prefers France while his two brothers are currently defending the Guniea National Team
Defending the National Team is a form of our loyalty to country and I think, every player certainly has the desire to defend their respective country regardless of the salary they get, but obviously the salary they get from the country is not as big as what they get from the club, but of course defending the country in international tournaments is a matter of pride invaluable to a football player.
I personally hope that if Pogba, who is a in France, does not experience the same thing as what Mesut Ozil got when he was still with the German national team, which when Ozil performed well and Germany won they would treat him quite well, but when Germany lost of course ozil will be blamed and considered a turkish immigrant.

Sometimes football is ungrateful to its best players, I only remember Romario's saying that he had to train very hard to be one of the best, and sometimes fame comes for a short time to those who try hard, from In fact, Pogba's problem is somewhat difficult, in the Venezuelan team there are many players who are in Spain, Italy and Portugal, they are great but when you ask them why they do not play for their national team they say never, because they did not give them the opportunity, then this can sometimes come from a very deep problem that only those players have experienced.

Every players in a situation like this have their own personal reasons to not accept playing for their original national teams and in my opinion their decision should be respected by others because we don't know the difficulties, challenges and experiences they passed during the initial period of their lives that lead them to make that choice.

In my country there is also a professional player who refused to play for the local national team. Instead, he played for spanish national team. I don't remember exactly if it was in 2014 or 2018 world cup, but I do remember when Spain played and this specific player carried the ball my countrymen booed him on the stadium and I felt disgusted for that behavior.

Patriotism, love for the country can't be imposed to someone. It must be conquered daily with good examples coming from those who rule the society and the elder ones. But when it doesn't happen, naturally the younger generations will fell nothing for their homeland, especially when they have better examples living in foreigner countries.

At the end the players that have the option to pick more than one national team to play for should be free to play wherever they feel more conformable, just look at what happened with Messi, as far as I know he was given the option to play for Spain but he choose to play for Argentina, and what did he received most of his life? Nothing but criticism on his home country, if he had chosen to play for Spain instead I have no doubts he could have won 2 World Cups already.

[mv1986]

Actually both of Pogba'l parents  from Guniea but have settled in France, actually Pogba who was born in France can choose between defending the French or Guniea national team, but instead Pogba prefers France while his two brothers are currently defending the Guniea National Team
Defending the National Team is a form of our loyalty to country and I think, every player certainly has the desire to defend their respective country regardless of the salary they get, but obviously the salary they get from the country is not as big as what they get from the club, but of course defending the country in international tournaments is a matter of pride invaluable to a football player.
I personally hope that if Pogba, who is a in France, does not experience the same thing as what Mesut Ozil got when he was still with the German national team, which when Ozil performed well and Germany won they would treat him quite well, but when Germany lost of course ozil will be blamed and considered a turkish immigrant.

Sometimes football is ungrateful to its best players, I only remember Romario's saying that he had to train very hard to be one of the best, and sometimes fame comes for a short time to those who try hard, from In fact, Pogba's problem is somewhat difficult, in the Venezuelan team there are many players who are in Spain, Italy and Portugal, they are great but when you ask them why they do not play for their national team they say never, because they did not give them the opportunity, then this can sometimes come from a very deep problem that only those players have experienced.

Very true! But it also is a fine move by Messi to not forget what his origins are. He grew up in Argentina and he was a big fan of Argentinian football for all his life, so he decided to write history in the name of his country even without having won the World Cup. I think he still wrote an amazing history in the name of the Argentinian people. What kind of situation would he be in today as a 6 times world soccer player if he chose to play for Spain instead of Argentina? I think he wouldn't be the same soccer idol for the Argentinian people.
Every players in a situation like this have their own personal reasons to not accept playing for their original national teams and in my opinion their decision should be respected by others because we don't know the difficulties, challenges and experiences they passed during the initial period of their lives that lead them to make that choice.

In my country there is also a professional player who refused to play for the local national team. Instead, he played for spanish national team. I don't remember exactly if it was in 2014 or 2018 world cup, but I do remember when Spain played and this specific player carried the ball my countrymen booed him on the stadium and I felt disgusted for that behavior.

Patriotism, love for the country can't be imposed to someone. It must be conquered daily with good examples coming from those who rule the society and the elder ones. But when it doesn't happen, naturally the younger generations will fell nothing for their homeland, especially when they have better examples living in foreigner countries.

At the end the players that have the option to pick more than one national team to play for should be free to play wherever they feel more conformable, just look at what happened with Messi, as far as I know he was given the option to play for Spain but he choose to play for Argentina, and what did he received most of his life? Nothing but criticism on his home country, if he had chosen to play for Spain instead I have no doubts he could have won 2 World Cups already.

Look at the Boateng brothers: Jerome chose Germany and won the World Cup, Kevin Prince chose Ghana and is still happy with it.

[wxa7115]

By the way, I haven't heard anything about Ronaldo's retirement from the national team after the 2022 World Cup, was there any news?

Cristiano Ronaldo has said he will retire from international football after the 2022 World Cup, by which time he is almost certain to have broken more records, including becoming the standalone leading goal scorer in international football -- he is currently tied on 109 with former Iran forward Ali Daei.

Will Ronaldo pass the baton to Erling Haaland?

However, as Ronaldo is a dedicated player who value his performance excellency, it's expected he can stay fit even after 40 years old, still offering a decent contribution to any teams he might play for. I think it's too early yet for him to make a decision like that. On the other hand, it's also speculated that Ronaldo wants to leave the national team with a perfect rating on his history and if he keeps playing for longer, there is some risk his performance may drop considerably due to his age and physical limitations it implies.

I think someone like Ronaldo has gained the privilege to decide when is the time to leave, there are some players that decide to play even when they are nowhere near the level they exhibited years ago, while some prefer to do so while they still have something left in the tank, both are fine as the greats have gained the privilege to do whatever they want to do with their careers, but I think it is a good idea for Ronaldo to retire from his national team while he is still the Ronaldo we all appreciate and admire for his skills on the field.

[CryptoBuds]

By the way, I haven't heard anything about Ronaldo's retirement from the national team after the 2022 World Cup, was there any news?

Cristiano Ronaldo has said he will retire from international football after the 2022 World Cup, by which time he is almost certain to have broken more records, including becoming the standalone leading goal scorer in international football -- he is currently tied on 109 with former Iran forward Ali Daei.

Will Ronaldo pass the baton to Erling Haaland?
However, as Ronaldo is a dedicated player who value his performance excellency, it's expected he can stay fit even after 40 years old, still offering a decent contribution to any teams he might play for. I think it's too early yet for him to make a decision like that. On the other hand, it's also speculated that Ronaldo wants to leave the national team with a perfect rating on his history and if he keeps playing for longer, there is some risk his performance may drop considerably due to his age and physical limitations it implies.

I think someone like Ronaldo has gained the privilege to decide when is the time to leave, there are some players that decide to play even when they are nowhere near the level they exhibited years ago, while some prefer to do so while they still have something left in the tank, both are fine as the greats have gained the privilege to do whatever they want to do with their careers, but I think it is a good idea for Ronaldo to retire from his national team while he is still the Ronaldo we all appreciate and admire for his skills on the field.

^ We can surely say that Ronaldo still has about 2 more years where he will still play at peak form as his fitness is far better than most players. Even at this 36 years age, he is running up and down the pitch.  I don't think he might retire after the next WorldCup (2022) but I won't be surprised if he does so.

[coderben]

Some time ago, Neymar announced that he was really tired mentally and he was thinking of retiring from his national team and maybe it could be even a complete retirement. I wonder whether he will play at his national team until the end of the World Cup. We are talking about Neymar so everything is possible anytime.    Maybe he can decide to retire suddenly when they are right in the middle of the tournament.

[poldanmig]

Some time ago, Neymar announced that he was really tired mentally and he was thinking of retiring from his national team and maybe it could be even a complete retirement. I wonder whether he will play at his national team until the end of the World Cup. We are talking about Neymar so everything is possible anytime.    Maybe he can decide to retire suddenly when they are right in the middle of the tournament.

I think that statement only hints that he is retiring, but it doesn't mean that he will retire so soon from football, after all, Neymar is still 30 years old and maybe there will be another world cup opportunity after the 2022 world cup later, and now this is his career things are going pretty well, so i don't think neymar will be serious about retiring in the near future, but if that happens of course it will be a pity, because neymar is now a mainstay of brazil to be able to restore their glory in the world cup after the last time won the championship in 2002.

[snipie]

Some time ago, Neymar announced that he was really tired mentally and he was thinking of retiring from his national team and maybe it could be even a complete retirement. I wonder whether he will play at his national team until the end of the World Cup. We are talking about Neymar so everything is possible anytime.    Maybe he can decide to retire suddenly when they are right in the middle of the tournament.

No he won't do it in the middle of the competition or else he will be the most hated football player in Brazil and the whole (Brazilian fans) world. I doubt he will make this move before the World Cup too. Just a childish statement imo

[LUCKMCFLY]

Some time ago, Neymar announced that he was really tired mentally and he was thinking of retiring from his national team and maybe it could be even a complete retirement. I wonder whether he will play at his national team until the end of the World Cup. We are talking about Neymar so everything is possible anytime.    Maybe he can decide to retire suddenly when they are right in the middle of the tournament.

I think that statement only hints that he is retiring, but it doesn't mean that he will retire so soon from football, after all, Neymar is still 30 years old and maybe there will be another world cup opportunity after the 2022 world cup later, and now this is his career things are going pretty well, so i don't think neymar will be serious about retiring in the near future, but if that happens of course it will be a pity, because neymar is now a mainstay of brazil to be able to restore their glory in the world cup after the last time won the championship in 2002.

The truth is that I did not know anything about those statements, although if Neymar looks somewhat tired, I think that his personal problems are affecting him a lot, it is a shame because I think he needs much more to give to football and the world. I think that Neymar's performance in the QATAR World Cup will be unique, because until now the qualifiers have been impeccable for Brazil, since they have not lost any game, and the only inconvenience was with Argentina in Brazil, who suspended the game due to security issues related to the COVID-19 And with respect to the players who came from England, there were a series of protocols that apparently they did not comply with.

[poldanmig]

Some time ago, Neymar announced that he was really tired mentally and he was thinking of retiring from his national team and maybe it could be even a complete retirement. I wonder whether he will play at his national team until the end of the World Cup. We are talking about Neymar so everything is possible anytime.    Maybe he can decide to retire suddenly when they are right in the middle of the tournament.

I think that statement only hints that he is retiring, but it doesn't mean that he will retire so soon from football, after all, Neymar is still 30 years old and maybe there will be another world cup opportunity after the 2022 world cup later, and now this is his career things are going pretty well, so i don't think neymar will be serious about retiring in the near future, but if that happens of course it will be a pity, because neymar is now a mainstay of brazil to be able to restore their glory in the world cup after the last time won the championship in 2002.

The truth is that I did not know anything about those statements, although if Neymar looks somewhat tired, I think that his personal problems are affecting him a lot, it is a shame because I think he needs much more to give to football and the world. I think that Neymar's performance in the QATAR World Cup will be unique, because until now the qualifiers have been impeccable for Brazil, since they have not lost any game, and the only inconvenience was with Argentina in Brazil, who suspended the game due to security issues related to the COVID-19 And with respect to the players who came from England, there were a series of protocols that apparently they did not comply with.

Brazil is currently in a pretty positive trend and they are unbeaten during the world cup qualifiers, but I think, regardless of Neymar reasons for the statement, Neymar statement will at least have an effect on Brazil in the future because after all Neymar has played a very important role for Brazil so far.
Regarding the postponement of the match between Brazil and Argentina, I think it is very reasonable considering that some of the players of both teams played in England and at that time England was a red-listed country in Brazil, and they had to undergo quarantine before played in Brazil.

[KTChampions]

Some time ago, Neymar announced that he was really tired mentally and he was thinking of retiring from his national team and maybe it could be even a complete retirement. I wonder whether he will play at his national team until the end of the World Cup. We are talking about Neymar so everything is possible anytime.    Maybe he can decide to retire suddenly when they are right in the middle of the tournament.

No he won't do it in the middle of the competition or else he will be the most hated football player in Brazil and the whole (Brazilian fans) world. I doubt he will make this move before the World Cup too. Just a childish statement imo

By the way, I remembered that Messi had also ended his career in the national team (if I am not mistaken after that tragic American Cup final against Chile), but then over time he changed his mind. I do not think that such options are possible (leaving the national team in the middle of the tournament), but leaving the national team and returning to it is a common practice for star players 

[Juggy777]

Some time ago, Neymar announced that he was really tired mentally and he was thinking of retiring from his national team and maybe it could be even a complete retirement. I wonder whether he will play at his national team until the end of the World Cup. We are talking about Neymar so everything is possible anytime.    Maybe he can decide to retire suddenly when they are right in the middle of the tournament.

No he won't do it in the middle of the competition or else he will be the most hated football player in Brazil and the whole (Brazilian fans) world. I doubt he will make this move before the World Cup too. Just a childish statement imo

By the way, I remembered that Messi had also ended his career in the national team (if I am not mistaken after that tragic American Cup final against Chile), but then over time he changed his mind. I do not think that such options are possible (leaving the national team in the middle of the tournament), but leaving the national team and returning to it is a common practice for star players  

I don’t believe even for one second that Neymar will abandon Brazil in the middle of the tournament, he isn’t that immature and he knows the consequences if he does that. Also I feel that he may be extra motivated to win it for Brazil, but he’ll need lots of support from other player’s.

[hahay]

Some time ago, Neymar announced that he was really tired mentally and he was thinking of retiring from his national team and maybe it could be even a complete retirement. I wonder whether he will play at his national team until the end of the World Cup. We are talking about Neymar so everything is possible anytime.    Maybe he can decide to retire suddenly when they are right in the middle of the tournament.

No he won't do it in the middle of the competition or else he will be the most hated football player in Brazil and the whole (Brazilian fans) world. I doubt he will make this move before the World Cup too. Just a childish statement imo

By the way, I remembered that Messi had also ended his career in the national team (if I am not mistaken after that tragic American Cup final against Chile), but then over time he changed his mind. I do not think that such options are possible (leaving the national team in the middle of the tournament), but leaving the national team and returning to it is a common practice for star players  

I don’t believe even for one second that Neymar will abandon Brazil in the middle of the tournament, he isn’t that immature and he knows the consequences if he does that. Also I feel that he may be extra motivated to win it for Brazil, but he’ll need lots of support from other player’s.

Also, it is still too early for Neymar to retire at the age of not even 30, at least Neymar still has plenty of time and opportunity to continue serving his country. I'm sure fatigue will be experienced by all players, but when a player who is under that kind of pressure and stress while getting a lot of support from the people around him, I'm sure Neymar will be willing to return to play for the Brazil national team. So a statement like this actually won't really make a player leave because they could come back because cases like that have happened several times, unless the player is completely powerless because of his old age but for Neymar, he's still young and easy for him to come back.

[KTChampions]

By the way, I remembered that Messi had also ended his career in the national team (if I am not mistaken after that tragic American Cup final against Chile), but then over time he changed his mind. I do not think that such options are possible (leaving the national team in the middle of the tournament), but leaving the national team and returning to it is a common practice for star players  

I don’t believe even for one second that Neymar will abandon Brazil in the middle of the tournament, he isn’t that immature and he knows the consequences if he does that. Also I feel that he may be extra motivated to win it for Brazil, but he’ll need lots of support from other player’s.

I do not think that any problems are possible here, given the fact that absolutely all players want this trophy, regardless of whether Neymar is playing with them or not. The only problem for Brazil at the upcoming World Cup is that it is an away one for them, where they are traditionally weaker than European teams. Therefore, despite their excellent performance in the qualifying tournament, they will not be the main favorites.

[CryptoBuds]

By the way, I remembered that Messi had also ended his career in the national team (if I am not mistaken after that tragic American Cup final against Chile), but then over time he changed his mind. I do not think that such options are possible (leaving the national team in the middle of the tournament), but leaving the national team and returning to it is a common practice for star players  

I don’t believe even for one second that Neymar will abandon Brazil in the middle of the tournament, he isn’t that immature and he knows the consequences if he does that. Also I feel that he may be extra motivated to win it for Brazil, but he’ll need lots of support from other player’s.

Also, it is still too early for Neymar to retire at the age of not even 30, at least Neymar still has plenty of time and opportunity to continue serving his country. I'm sure fatigue will be experienced by all players, but when a player who is under that kind of pressure and stress while getting a lot of support from the people around him, I'm sure Neymar will be willing to return to play for the Brazil national team. So a statement like this actually won't really make a player leave because they could come back because cases like that have happened several times, unless the player is completely powerless because of his old age but for Neymar, he's still young and easy for him to come back.

^ Yes, I also think that his statement was somewhat of an impulsive one. The last few seasons had been rough for him already. He's been falling into injuries very often and also he is one of the most if not the most criticized players in my opinion. So all of these accumulatively maybe ended him saying that he might retire. But I think that he can play one more world cup after 2022 one and I hope he doesn't stick to his decision to retire.