⚽ FIFA World Cup 2022: Tournament Discussion Thread for Qatar 2022

[Sithara007]

If we look at the performance of Asian teams against European teams, it is easy to understand that Asian teams are very weak. They are far behind. While teams like Korea and Japan have been able to improve themselves somewhat, they are still much weaker than European or American teams. The European leagues are very advanced. We don't see any better league in Asia than that. More time is needed to improve football in Asia.

I don't think that it has to do anything with time. Football is very popular in both Japan and South Korea, and this has been the case for the past decades. I am not exactly sure why the Asian teams underperform at international level. Despite their huge population, China and India almost never qualifies for the World Cup. Asian players are in general shorter compared to the Europeans, and that maybe the reason. But in that case Brazil and Argentina should not perform so well. I strongly suspect that there is some other reason. 

[Inwestour]

I don't think that it has to do anything with time. Football is very popular in both Japan and South Korea, and this has been the case for the past decades. I am not exactly sure why the Asian teams underperform at international level. Despite their huge population, China and India almost never qualifies for the World Cup. Asian players are in general shorter compared to the Europeans, and that maybe the reason. But in that case Brazil and Argentina should not perform so well. I strongly suspect that there is some other reason. 

The reason is that the Chinese and Indian Championships are very weak compared to the European Championships. Although the Japanese J1 league looks more interesting, the Japanese team also shows very weak results in the World Cup playoffs. Anthropometry also plays some role, but the main role is played by the competitiveness of the championships.

[Daniel91]

If we look at the performance of Asian teams against European teams, it is easy to understand that Asian teams are very weak. They are far behind. While teams like Korea and Japan have been able to improve themselves somewhat, they are still much weaker than European or American teams. The European leagues are very advanced. We don't see any better league in Asia than that. More time is needed to improve football in Asia.

I don't think that it has to do anything with time. Football is very popular in both Japan and South Korea, and this has been the case for the past decades. I am not exactly sure why the Asian teams underperform at international level. Despite their huge population, China and India almost never qualifies for the World Cup. Asian players are in general shorter compared to the Europeans, and that maybe the reason. But in that case Brazil and Argentina should not perform so well. I strongly suspect that there is some other reason. 

I think it's very difficult to look at Asia as one continent because the differences between nations in mentalities, economic development, popularity of football, are really huge.
Due to the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, large investments in football began in these 2 Asian countries and already at the 2002 World Cup South Korea was fourth in the world, which was a miraculous and unexpected result.
African or North American national teams are still waiting for such an achievement.
South Korea and Japan are still strong teams, dangerous to any team in the world.
Does anyone else remember the first half of the match between Japan and Belgium at the last World Cup in Russia. Belgium, which later knocked Brazil out of the competition and finished in third place, just happily continued the competition.
Other Asian national teams do not invest so much in the development of football, or football is not their most important team sport, and therefore do not achieve such results in major competitions.

[Sithara007]

If you talk about South Asia then cricket is only game popular among world's most populous countries aka India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Srilanka. From far east as you said Japan and Korea are the only strong team. Don't know why China don't have strong football team till date. From middle-east teams do qualify for worldcup but there performance are not upto the mark.

Cricket is very popular in South Asia, but even then as a result of the huge population, the number of people with soccer as the favorite sport in India will be much larger than the same in either Germany or France. And in China, I am sure that football is one of the popular sports. The real reason might have something to do with the factors which Inwestour mentioned. The national football leagues are very weak in both India and China. None of the top players take part in these championships and the quality is a lot lower than Serie A or English Premier League.

[JollyGood]

FIFA World Cup 2022 qualified teams


ASIA
Qatar          
Iran                  
South Korea    
Saudi Arabia    
Japan          
Australia       

EUROPE
Germany          
Denmark          
France          
Belgium            
Croatia            
Spain            
Serbia            
England            
Netherlands    
Switzerland    
Portugal            
Poland            
Wales            

SOUTH AMERICA
Brazil            
Argentina            
Ecuador           
Uruguay          

AFRICA
Ghana            
Senegal            
Tunisia            
Morocco            
Cameroon            

NORTH AMERICA
Canada            
USA                    
Mexico          
Costa Rica      


The tournament kicks-off in Qatar in November 2022  

[nullama]

Three out of the four qualified teams from South America have won the world cup in the past. This is the highest percentage compared to other continents.

Argentina has won 2 times, Uruguay has won 4 times, and Brazil has the current world record, 5 times.

This will be the fourth time that Ecuador participates in the world cup. It's clearly the weakest one from South America.

[JollyGood]

Unfortunately you made an error in your post. Uruguay have won the World Cup twice. It means the teams that have qualified for the 2022 tournament have won the competition 9 times between themselves.

Uruguay first won the inaugural World Cup competition in 1930 which was also held in Uruguay. They went on to win the competition in 1950 for the second and final time before the dominance of Brazil and Pele and later Argentina and Maradona laid foundations to overshadow Uruguay and other South American nations.

Three out of the four qualified teams from South America have won the world cup in the past. This is the highest percentage compared to other continents.

Argentina has won 2 times, Uruguay has won 4 times, and Brazil has the current world record, 5 times.

This will be the fourth time that Ecuador participates in the world cup. It's clearly the weakest one from South America.

[Sithara007]

~~~
This will be the fourth time that Ecuador participates in the world cup. It's clearly the weakest one from South America.

Never underestimate the CONMEBOL teams. I have posted this a few days back. Even the weakest team from CONMEBOL (Bolivia?) is stronger than the best team from CAF or AFC. Only the UEFA teams are capable of giving challenges to the South Americans. And this time, since the world cup is being hosted outside the Europe, I don't expect any advantages for teams such as Germany. Ecuador is placed alongside Netherlands and Senegal and I am sure that they will be able to finish among the top-2 from this group.

[nullama]

Unfortunately you made an error in your post. Uruguay have won the World Cup twice. It means the teams that have qualified for the 2022 tournament have won the competition 9 times between themselves.

Uruguay first won the inaugural World Cup competition in 1930 which was also held in Uruguay. They went on to win the competition in 1950 for the second and final time before the dominance of Brazil and Pele and later Argentina and Maradona laid foundations to overshadow Uruguay and other South American nations.

~snip~

Yes, you're right. But it gets complicated... 

Uruguay also won 2 times the competition before it was called World Cup in 1930, which they also won, as you mentioned.

Uruguay have won four FIFA-organized World Football Championships. They won the first World Championship organized by FIFA under the Olympic Committee umbrella with true representation from all continents; before then, football in the Olympics comprised only European teams. Uruguay then won the next two World Cups (Jules Rimet Trophy) in which they participated; these tournaments, the 1930 and 1950 FIFA World Cups, were fully independent from the Olympics and employed clear rules distinguishing professional and amateur football players. Since 1924 marked the beginning of true international football competition, organized by FIFA, FIFA recognizes Uruguay as four-time world champions and allows the team to wear four stars on their uniforms during official international football competitions.

So, yes, Uruguay has won the current World Cup competition twice, but when you'll see them playing this World Cup they'll be wearing 4 stars:

[JollyGood]

It is not easy keeping track of which teams won the tournament because of the history attached to it. For what is it worth I do not see a South American team winning the Qatar 2022 competition. I think a European team will win it. The previous 4 world cup tournaments have been won by European nations and I see the same thing happening again.

Yes, you're right. But it gets complicated... 

[Sithara007]

It is not easy keeping track of which teams won the tournament because of the history attached to it. For what is it worth I do not see a South American team winning the Qatar 2022 competition. I think a European team will win it. The previous 4 world cup tournaments have been won by European nations and I see the same thing happening again.

Yes, you're right. But it gets complicated... 

I don't agree with your prediction. I don't think that any of the European teams are in a position to win the world cup this time. One of the CONMEBOL teams are going to win the trophy for sure. Teams such as Germany and Netherlands were unimpressive during the qualifying phase. Italy couldn't even qualify. At this point, the top two teams in the world are Argentina and Brazil. I have a strong feeling that one of these two teams will lift the trophy in Doha. But then, football is always unpredictable. Sometimes the strongest teams get kicked out in the first stage, and in other occasions teams such as Croatia manages to progress to the final. 

[JollyGood]

The 4 teams from South America that have qualified for the Qatar 2022 tournament are:

Brazil           
Argentina           
Ecuador           
Uruguay

When you say you think one of them will win, you cannot seriously suggest Ecuador or Uruguay will win therefore you must be referring to Brazil and Argentina. I guess we will have to wait until the end of the tournament to see whether you were right or not therefore let us agree to disagree 

I don't agree with your prediction. I don't think that any of the European teams are in a position to win the world cup this time. One of the CONMEBOL teams are going to win the trophy for sure. Teams such as Germany and Netherlands were unimpressive during the qualifying phase. Italy couldn't even qualify. At this point, the top two teams in the world are Argentina and Brazil. I have a strong feeling that one of these two teams will lift the trophy in Doha. But then, football is always unpredictable. Sometimes the strongest teams get kicked out in the first stage, and in other occasions teams such as Croatia manages to progress to the final. 

[JollyGood]

The next round of ticket sales is on 5th July 2022 but last week FIFA announced they have sold 1.8 million tickets for Qatar World Cup.

The sport is massive on a global stage and having the world cup tournament in November will be a first but it did not dent international demand and expectations: https://www.espn.com/soccer/fifa-world-cup/story/4692241/qatar-world-cup-fifa-sells-18-million-tickets-for-2022-tournament

[Sithara007]

The 4 teams from South America that have qualified for the Qatar 2022 tournament are:

Brazil           
Argentina           
Ecuador           
Uruguay

When you say you think one of them will win, you cannot seriously suggest Ecuador or Uruguay will win therefore you must be referring to Brazil and Argentina. I guess we will have to wait until the end of the tournament to see whether you were right or not therefore let us agree to disagree 

Obviously I am not crazy enough to predict that Ecuador is going to lift the world cup. If one of the CONMEBOL teams lift the world cup, it is going to be either Brazil or Argentina. Uruguay is a good team, but when was the last time they won the world cup? And then Chile and Colombia failed to qualify. CONMEBOL is the federation from which the maximum number of quality teams missed the qualification. UEFA teams doesn't have the home advantage now. And that is going to be a big blow for them. 

[JollyGood]

The idea that Ecuador or Uruguay will go far in the competition let alone win the tournament seems far-fetched to me. I agree, if one of the South American teams were to win the world cup the smart thinking choice would be on either Brazil or Argentina

It is very difficult to say with confidence which 4 teams will be semi-finalists or which 8 teams will be quarter-finalists and regardless of the UEFA teams having home advantage or not the main European nations expected to do well (Germany, France, England, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands etc) really should perform well and should get to the latter stages.

Obviously I am not crazy enough to predict that Ecuador is going to lift the world cup. If one of the CONMEBOL teams lift the world cup, it is going to be either Brazil or Argentina. Uruguay is a good team, but when was the last time they won the world cup? And then Chile and Colombia failed to qualify. CONMEBOL is the federation from which the maximum number of quality teams missed the qualification. UEFA teams doesn't have the home advantage now. And that is going to be a big blow for them. 

[Sithara007]

Still we have four months to go for the main tournament, and given how unpredictable these matches have been in the past editions, I don't want to proceed any further with this debate. At this point, I agree with the odds being provided by the sportsbooks. They have Brazil as the favorites and most of us have the same opinion as well. My personal preference is for Argentina, but they seems to be overdependent on Messi. I want the final match to be played between these two teams. Let's see whether it happens or not.

[kamvreto]

Talking further about the Qatar 2022 World Cup, of course the technology used for world football events must be really the latest and sophisticated and can help make the match better and more sporty.

FIFA has finally announced about semi-automatic Offside technology, This technology is expected to be a support tool for referees and match officials on the field and in the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) control room to help make decisions on offsides quickly and more accurately.
Sensors are mounted on the ball used for the match and will be connected to the semi-automatic Offside technology.

Similar technology was also used at the 2018 Russia world cup and of course this technology continues to be developed and is more sophisticated than before.
Previously also tested the 2022 FIFA Arab Cub tournament and 2021 FIFA Club World Cup

[nullama]

Talking further about the Qatar 2022 World Cup, of course the technology used for world football events must be really the latest and sophisticated and can help make the match better and more sporty.

FIFA has finally announced about semi-automatic Offside technology, This technology is expected to be a support tool for referees and match officials on the field and in the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) control room to help make decisions on offsides quickly and more accurately.
Sensors are mounted on the ball used for the match and will be connected to the semi-automatic Offside technology.

Similar technology was also used at the 2018 Russia world cup and of course this technology continues to be developed and is more sophisticated than before.
Previously also tested the 2022 FIFA Arab Cub tournament and 2021 FIFA Club World Cup

~snip~

Oh man, to be honest I think all these new technologies applied to football are not doing anything positive to it in my view. Making everything more robotic like doesn't make the sport more attractive, it lessens the experience.

The whole point of having a human referee is to have him look at the game and interpret it in a human way. Who cares if after a computer review it was found that the ball was 0.001 cm away from the goal. Whatever the referee calls, goes. That's why he's there in the first place.

If you want all that tech, then go watch the RoboCup. By the way, in 2050 they will have a match between the robots and the human champions.

[n0ne]

Still we have four months to go for the main tournament, and given how unpredictable these matches have been in the past editions, I don't want to proceed any further with this debate. At this point, I agree with the odds being provided by the sportsbooks. They have Brazil as the favorites and most of us have the same opinion as well. My personal preference is for Argentina, but they seems to be overdependent on Messi. I want the final match to be played between these two teams. Let's see whether it happens or not.

Four months will run as if like two days. Already majority of the tickets for the World Cup matches were sold. By now 1.8million match tickets were sold in two batches. The next set of sale is goin on and it is expected to close by the end of August. Most of them have made Brazil to be the favourite, but I have a different opinion on some small teams making big wins same as that we experienced in the qualifiers.

[JollyGood]

The game seems to be getting more and more technical on a technological basis as the years go by. After goal line technology came in, that was a welcomed move because of many goals being incorrectly awarded or incorrectly disallowed by referees and linesmen/women making mistakes.

After that VAR came along and after many bumps in the road it still is not a perfect piece of advancement yet as there have been many dubious decisions that were taken and still do even though several years have passed. I hope the latest technology to enter the game at a crucial tournament (such as a world cup) does not become a hindrance which damages the enjoyment factor fans expect.

Talking further about the Qatar 2022 World Cup, of course the technology used for world football events must be really the latest and sophisticated and can help make the match better and more sporty.

FIFA has finally announced about semi-automatic Offside technology, This technology is expected to be a support tool for referees and match officials on the field and in the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) control room to help make decisions on offsides quickly and more accurately.
Sensors are mounted on the ball used for the match and will be connected to the semi-automatic Offside technology.

Similar technology was also used at the 2018 Russia world cup and of course this technology continues to be developed and is more sophisticated than before.
Previously also tested the 2022 FIFA Arab Cub tournament and 2021 FIFA Club World Cup