Edited by Alex Smith
The 2022 World Cup qualifiers party is here again, and October’s international break offers a great opportunity to understand which direction the wind is blowing in five out of the six competing confederations - qualification in Oceania still hasn’t been arranged.
So far only one national team has qualified, and that’s Qatar, the hosts. 76 have already lost their chance to be there, whilst 134 could still, theoretically, book their place in the World Cup finals - fulfilling the dream that made us all fall in love with the beautiful game.
Stories are around every corner in the international break, and this time around it’s no different. As usual, with the race to qualify for the sport’s biggest tournament, it’s about more than just football.
AFRICA
This international window kicks off in Africa. Tuesday night saw a couple of interesting clashes, starting a series of double-headers, home and away. Well, as close to ‘home and away’ as you can get. Many countries weren’t approved to host ties due to Covid-19 restrictions, so ‘home and neutral venue’ is more likely instead - Egypt and Morocco will play host to these.
Sudan played Guinea and finished 1-1, while Morocco took on Guinea-Bissau. The Atlas Lions was without Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech, after he was left out of the side by coach Vahid Halilodžić. Morocco were the clear favourites, and their chances improved dramatically before the match. It’s been reported that several members of Guinea-Bissau’s playing and coaching staff suffered from severe diarrhoea after eating dinner, with a few having to be evacuated to hospital.
The Moroccans took advantage of their situation and hammered the visitors 5-0, with each goal more beautiful than the other.
On Thursday, Tunisia will look to continue their perfect record against Mauritania, whilst Nigeria face the Central African Republic, but the real action will take place over the weekend.
Algeria will try to move into third gear against Niger, and Egypt, under the wings of new superstar coach Carlos Quieroz, will be challenged by a Libya side that has surprised us all.
Queiroz has already been caught up in controversy after leaving out the Al-Ahly duo of Magdy Afsha and Mohammed Sheriff from his squad. The demanding Egyptian fans shouted their disapproval against his decision online, as the Ahlawys are considered two of the best players in the Egyptian Premier League.
In response, the Egyptian Football Association quickly published a provisional squad for the 2021 Arab Cup in November and December, with the two players included, hoping to calm down the flames. Queiroz’s camp tried to explain away the omission of Afsha and Sheriff, saying both are exhausted and in need of some rest, but the uproar is already there. They must beat Libya, and win convincingly to open his tenure with the Pharaohs on the right track. Whilst many Egyptian fans will be hoping for attractive football from their new coach, they might end up disappointed, but the results will come.
Luckily for him, Queiroz has the Premier League’s best player, Mohammed Salah, on his books. Salah is eager to prove to the Egyptian people that success hasn’t changed him, and he is ready to get down to business, dirty his legs, and carry them to a second World Cup in succession.
On Saturday the focus will be on Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. The locals host South Africa in a stadium they haven’t lost in for almost a decade. Ethiopian football has been on the right track in the past year, with an improving league and increasing press coverage, and they will look to use the momentum from their 2021 African Cup of Nations qualification to push on and win a World Cup finals ticket. Bahir Dar is a fortress, packed with noisy fans, but this time around it will likely be empty due to the ongoing pandemic.
South Africa’s Bafana Bafana are arriving at this clash in an unpredictable mood, and with low confidence. The nation hosted the 2010 edition of the tournament, but haven’t qualified since, and are still looking to recover from their experience on the world’s biggest stage.
This mission looks far from easy. In his final press conference before the trip to Ethiopia, coach Hugo Broos hinted at struggling relations between the South African league, the PSL, and the South African Football Association. Broos has “a feeling that some clubs in the country are more important than Bafana", and his players will need to put that aside if they have any hope at keeping their World Cup dream alive. In the return leg between the two sides, the SAFA have already guaranteed fans will be in the stands to spur on the Bafana Bafana.
In fact, all teams will play each other again next week, as the second round of games in this stage kicks off.
ASIA
The Asian Qualifiers third round is probably the cream of the crop. There’s clashes between some of the best nations on the continent, interjected with politics, regional prestige, exciting coaches and pure raw talent - it’s just waiting to explode.
There’s a couple of exciting clashes on Thursday, none more so than Iraq taking on Lebanon in Doha. There’s great anticipation for the match, punctuated by tensions over the upcoming performance of outspoken Lebanese singer Elissa in Baghdad at the end of the month. Elissa is a prominent critic of Hezboallah and Iranian policy in the region and, as a result, in Iraq there are calls to boycott her.
In Doha, Iraq coach Dick Advocaat will hope his Lions of Mesopotamia will produce a more convincing performance than they did in September. They’re without their biggest talent, Aris Thessaloniki’s Mohanad Mimi Ali, who is out injured, and there has been uproar in Iraq, with fans furious with recent call-ups to the national team. Advocaat must take all three points from the game to show that he can succeed where his predecessor, Serčko Katanec, failed.
In the United Arab Emirates, all the focus is currently on Expo 2020, one of the biggest events of the year, and taking part in the trendiest emirate of them all. On Thursday though, in a sideshow to the main exposition, all eyes will be on the UAE national team, who host Iran in a crucial encounter in their journey to a dream appearance at the World Cup finals.
In a battle of the juggernauts, Saudi Arabia face Japan and, at last, Australia will be tasked with overcoming the dark horses of the competition so far, Branko Ivankovic’s Oman, also in the Qatari capital, Doha.
On Tuesday, the second round of matches will add even more flavour to this break.
Japan and Australia play each other in another clash of the titans. The Japanese, who lost to Oman in their first match, must get at least four points from the next two matches to still have a chance of qualifying, and they’re facing two of the best sides on the continent. Coach Hajime Moriyasu is remaining calm, but he would be under huge pressure if they lose the next two.
This international break will also see the Shami Derby take place, between Syria and Lebanon, two of the region's most beautiful, yet complicated, nations. The Lebanese started qualifying with a good atmosphere surrounding them, but the Syrians have the stronger side, and will hope to show them who’s boss.
But, with all due respect to the other games, the main event will be on Tuesday, in Azadi Stadium, Tehran. Iran host South Korea in a match between two of Asia’s best.
Reports are circulating in the region, and worldwide, that for the first time since October 2019 female fans would be allowed to enter the Azadi, among the 10,000 fans allowed into the stadium to watch.
The presence of women in the stands for men’s football matches is a big thing in Iran, involving heated discussion of women’s rights, equality, and a fair chance to enjoy the beautiful game. Women were refused access to stadiums after the Islamic revolution in 1979, officially to “protect them from inappropriate male behaviour.”
In September 2019, Esteghlal Tehran supporter Sahar Khoyodari, a woman, received a six month jail term for watching the team she loved. She committed suicide outside the courthouse. Ms Khoyodari had dressed up as a man and attempted to sneak into the stadium, just to try and watch her favourite team.
Since then, the discussion has become more prominent on the world stage, and FIFA has exerted pressure on Iran to allow women into international matches.
After a year-long ban on all fans entering stadiums, due to the coronavirus pandemic, a limited number will be allowed to see the match against South Korea from the stands and, according to reports, some of them will be women.
But it’s hard to read the air, and whether any attempt for female fans to enter will go smoothly. Fingers crossed to all Iranian women hoping to attend the match.
SOUTH AMERICA
Do you remember how the qualifiers in South America went last month? The scandal in the game between Brazil and Argentina saw Brazilian health authorities storming the pitch, which ultimately saw the game suspended.
This time, luckily for CONMEBOL, the two arch-rivals won’t be playing one another, but some heated battles are still expected. Brazil and Argentina top the standings at the moment, but Paraguay, Colombia, Ecuador and Uruguay are still in the mix for the remaining qualifying spots. Peru and Chile are also thereabouts, but will need to fight to stick with the rest of the pack.
There’s still a handful of games to play, and every one of these teams will be biting at the heels of second place Argentina, hoping to avoid the muddy waters that fill third to sixth place.
And this international break is full of clashes that could easily upset the balance of the group. Paraguay host Argentina, and Uruguay take on Colombia in the first round of games. Next week sees the derby between Ecuador and Colombia, and Brazil face third seeds Uruguay in a crucial match. If the Seleção lose, and Argentina beat Peru, then the group stage takes on a whole new meaning.
NORTH AMERICA
There are three matchdays in this window of CONCACAF qualifiers, with plenty of exciting games to keep you company.
Mexico take on Canada on Friday, in a clash between the two leaders in the octagonal. Three days later, Panama host the United States, a match that has traditionally been a trap for the, so far underwhelming, USMNT. Next week, Canada will be hoping to push on further in their quest to qualify for only their second ever World Cup finals, playing Panama in a must win match. If Canada are unable to keep up their good form, El Tri (Mexico) and the US could easily run away with their usual ‘coupons’ for the finals.
Behind the scenes though, the rumblings of the ‘talent war’ between Mexico and the United States are still ongoing. After Ricardo Pepi tied his future to the stars and the stripes, LA Galaxy’s Julio Araujo committed his to El Tri.
So USA or Mexico? This is the question that every young Hispanic talent is asking himself these days, and the answer could cost him a spot at the World Cup.
EUROPE
Oh Europe, good ol’ Europe. This break will define who’s serious about the World Cup and who will have to keep on dreaming.
Whilst one path to the finals, the Nations League semi-final between Italy and Spain, took place on Wednesday night, when the Spaniards put an end to Italy’s 37 matches unbeaten run. This leaves Algeria as the national team with the longest unbeaten run at the moment with 29.
The ‘traditional’ European qualifiers over the weekend should not be less interesting.
Turkey look for a lifeline in their hopes to qualify, as they take on a Norway side without their talismanic striker Erling Håland. Israel take on Scotland, the previous game between the two ended in a 1-1 draw, and this time around it could help decide who grabs a spot in the play-offs. Kosovo face Sweden, who will be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has just celebrated his 40th birthday. The star striker was invited into the squad for this round of fixtures, but had to pull out due to injury.
Plus there’s the opportunity for the first European teams to qualify for next winter’s finals - England, France, Portugal, and Germany will be looking to secure their spots as soon as they can.
Photo by Ethiopian football photojournalist Kidus Yoftahe.
