We just had the EUROs and Copa America not too long ago and yet we're already coming down the home stretch of qualifiers for the next World Cup. UEFA is in the midst of the their last match day of the first round. Meanwhile, CONCACAF is at the midway point. In 2018 there were several big names that missed out (Italy, Netherlands, USA) but for now it appears that all of the favorites are positioned to progress. With the 2026 tournament expanding to 48 countries the qualifiers could take on a whole different look from here on out. Here are the standings as of 11/14/2021:

AFC

Group A
Iran - 13
South Korea - 11
Lebanon - 5
Iraq - 4
United Arab Emirates - 3
Syria - 2

Group B
Saudi Arabia - 13
Australia - 10
Japan - 9
Oman - 7
China PR - 4
Vietnam - 0

CAF
Mali, Egypt, Senegal, and Morocco have already qualified for the final round. Altogether there will be ten group winners from the second round drawn into five home-and-away ties to determine who advances to the World Cup.

CONCACAF
United States - 14
Mexico - 14
Canada - 13
Panama - 11
Costa Rica - 6
Jamaica - 6
El Salvador - 6
Honduras - 3

CONMEBOL
Brazil - 34 (qualified)
Argentina - 28
Ecuador - 20
Chile - 16
Colombia - 16
Uruguay - 16
Peru - 14
Paraguay - 12
Bolivia - 12
Venezuela - 7

OFC
Due to COVID qualifying has yet to begin, and apparently there will be a competition held in Qatar in March 2022.

UEFA

Group A
Portugal - 17
Serbia - 17
Luxembourg - 9
Republic of Ireland - 6
Azerbaijan - 1

Group B
Spain - 16
Sweden - 15
Greece - 9
Georgia - 7
Kosovo - 4

Group C
Italy - 15
Switzerland - 15
Northern Ireland - 8
Bulgaria - 8
Lithuania - 3

Group D
France - 15 (qualified)
Finland - 11
Ukraine - 9
Bosnia and Herzegovina - 7
Kazakhstan - 3

Group E
Belgium - 19 (qualified)
Wales - 14
Czech Republic - 11
Estonia - 4
Belarus - 3

Group F
Denmark - 27 (qualified)
Scotland - 20
Israel - 13
Austria - 13
Faroe Islands - 4
Moldova - 1

Group G
Netherlands - 20
Turkey - 18
Norway - 18
Montenegro - 12
Latvia - 6
Gibraltar - 0

Group H
Russia - 22
Croatia - 20
Slovakia - 11
Slovenia - 11
Malta - 5
Cyprus - 5

Group I
England - 23
Poland - 20
Albania - 15
Hungary - 14
Andorra - 6
San Marino - 0

Group J
Germany - 24 (qualified)
North Macedonia - 15
Romania - 14
Armenia - 12
Iceland - 9
Liechtenstein - 1

The most up-to-date standings can be viewed here. The two countries I follow closely are USA and Poland. Poland are pretty much set for the playoff round, but if they can win their last match against Hungary they will be seeded and end up with a better draw. I'm sure plenty of neutral fans would love to watch Lewandowski compete in Qatar and since he's now 33 who knows if this could be his last chance to play in a World Cup. Interestingly, they just brought Aston Villa's Matty Cash into the fold. Even the President of Poland got involved to expedite his citizenship request. I recall back in 2012 when they were hosting EURO 2012 they brought in a few other guys who were barely Polish in an effort to bolster the team and some people thought that practice was distasteful. They seem to be welcoming Cash in with open arms, however. As for the US it seems like they're on track to avoid the embarrassment they suffered last time when they couldn't qualify. They've got a lot guys playing at top clubs nowadays so the expectations seem to be high for this crop of players. The other day they just beat Mexico for the third time this year and that sort of flipped the script because they had been getting dominated by them the last few years. I still think their squad is pretty raw so I'm not expecting big things until 2026. Before the qualification campaign began I had expected Canada to be more competitive this time around and now I am expecting them to qualify. They are definitely a program that is on the rise.

Leave it to Italy to make it exciting! OMG. USA with a big win against Mexico.

Andorra beat San Marino 3-nil. 35 years of exciting soccer in San Marino

mke717spotter wrote:

In 2018 there were several big names that missed out (Italy, Netherlands, USA) but for now it appears that all of the favorites are positioned to progress.

Apparently I spoke too soon. Portugal lost at home to Serbia on a late goal and now they've been relegated to the playoff route. I also didn't realize it but UEFA's playoff format is more complicated this time around. Previously the second place teams would just face each other in home-and-away ties.

mke717spotter wrote:

mke717spotter wrote:

In 2018 there were several big names that missed out (Italy, Netherlands, USA) but for now it appears that all of the favorites are positioned to progress.

Apparently I spoke too soon. Portugal lost at home to Serbia on a late goal and now they've been relegated to the playoff route. I also didn't realize it but UEFA's playoff format is more complicated this time around. Previously the second place teams would just face each other in home-and-away ties.

I am not sure you can class the USA as a big name in football.

Certainly not in the same sentance as Italy and Netherlands.

Always fun to see what "exotic" nations are going to qualify.

For Mali, it would be their first WC, but I doubt they'll survive the last round of qualifying.
I hope Canada will make it as well, for their 2nd world cup ever. I'm a bit of a Jonathan David fan.

It looks like there'll be very few surprises in Europe. Although I think the Netherlands is perfectly capable of getting eliminated vs Norway tomorrow.

Since when is the USA considered a big name in International football?

I'll never forget ESPN calling the USA contenders in the lead up to the 2006 WC and they had Germany listed as pretenders. I think this is when I first realized the power of the media and how they can hype up things. I think USA was ranked 4 or 5 in the world (how???) going into that tournament. USA is NOT a big name in football.

With that said they do have some talented players gaining valuable experience in EPL, Serie A, La Liga etc so they should have a pretty competitive team for 2026 tbh, further boosted by being hosts.

noviorbis77 wrote:

I am not sure you can class the USA as a big name in football.

gkirk wrote:

Since when is the USA considered a big name in International football?

maverick4002 wrote:

USA is NOT a big name in football.

The point I was trying to make was that it was a shock that they weren't able to qualify. Back to that original point though, now Italy will also have to contest the playoffs after failing to beat Northern Ireland. Just a few months ago they were crowned champions of Europe and now they might not qualify for the World Cup yet again.

Denmark missed the opportunity to go 10 for nothing, when they lost their final game away against Scotland. Ok, so they showed up with a team consisting largely of substitutes, and had qualified with 2 matches remaining, so probably wasn't massively motivated. 27 points and a score of 30-3 is not bad at all.

Still in two minds whether the WC should be subject to a boycott. They say sport and politics shouldn't mix, but that's exactly what sports washing is all about. One things is absolutely certain: I won't be attending any of the matches in person, and I think to a large extent the stadiums will be more empty than full. Unless Qatar does what it has done at other sports tournaments they've hosted: Commandeer large numbers of expatriate workers to fill up the stadiums. Have vivid memories of the handball WC, where scores of spectators from the sub-continent were looking bedazzled at a sport they'd no clue about about. Hilarious and sad at the same time.

B777LRF wrote:

Still in two minds whether the WC should be subject to a boycott. They say sport and politics shouldn't mix, but that's exactly what sports washing is all about. One things is absolutely certain: I won't be attending any of the matches in person, and I think to a large extent the stadiums will be more empty than full. Unless Qatar does what it has done at other sports tournaments they've hosted: Commandeer large numbers of expatriate workers to fill up the stadiums. Have vivid memories of the handball WC, where scores of spectators from the sub-continent were looking bedazzled at a sport they'd no clue about about. Hilarious and sad at the same time.

I almost wish my home country, the USA, wouldn't qualify due to the politics of Qatar. Problem is that we have a major military base and operations there to protect the oil of the Persian Gulf, the hell with human rights that barely exist in the region. So long as they let the USA do its dirty work there, the Qatar government can have its obscenely financially and human costing WC and domestic policies. Indeed it is 'sports washing' as with the Olympics in PRC China, Russia, and other countries including the USA. The leadership of FIFA is totally corrupt. The WC will be held in the fall which will disrupt many leagues seasons and who knows if Covid-19 will be under control by then. As in the heart of the USA's NFL and part of college/university level American Football seasons, I believe the numbers of viewers here but for some ethnic groups will be very much reduced.

Then you have the bad calls by game officials, the strange upsets, too many teams involved that shouldn't be there to inflate the money pig, the billions bet on the matches too often by people who can't afford to do so and I am not sure this will be a good WC.

mke717spotter wrote:

noviorbis77 wrote:

I am not sure you can class the USA as a big name in football.

gkirk wrote:

Since when is the USA considered a big name in International football?

maverick4002 wrote:

USA is NOT a big name in football.

The point I was trying to make was that it was a shock that they weren't able to qualify. Back to that original point though, now Italy will also have to contest the playoffs after failing to beat Northern Ireland. Just a few months ago they were crowned champions of Europe and now they might not qualify for the World Cup yet again.

The USA was never a lock to get in, they have never lived up to their female counterparts. As for Italy they have a great Goalkeeper and can score but have leaks in midfield and defense bigtime. They can hang with European teams but South America will eat them up if they don't improve.

Some 'high stakes' games today.

Algeria vs Burkina Faso: Winner advances to final round
Nigeria vs Cape Verde: Same
Cameroon vs Ivory Coast: Same (I will try to watch this one)
D.R Congo vs Benin: Same

Netherlands vs Norway: Winner advances to WC

Argentina vs Brazil: Just because its these two, Arg might qualify with the win.

NIKV69 wrote:

[

The USA was never a lock to get in, they have never lived up to their female counterparts. As for Italy they have a great Goalkeeper and can score but have leaks in midfield and defense bigtime. They can hang with European teams but South America will eat them up if they don't improve.

I'd argue the 2020(1) Euros were Italy's swan song for this generation. That's a crew getting long in the tooth. SA always field good to great teams but in my mind the elite right now are France, England and Spain (in that order) with Germany and Belgium strong threats. I'd put Brazil and Argentina in that same category. One of those seven is bound to win the prize in Qatar. Dream dark horse would be South Korea.

wingman wrote:

NIKV69 wrote:

[

The USA was never a lock to get in, they have never lived up to their female counterparts. As for Italy they have a great Goalkeeper and can score but have leaks in midfield and defense bigtime. They can hang with European teams but South America will eat them up if they don't improve.

I'd argue the 2020(1) Euros were Italy's swan song for this generation. That's a crew getting long in the tooth. SA always field good to great teams but in my mind the elite right now are France, England and Spain (in that order) with Germany and Belgium strong threats. I'd put Brazil and Argentina in that same category. One of those seven is bound to win the prize in Qatar. Dream dark horse would be South Korea.

I beg to differ, I think Italy has gotten younger and better up front but have lost that suffocating defense. Let us face it the Goalie won that Euro for them he was insane. If Italy can get a few good middies and defensemen they can play with any team.

NIKV69 wrote:

mke717spotter wrote:

noviorbis77 wrote:

I am not sure you can class the USA as a big name in football.

gkirk wrote:

Since when is the USA considered a big name in International football?

maverick4002 wrote:

USA is NOT a big name in football.

The point I was trying to make was that it was a shock that they weren't able to qualify. Back to that original point though, now Italy will also have to contest the playoffs after failing to beat Northern Ireland. Just a few months ago they were crowned champions of Europe and now they might not qualify for the World Cup yet again.

The USA was never a lock to get in, they have never lived up to their female counterparts. As for Italy they have a great Goalkeeper and can score but have leaks in midfield and defense bigtime. They can hang with European teams but South America will eat them up if they don't improve.

Nobody is ever a lock, as proved by the Dutch and Italians last go around, but the US not getting out of qualifying last cycle was a shock.

They had been to seven straight WC, even though 1994 was a free pass for hosting, and the popularity of the game and depth and talent of the player pool had increased immensely over the past couple decades. It’s not like the US was trying to get through UEFA or CONMEBOL. There’s no excuse for the US and Mexico to not qualify every cycle given their population sizes, domestic leagues, and money thrown at the game compared to the rest of the confederation.

Updated standings as of 11/17/2021:

AFC

Group A
Iran - 16
South Korea - 14
United Arab Emirates - 6
Lebanon - 5
Iraq - 4
Syria - 2

Group B
Saudi Arabia - 16
Japan - 12
Australia - 11
Oman - 7
China - 5
Vietnam - 0

CAF
Algeria, Cameroon, DR Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tunisia qualified for the final round.

CONCACAF
Canada - 16
United States - 15
Mexico - 14
Panama - 14
Costa Rica - 9
Jamaica - 7
El Salvador - 6
Honduras - 3

CONMEBOL
Brazil - 35 (qualified)
Argentina - 29 (qualified)
Ecuador - 23
Colombia - 17
Peru - 17
Chile - 16
Uruguay - 16
Bolivia - 15
Paraguay - 13
Venezuela - 7

UEFA
Germany, Denmark, France, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland, and Netherlands have qualified for the World Cup.
Portugal, Scotland, Italy, Russia, Sweden, Wales, Turkey, Poland, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Austria, and Czech Republic will contest the playoffs.

Some of my takeaways:

- Uruguay is another regular participant who looks to have their work cut out for them this time.
- Who would have thought Canada would be leading CONCACAF after the halfway point? Mexico considers any loss to the US unacceptable, so imagine how they're feeling now after going down against Canada. Scheduling the game in Edmonton and playing in such frigid conditions surely gave Canada a bit more of a home advantage. The US is hosting El Salvador and Honduras in January/February and I'd like to see them follow suit and select somewhere like Minneapolis or Chicago for these games.
- The US's play on the road continues to be uninspiring. This has been a trend in World Cup qualifying for a long time. Granted, they were missing some of their playmakers today (Reyna, McKennie, and Pulisic), but if you exclude the second half outburst in Honduras they've been so inept.
- Poland completely screwed themselves in their final group match. They benched Lewandowski, then proceeded to lose to Hungary at home, and now they will have to go on the road in the playoffs. A draw would have been sufficient to host a match instead. I'm not sure if the coach simply decided to give him a rest or if someone from Bayern called and requested that he be held out, but I am giving them almost no hope of progressing now, especially since they might be matched up with Italy or Portugal.

In addition, the Netherlands has no business qualifying given the last two matches

About the US, they have regularly qualified because the qualifications are regional, so they're among the best teams in their pool. If the pools were global, it would be another story (but it wouldn't really be a world cup, more like a Euro-South America cup).

The US has the most talented group of players ever assembled in its history and yet they are struggling with teams like Jamaica. And then there are the injuries. Why is it that US players have so much trouble with injuries?

victrola wrote:

The US has the most talented group of players ever assembled in its history and yet they are struggling with teams like Jamaica. And then there are the injuries. Why is it that US players have so much trouble with injuries?

Yes, there's talent, but they're still pretty young and as a group they haven't play a ton together with the national team. It also doesn't help that Pulisic, Reyna, and McKennie (three of their more important players) have been in/out of the team recently due to injuries and discipline. You're right about the injuries though. Pulisic in particular seems pretty frail. He's 23 now and let's face it usually injuries only become more of an issue when a player gets older.

Please don't throw stone in me but I honestly found this year Champions League kinda boring. The only two teams I really enjoyed watching where Italy and Belgium.

singingamy wrote:

Please don't throw stone in me but I honestly found this year Champions League kinda boring. The only two teams I really enjoyed watching where Italy and Belgium.

Champions League? Nation League you mean? And then I full-heartedly agree.

mke717spotter wrote:

- Who would have thought Canada would be leading CONCACAF after the halfway point? Mexico considers any loss to the US unacceptable, so imagine how they're feeling now after going down against Canada. Scheduling the game in Edmonton and playing in such frigid conditions surely gave Canada a bit more of a home advantage. The US is hosting El Salvador and Honduras in January/February and I'd like to see them follow suit and select somewhere like Minneapolis or Chicago for these games.

You got half your wish. Minneapolis (well, St. Paul actually) will host one of the matches. The other will be in Columbus.

The draw for the European playoffs was held today and the possibility of Italy and Portugal ending up in the same bracket has been realized. Only one can make it to the World Cup.

Path A
Austria @ Wales (winner hosts final)
Ukraine @ Scotland

Path B
Poland @ Russia (winner hosts final)
Czech Republic @ Sweden

Path C
Turkey @ Portugal (winner hosts final)
North Macedonia @ Italy

In addition, the two inter-confederation play-offs will be AFC fourth round winner vs CONMEBOL 5th place and CONCACAF 4th place vs OFC winner. These used to be two-legged home-and-away series, however, they will now be one-off matches played in Qatar.

As a sidenote, I've never understood why they don't just fold OFC into AFC.

mke717spotter wrote:

As a sidenote, I've never understood why they don't just fold OFC into AFC.

Why should they? First, if they were in AFC those small island teams might have to travel to Lebanon, which would be a huge issue. Second, chances that one of OFC members qualifies for WC are probably higher with half a place granted, instead of having to play all the way through AFC qualifiers. From 2026 on they will even have one starter guaranteed.

mke717spotter wrote:

The draw for the European playoffs was held today and the possibility of Italy and Portugal ending up in the same bracket has been realized. Only one can make it to the World Cup.

Path A
Austria @ Wales (winner hosts final)
Ukraine @ Scotland

Path B
Poland @ Russia (winner hosts final)
Czech Republic @ Sweden

Path C
Turkey @ Portugal (winner hosts final)
North Macedonia @ Italy

In addition, the two inter-confederation play-offs will be AFC fourth round winner vs CONMEBOL 5th place and CONCACAF 4th place vs OFC winner. These used to be two-legged home-and-away series, however, they will now be one-off matches played in Qatar.

As a sidenote, I've never understood why they don't just fold OFC into AFC.

Of course Italy has to make it hard on themselvs.

wirkey wrote:

Why should they? First, if they were in AFC those small island teams might have to travel to Lebanon, which would be a huge issue. Second, chances that one of OFC members qualifies for WC are probably higher with half a place granted, instead of having to play all the way through AFC qualifiers. From 2026 on they will even have one starter guaranteed.

I think that more scheduling of competitive matches with a wider level of skill would eventually improve the region over time. That's precisely why Australia left for AFC and I think New Zealand would benefit from it also. They haven't faced any meaningful opposition in a competitive match since the inter-confederation play-off against Peru in 2018.

With the latest qualifying window now concluded Iran and South Korea have punched their tickets to the World Cup. The other noteworthy occurrence was the US beating Honduras 3-0 in a game where it was 5 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff. It was the coldest game in USMNT history, and I'd be interested to know if it was the coldest game ever. I saw a lot of American fans complaining on social media about the venue choice. If the NFL can play when its ice-cold out, then why can't this game go ahead? Besides, it's not like the Central American countries never scheduled their home matches against the US during the height of the day in order to take advantage of the heat/humidity.

mke717spotter wrote:

Path B
Poland @ Russia (winner hosts final)

Does anyone think that FIFA would punish Russia and kick them out of the competition if they actually end up making a move on Ukraine? That might be Poland's only hope for progressing because I don't think they've ever won in Moscow before.

mke717spotter wrote:

It was the coldest game in USMNT history, and I'd be interested to know if it was the coldest game ever. I saw a lot of American fans complaining on social media about the venue choice.

I watched it OMG was that cool!

Welcome to Minnesota. The first thing you should know about being here in the winter is it's cold, REALLY cold, and we consider 25-30 degrees Fahrenheit to be a heat wave.

I wonder why they didn't or couldn't use US Bank Stadium since that's indoors.

af773atmsp wrote:

Welcome to Minnesota. The first thing you should know about being here in the winter is it's cold, REALLY cold, and we consider 25-30 degrees Fahrenheit to be a heat wave.

I wonder why they didn't or couldn't use US Bank Stadium since that's indoors.

Because that would take their advantage away since their opponents would have rather played inside.

David and Goliath:
No Italy at World Cup tournament in Qatar!

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/60869125

marcelh wrote:

David and Goliath:
No Italy at World Cup tournament in Qatar!

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/60869125

Unbelievable. Euro Cup champs.

The US is in a good position to qualify. Whenever they play down in Mexico its always hyped up as a tall order but I actually think they probably should've came away with a W. That's three straight qualifying cycles now that they've been able to secure a draw at Estadio Azteca. A win at home against Panama will just about to do it, but anything less than that and they might have to get a result in Costa Rica on the final matchday, another venue where they haven't fared well.

mke717spotter wrote:

Does anyone think that FIFA would punish Russia and kick them out of the competition if they actually end up making a move on Ukraine? That might be Poland's only hope for progressing because I don't think they've ever won in Moscow before.

To answer my own question, Poland advanced automatically after Russia was kicked out and they will now host Sweden in the final qualification match. Obviously the war in Ukraine is a terrible thing, but for the Polish team it worked out pretty conveniently. I still think Sweden is a tough match-up (they just lost to them in the group stage at EURO 2020) but they are in a much better position now.

marcelh wrote:

No Italy at World Cup tournament in Qatar!

You can't say it's completely unexpected since they would've had to also beat Portugal and that's obviously no gimme, but losing at home to North Macedonia is quite something. Italy had lost just 1 of its previous 39 games, and then when you factor in that they also missed the previous World Cup and then won EURO 2020 its even more stunning. The people in Italy must be going mad.

NIKV69 wrote:

marcelh wrote:

David and Goliath:
No Italy at World Cup tournament in Qatar!

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/60869125

Unbelievable. Euro Cup champs.

Second consecutive WC without Italy.

scbriml wrote:

Second consecutive WC without Italy.

I have some close friends from Croatia and they have been comforting me. I tell you we saw it in the Euros where they rode a hot goalie. They defense was bad and they didn't really have the playmakers or passers. They need some real retooling.

The list of qualified teams:

Qatar
Germany
Denmark
Brazil
France
Belgium
Croatia
Spain
Serbia
England
Switzerland
Netherlands
Argentina
Iran
South Korea
Japan
Saudi Arabia
Ecuador
Uruguay
Canada
Ghana
Senegal
Portugal
Poland
Tunisia
Morocco
Cameroon
USA
Mexico

So far Canada and Qatar are really the only "newcomers." There are still three spots up for grabs and these will be decided in June:

Costa Rica vs. New Zealand
Wales vs. the winner of Scotland-Ukraine
Peru vs. the winner of Australia-UAE

And we're already less than 48 hours away from the World Cup draw which takes place April 1. Here is how the pots are projected the shake out:

Pot 1
Qatar
Brazil
Belgium
France
Argentina
England
Spain
Portugal

Pot 2
Mexico
United States
Netherlands
Denmark
Germany
Uruguay
Switzerland
Croatia

Pot 3
Senegal
IR Iran
Japan
Morocco
Serbia
Poland
South Korea
Tunisia

Pot 4
Canada
Cameroon
Ecuador
Saudi Arabia
Ghana
Wales/Scotland/Ukraine
Costa Rica/New Zealand
Peru/Australia/United Arab Emirates

Maybe its just me but some of the celebrating on the US side seems a little over the top, especially on the heels of such a lackluster defeat. From the US's position, qualifying for the World Cup should be the minimum expectation. I'm happy they made it but for all this talk about a new team and a new era, it seems like more of the same old same old. Their results away from home were generally not good and they only qualified by the slimmest of margins (goal difference). Their key players are all pretty young so my expectation is that four years from now they'll be primed to do some damage on home soil.

mke717spotter wrote:

Maybe its just me but some of the celebrating on the US side seems a little over the top, especially on the heels of such a lackluster defeat. From the US's position, qualifying for the World Cup should be the minimum expectation. I'm happy they made it but for all this talk about a new team and a new era, it seems like more of the same old same old. Their results away from home were generally not good and they only qualified by the slimmest of margins (goal difference). Their key players are all pretty young so my expectation is that four years from now they'll be primed to do some damage on home soil.

Yes, this. People were going nuts over a 5-1 win over Panama at home. While it was clearly an important win and reason to celebrate, a 5-1 at home against any other CONCACAF team with the exception of Mexico should be the expectation (yes, Canada has a good team at the moment, but still). In fact, there should be questions/disappointment about the fact that the team was unable to keep a clean sheet. There should be no reason why the US can't cruise through qualification in CONCACAF every cycle.

Although thanks to the watering down of the World Cup with the ridiculous expansion to 48 teams, failure to quality should be a problem of the past. Those future world cup matches in a 48-team field like Slovakia v Cameroon are sure to be classics.

But here's hoping the US gets drawn into Qatar's group!

England has got USA.

Very happy with that

Results are in:

https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/w ... d-football

So, who is the 'group of death' ? Maybe C (Argentina, Mexico, Poland) ?
The USA, just like 1998, in the same group as Iran, that is going to be interesting considering our hostile relations with them now and for decades.
Some groups still need a team selected due to Covid-19 issues.
A lot in the USA won't be interested in this WC as late in our regular season NFL Pro American Football and part of the College American Football seasons.
The site is still has hot political, social and human rights issues.

ltbewr wrote:

So, who is the 'group of death' ? Maybe C (Argentina, Mexico, Poland) ?

Group E for me Spain, Germany, Japan and likely Costa Rica. Any of the first 3 can advance, and Costa Rica is always a tough team. They took 19 of a possible 21 points in the last half of qualifying, the only blemish was a draw away in Mexico. They also have experience being succesful at a World Cup, winning the group of death in 2014.

No clear cut Group of Death IMO. Group E has two clear favorites (Japan and Costa Rica are no gimmes, but those are two big gun European squads), whereas G and H both have three teams could conceivably do it (or actually done it recently). Group C could be, too: Poland has made the podium a couple of times (1974 and 1982 if memory serves right) so that's some history there, plus, they have Lewandowsky. The last time Mexico was eliminated in the first round was in 1978 (Poland was in that group BTW. I'm hoping for that history NOT to repeat itself LOL), so they could make it to the second round yet again only to crash and burn immediately after, and Argentina, well, historical powerhouse and Messi.

emperortk wrote:

People were going nuts over a 5-1 win over Panama at home.

Another thing that bothered me is that the players paraded around the field with a big "qualified" banner after that game, even though it wasn't a sure thing yet.

ltbewr wrote:

So, who is the 'group of death' ? Maybe C (Argentina, Mexico, Poland) ?

I also don't think there is a true group of death this time around, but I would agree with you that C sticks out to me as the toughest. A real group of death would have been something like Brazil/Germany/Senegal/Canada or France/USA/Poland/Ecuador. Group A will probably be overlooked but I think it actually shapes up to be pretty competitive. You have to think that the home crowd will probably give Qatar a boost as well.

ltbewr wrote:

The USA, just like 1998, in the same group as Iran, that is going to be interesting considering our hostile relations with them now and for decades.

That loss in '98 is widely considered one of their worst ever defeats.

AM744 wrote:

Poland has made the podium a couple of times (1974 and 1982 if memory serves right) so that's some history there, plus, they have Lewandowsky.

The last three times Poland has participated in the World Cup (2002, 2006, 2018) they have been quickly eliminated after losing their first two games each time. In each case they also went on to win their final game when they had nothing to play for.

ltbewr wrote:

So, who is the 'group of death' ? Maybe C (Argentina, Mexico, Poland) ?
The USA, just like 1998, in the same group as Iran, that is going to be interesting considering our hostile relations with them now and for decades.
Some groups still need a team selected due to Covid-19 issues.
A lot in the USA won't be interested in this WC as late in our regular season NFL Pro American Football and part of the College American Football seasons.
The site is still has hot political, social and human rights issues.

Iran and USA will be fighting over who finishes last in the group.

mke717spotter wrote:

emperortk wrote:

People were going nuts over a 5-1 win over Panama at home.

Another thing that bothered me is that the players paraded around the field with a big "qualified" banner after that game, even though it wasn't a sure thing yet.

Interesting, I didn't catch that. Makes the loss to CR even more of an embarrassing slap in the face.

mke717spotter wrote:

ltbewr wrote:

The USA, just like 1998, in the same group as Iran, that is going to be interesting considering our hostile relations with them now and for decades.

That loss in '98 is widely considered one of their worst ever defeats.

The only positive thing to come from that debacle was when the old daily show with Kilborn ran a graphic during their story about the game that read "not so great satan."

noviorbis77 wrote:

England has got USA.

Very happy with that

noviorbis77 wrote:

Iran and USA will be fighting over who finishes last in the group.

Oh look, we found Robert Green. Don't worry, football is totally coming home this year mate. Try not to let it slip by your hands and into the net this time.

emperortk wrote:

noviorbis77 wrote:

England has got USA.
Very happy with that

noviorbis77 wrote:

Iran and USA will be fighting over who finishes last in the group.

Oh look, we found Robert Green. Don't worry, football is totally coming home this year mate. Try not to let it slip by your hands and into the net this time.

Yes, the USA team is weak and likely won't make it out of its group.

Of course hope springs eternal for England, likely get out of their Group and fizzle in the next round. Brazil is as usual the favorite, likely Germany 2nd favorite. Of course there will be the 'Cinderella' of a team like Iceland was from Africa, Asia who will go beyond their group and next round.

petertenthije wrote:

Results are in:

https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/w ... d-football

The Netherlands probably can't complain, although there still is a fair chance they'll find a way to not make it through their group.
My country, Belgium, doesn't have the easiest group possible. Still they should normally qualify. But then probably meet Germany or Spain. This is our golden generation's last chance to win a major tournament but I doubt they'll make it as far as in 2018. Several key players have retired, the others are 30+, there are no younger players who even come close to De Bruyne, Lukaku, what's left of Hazard, ...