Saudi Arabia has qualified by finishing second in its third round qualifying group. Syria finished third in its third round group, which means it now has to play Australia, the third-place finisher from the other group. If it wins that home-and-away aggregate tie, it then has to play the fourth-placed team from CONCACAF. If it wins that tie also, it will then have qualified for the World Cup. Needless to say, this is not very likely.
About France, yes they have an unbelievable collection of talent, but there are two problems. Their depth isn't much of a strength in such a short span. It's more of an assurance for their long-term prospects. More importantly, the talent that completes the puzzle for them likely isn't ready to win this summer and the talent that is ready is likely not enough.
I see it being a draw. IT could be very much being like the match in the Copa America in which both teams just can't put it in the back of the net and stay disciplined defensively.
As for Argentina-Peru it is interesting that they will play that match in the Bombonera stadium home of Boca Juniors. I can't remember the last time they played a qualifier in that stadium. I remember a qualifier between Colombia and Argentina being played there... ... but that was 20 years ago. Was there one more recent than that? (I am too lazy to look it up.) The venue change could be a big factor in what happens on the field in that crucial match. I heard that the pitch has been muddied up by rain.
Actually, for Syria their match-up vs. Australia, is more a away and away type of playoff, as they have never played their home games at home during the present qualifier campaign. During the AFC preliminary group phase, they played their home games in Oman, but for AFC final group round, they switched their home games to Malaysia instead.
I dunno. For me depth is important even in a short tournament like the WC. There will likely be suspensions and injuries for every team that goes deep into the tournament. Also, being able to bring-in big talent off the bench carries a greater importance in matches that can go 120 minutes. Furthermore, some players are just not going to be playing their best. If Giroud stinks it up the first two matches, France can replace him. They don't just have to stick with what isn't working like lesser teams may have to.
How has France depth at all? They have good attacking talent and in this area even depth. In midfield, defense and in goal they have a decent team and no depth.
Well, for an National Team I would say they have decent depth in midfield. Not compared to some of the super clubs like Madrid or Bayern but having Lemar, Payet and Rabiot coming off the bench is a nice luxury to complement what I would rate as a strong starting midfield, that all except maybe a few NTs don't have .
I think France has good depth at midfield. They always have a bunch of big tall skillful midfielders who know how to pass the ball accurately. Especially at Defensive midfield and central midfield. In the back they may not be as deep or experienced but they still have talent.
I do think that Peru has the hardest match in round 17 out of the 5 main contenders to take the remaining 3.5 spots Colombia is at home vs Paraguay Chile is at home vs a demoralised Ecuador Argentina is at home, while Peru is away at a place they have never won in WCQ (or possibly ever) Uruguay is away against an eliminated Venezuela if results go as expected then we could end up with a table for round 18 that looks like this Uruguay 30 Colombia 29 Argentina 27 Chile 26 Peru 24 essentially Peru would need to win vs Colombia and hope Brazil take out Chile
Uruguay who can also be a favorite in this 2018 tournament can also struggle against a team like Venezuela who has played much better since Dudamel became manager. It would not shock me to see Uruguay lose some points there.
very true. However they close the qualifiers against Bolivia at home, so should be ok on their current 27 points