^ Haha, that's cute. Australia is going home, 3 and out. 0 points in 2 games. While Iran's hopes will be kept alive till the last match day. And like I said. Uzbekistan chokes when it matters, you'd have to be silly to consider Jordan to be a better team. Oh and would you please send me a jar of your tears. It'd go nicely with the one I have from '98.
Iran was ridiculed/name and shamed from the media about they played against Nigeria. Rather go 3 and out playing the way we are right now than 1 D 2 L playing the way Iran plays because it embarrasses our confederation which is something Iran seems to excel at quite frequently One only has to use the search function on BS and type in "australia" and then type "iran" to see the difference don't get salty because a certain australian team that may well go 3 and out - is still the talk of the world cup because of our fantastic sexual style of football you silly chewbacca look a like
I think that campaign was a bit of a fluke compared to what they've done the past 10 to 15 years. I think they've looked better recently too. Plus I'm not overly impressed with the talent that Ecuador and Uruguay have (apart from a couple stand out players). I really don't see much of a threat from Bolivia or Peru, and I doubt Venezuela does as well as they did this time around. I could be wrong, but that's just what I think.
Conmebol generally goes in cycles, I think Paraguay experienced the typical fall from grace others have experienced I dont believe anyone has gone from last to qualification in the past but going by last south american sub 20 results Paraguay do have good youth players coming through http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_South_American_Youth_Championship#First_stage then again going by those results Brazil and Argentina dont have a chance
Venezuela is improving. Peru has decent young talent. Paraguay has recent World Cup tradition. Bolivia has climate and some successful clubs right now. South America is going to be a dog fight and I won't be surprised if any of those teams sneak into Russia really.
Given that Ukraine is the highest ranked team not at the WC (ranked 16th by FIFA, for what it's worth), and, clearly a solid side, I expect we will make it to Russia 2018, if for no other reason than to pay back for what Russia's doing to our country at the moment.
Those types of falls are more common in CONMEBOL due to the long qualifying process. Teams that dig themselves into deep holes 6-7 matches in will more commonly readjust expectations toward bleeding new guys and trying combinations for development that would be expected to pay dividends at Copa or the next WC. The decline is overstated as a result.
I doubt there will be any change in qualifiers from Conmebol or Concacaf. Ecuador is weaker than some other South American sides, but in Qualifying they get to play in the altitude, which is an advantage. Maybe Honduras will give way to some other Central American country, but it's difficult to guess at this point. In Europe the only team that I think could've done some damage in the WC and didn't make it is Sweden. However in 2018 Ibrahimovic will be gone, so not sure how good they will be.
Depends on the coach for Ecuador really. If they hire a Colombian who knows what he is doing then they qualify. That has been the reality down there.
I cant believe some clowns still regard Peru as being in the same level as Bolivia, frequently mentioning them in the same sentence dissing both at the same time, when the reality is Peru has a lot more talent, probably at the same level than for instance Chile and Ecuador, they just haven't found good leadership that cant direct all this talent in a good way, like Bielsa did in Chile.
I'm not an expert on South American talent, but I agree. Peru produces some good talents such as Fanfan, Pizarro, Vargas..etc I don't know much of Bolivia, they seem to have a home based team with players that are unknown for the average football fan, but that doesn't mean they're bad, just not as good as Peru IMO. Peru suffers from playing in a tough confederation with teams that are better than them.
UEFA: any of these teams (in order) have a chance Sweden Denmark Ukraine Norway Slovakia Serbia Romania Bulgaria Turkey Poland Czech Republic Ireland Slovenia Hungary Austria Scotland Israel Montenegro AFC: Kurdistan - qualifies easily if the Kurdish FA is admitted to FIFA by then CONMEBOL: Uruguay is definitely not going to make it to the next tournament CONCACAF: I could see Jamaica making it. CAF (I could see these teams making it): Egypt Morocco Tunisia Libya
Don't see it tbh. They're not that good, just had the luck of being in the same group as the weakest POT 1 in Africa : South Africa.
Did you watch them against Nigeria in the first leg? The football they produced was brilliant and dazzling. They matched the Nigerians and if not were the better team in the first leg. But Nigerians experience shone through however. Ethiopia is going through unbelievable changes recently. The country is developing in every aspect from football to health to food and economics. We are building infrastructure everywhere. In nearly every state capital we are building modern football stadiums along with football culture which nurtures youth development. The recent CAN and World Cup qualifiers are just the beginning and adding incredible experience. We have the talent, resources, skill and will. All we need is proper management and I’m confident we’ll make 2018 World Cup. The way we play football is beautiful. However, all I am worried about is political tension. Ethiopia is a sleeping giant in every aspect