Potential "Alt" 2018 World Cup tournament?

Well, precisely the kick starting of various overhaul processes is why I would like this tournament to happen. Low pressure but not no pressure. Two or three weeks of having players together. Sounds ideal.

 

I still think that this alternative WC is a lots better idea, than doing the expanssion thing.

Kind of D2 type of WC, although it should not be only invitational, and all confeds should be given at least one spot each.

 

Yes I think a separate Div 2 WC is a better idea than that crappy expanded 48 team disaster.

You would have your regular 32 tournament and an additional 8 team Confederations cup type tournament.

In total it would only be 8 teams less, heck if they really wanted they could have a 16 team tournament and you would still have 48 teams in total with the 2 competitions.

It would be like the Champions League and the UEFA cup. Actually I think this is a great idea. It would also keep teams more motivated in qualifying to be able to qualify for a Div 2 WC once they have been eliminated from the main one.

 

I like more the 32 team main event D1 alternative + 16 team secondary event D2 alternative, hosted by smaller nations (the first, could be in the USA, given the fact they started this idea, and deserve credit for it)

What I would not like though, is to have a D1 WC, for 48 teams + a D2 WC for 48 other teams + D3 WC for 48 other teams + D4 WC .....+ D5 WC.... and, on and on till even the nations that don't exist get to play some sort of WC of somekind. As when FIFA gets their "dirty" hands on these type of things, they usually ruin it big, in almost no time, just to make the coins.

 

Guys, are you really taking this seriously?

Like other poster said before, what do you think Buffón would think of playing in this tournament?

What do you think Robben or Vidal would think?

It'd be like a constant reminder of them failing to classify. They don't need that.

And if you do make it with U-20 teams or sth like that (which makes no sense) it defeats the whole purpose anyway, as you won't have any of the full strength teams or stars playing on it...

 

Why not ?

At a moment of time you aren't playing anything at all, while at the same time many others are, in many cases feels even more devastating, for those affected. Playing a minor tournament during the same period of time allows you to remain active, and to certain extent, it allows you to feel being involved in some sort of competition.

Of course it is not the same as playing the main WC, as no other competition really is going to be the same thing. As you perfectly say, it is very probable that many of the most reputated players might not want to take part in it, but no one is going to put a gun at their back forcing them to play, if they don't want to. In some cases, though, the ones whom will most want to play are preciselly those that almost never even get to play a WC (for instance players from Wales). On respect to others, you really never know (there has never been anything like this before).

And if it ends in a great success, in the future, some teams might even prefer to play here, instead of playing the WC (specially if the main WC is always more and more full of undeserving teams, and this one always manages to have a great level status).

 

I'd be with you if this was a tournament or competition that was established BEFORE this countries were left out of the WC. It would have to had been set even before the qualifiers started. Then it wouldn't feel as forced or artificial...

But this is happening (in such an explicit way) only because the major and historic footballing countries that were left out, and specially USA and them having a knack for making an event out of thin air...

 

Hey you know what, U20 teams mainly coming to it is fine by me. The future is in the young guys, so for teams that have already lost out on the WC, that's a great way to both participate in something global and look to the future.

 

So what? Sometimes it takes something traumatic like several of the large usual WC participants not making the cup in shocking fashion (US, Italy, Chile, Ghana, etc...) for something to change. Pain brings change, it's typically the way of things.

 

On the timing, I agree with you.

But truth is, that if WC qualifiers didn't have as many potential strong teams being left out, as how this time actually happened, no one would really have ever said anything over it. When things like this happen, only means that FIFA is doing some things not right, and if they can't fix them by themselves, it's reasonable to allow others to fix it, for them.

At the long run, everybody really expects that the WC, must be only for the best.

 

exactly, that's how I see it.

 

It has to be a REAL tourney regarding national sides.
Everything else is Confed cup or likewise.
No one will really care and this format is doomed from the get go.

 

On regards to Conmebol, not the first time it has ever happened.

Paraguay (CA '53 champs) for 1954 WC; Bolivia (CA'63 champs) for 1966 WC; Paraguay again (CA '79) for 1982 WC; and Colombia (CA 2001 champs) for the 2002 WC, also suffered similar fate.

Not so common, but happens.

 

Hey Rickdog,

Why do you have to make it personal, man? It's fine, you guys are a GREAT team and deserved to be in the World Cup, but you had your chance and lost agaisnt Paraguay at home... (sorry, your fault that you're not in the World Cup, not FIFA's). Also, don't make it personal and say that MY TEAM does not deserve its spot in the tournament. Why do you guys have to get OUR spot, that we earned on the field? Why not get Panama's or Saudi Arabia's? They're worse teams than ours.

It's a shame that South American qualifiers are loaded with great teams and not everybody can make it. Your confederation deserves 6 direct spots for sure.

Now, with the whole issue of qualifiers being done by confederation. What is the point of a World Cup if only Europe and South America play it? How does that show that the sport is truly global and professional across many borders? It would be a step backwards friend. Instead, FIFA should invest in underperforming confederations, eliminate corruption and make sure that funds go towards developing young talent and growing the professionalism of federations across the globe. That way we can have a 32 team tournament with teams of great quality throughout.

Now that everybody is talking about a Div 2 World Cup being done at the same time as the Div 1 tournament... I think I could get behind that. It would make it clear that the Div 1 champion is the real World Cup champion, thus not diminishing the value of the achievement. Maybe we can finally get the Div 1 World Cup to stay at 32 teams if that move is made.

 

It's not that I wanted to particularly make a mock on your team, but for what I wanted to prove, that story was a reality, and really happened (not inventing anything here).

While to say that our team is better than many other Asian, African or from elsewhere teams, are simply words with no proven proof that it is as how it can be said, as in reality we've never played them. So at the end it is only an issue of what I may believe, or what you or others may believe.

Against Concacaf, in that tournament though, Conmebol kicked lots of butts (not only Mexico got heavily scored on, but also the USA vs Argentina, Panama vs Argentina, Haiti vs Brazil, Haiti vs Ecuador, all finished with more than 4 goals of diference), For the case, more than someone could even argue that given those results, even Ecuador or Venezuela were more worthy than some of the teams that did make it to the WC, from Concacaf , but didn't as in Conmebol they couldn't make it through.

When things like this happen, you are not getting the best teams into the WC. You are simply getting some worthy teams (oh yes, some deserve their spots there) and also some other teams that only got there by coming from very bad groups of teams, where they were in, and that's all.

Honestly speaking, for many WC's many of your teams have qualified, without really deserving it, based on the level of your teams. Specially for last WC, where particularly your team was a full disgrace and only started showing something better during the final interconfed play-offs. If Italy now, had as many chances as your team did back then, with absolute certainty they would also make it (but they don't have that them).

 

Also gets hammered easily by Germany B team 1:4 at the confederations cup last summer.
Mexico are a very good team but people tend to overate them, they are not that far from top asian and african teams.

 

This. In this thread are many delusional fans with no real appreciation of the prestige, respect and importance of the World Cup. Also I hope Italy and The Netherlands have zero to do with it but I strongly doubt this will go ahead - atleast not in the format that some people here are dreaming up.

I really struggle to see how this competition makes any sense either but find it amusing how the conversation has now gone to how this proposal is better than expansion as a form of justification. I'm also waiting for the original poster to explain how "an "Alt" tournament could actually have more interesting matches than the group stage of the WC".

 

All we can do is follow the money and the hints being given by the media.

As I alluded to before, I don't think it is a coincidence that a Multi- Billion dollar company like Disney/ESPN leaked this news about a Cup featuring teams like USA, Italy , Netherlands, Chile, Ghana, etc.
Where there is smoke there is fire. Meaning I think a friendly tournament is closer to a reality than many people around here believe.
There's interest in it and apparently not much opposition from FIFA according to the links posted in this thread.

 

Yes, you are right.

I do believe that we currently may be better to Mexico, but that specific result in many aspects should never be considered as the complete diference of botrh of our teams. It was more of a fluke result, than anything else, as I believe if we play that match 10 times, we would win most of them, but Mexico would also win some of them, as well.

Mexico, in general, is a good team, that will always give problems to whomever they face, where they don't hold back any hopes against no one (they will play anyone, trying to win). Prove to it, was their recent performance at the Confed Cup, where they still got a draw against Portugal and gave a beautiful match to the germans at their semi (they lost there, but was still a very dignified presentation).

Oh, and we also played against them in our first Copa America, where we got a 3-3 final draw (we dominated and held possession the whole match, though).

To be honest, the only Concacaf team to whom I have a very big respect in this aspect, it is to them.
I consider everyone of the rest of their teams, at a completely inferior level.
.
.
But what doesn't change anything, is that their route during every one of their WC qualifiers, is nothing less than a very big joke. They almost have a written guarantee, that they will get their WC tickets, easily (which should be about what we are debating here, compared to most of the worthy teams that didn't make it, this time, that don't have that same type of luxury).

 

Not what I meant but thank you for reposting what you said earlier. Yes I understand the financial reasons for US football wanting to recover the 10 million they would have earned and American media outlets recovering some of the losses they invested when they assumed USA would be attending the World Cup. I too read the news and yes I can see why something this absurd could actually happen.

What I meant was can you explain how people get behind a concept like this? Why would you want your country to go and play some stupid little meaningless tournament after a tough long club season (assuming it is played in the 2-3 weeks before the World Cup - usually player's post-season holiday to recover if they don't make the World Cup). Please change my view or give me some actual insight because I have yet to read any reasons why this should go ahead - the most popular at the moment being so the USMNT can try out their new lineup . This is almost as bad of an idea as whenever people talk about playing a 39th round of the EPL around the world.

 

As said in another post. There were people who do not root for the USA in Chicago cheering on Colombia and Romania in 2006 even though neither team was in the World Cup.

There are thousands of fans living in the USA who root for many other teams that would go watch this tournament too.
There's also people that would watch on television which is why ESPN is pushing for this and a network like Univision would probably jump on the bandwagon too.

And once again you are sounding like a lot of South Americans who are like no one cares about a Copa America Centenario and it will never happen.

Well...
... it happened. And it was one of the most successful ever in the stands and television revenue wise.
.

 

Teams play Friendlies during the International Window no matter if they are playing in the World Cup or not.
Why is it such a difficult concept for people to grasp that playing a tournament like this is basically a small extension of what they would be doing anyway? Except the Federations could be making more money playing in something like this instead of the typical friendlies that they would play in the Summer of 2018.

 

Personally I thought it was an exciting tournament and a resounding success - It looked great from where I was watching. Yes I have been to the USA many times and understand it is a multicultural place and that this would work and attract crowds. But I'm not talking about the two state-the-obvious reasons of money and making these sets of fans happy. There's a reason people were joking about this when it was first talked about. It's not right to have something like this before the world cup but yes I see what you mean because if I was twelve years old I too would be all supportive and shortsighted like some supporters of this idea are being.

Of course a few friendlies wouldn't do any harm but I'm referring to hosting an 8 or 16 team tournament in the USA. More just the pathetic idea of it makes me hopeful the countries I care deeply about aren't involved. Monetizing a group of international friendlies at the end of the club season is not a good idea for anyone (apart from the finances of a very few) and it sets a precedent where countries can go off and play in strange money grabbing opportunity friendlies around the world (which is already happening and is bad enough as it is such as the Brazil vs. Argentina games they play).