Every World Cup so far has had at least one debutante. I listed the teams I thought were most likely (some more so than others) to make their debut in Russia 2018 in the poll above. What do you think? Do you think any of the teams I listed will make it? Are there teams I didn't name that you think might make it?
I want to say Panama but their most talented players are old and Bolillo Gomez can screw things up tactically. I want to say Iceland but that Group is tough. As for teams you did not mention I think Venezuela is going to make a push to qualify it but probably fall short again.
For Panama will be easier qualify to the world cup from the Concacaf final Hex, than qualify from the semi-final group to the final Hex..... In its tricky Semi-final group Panama has to face Jamaica, Costa Rica, and Haiti. while a possible Concacaf final hex will include the USA, Mexico ( two tickets) and Honduras- Panama fighting for the third ticket or the play-off against AFC....
I believe that whichever one of Panama or Jamaica advances to the Hex will qualify for the World Cup along with the USA, Mexico, and Costa Rica.
Has Wales ever made it? Qatar isn't a bad guess because they'll be doing everything legal not to be a debutante in 2022. On the one hand, Panama has been steadily improving. OTOH, their core is damn old. Against whom will CONCACAF's #4 play off? If it's CONMEBOL #5, then Panama is a bad bet. If it's Asia #5, maybe so.
Yes Wales have made it. And I don't think Qatar will make it. Panama, however, I think has a chance this time with Honduras being pretty weak this time around. Although Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago look pretty strong too.
DRC made it as Zaire in '74 so you should take them out. I'm pessimistic and think no team will make its debut in 2018, but if I had to pick one, I'd say Venezuela. Panama would be a good pick but they need to make the final CONCACAF group.
I'm rooting for Panama. They played very well this recent Goldcup, and were terribly shafted by the ref vs Mexico. Yes some of their best players are old, but their U20 team tied Argentina and played very well against Ghana, so they should have some decent youth comming through the works. Too bad their first group is so tough, and yes it will probably be harder than the hex itself.
Three chances here, imo, in order of probabilites. 1- First World Cup without a Debut 2- Mali, depending on the African Group they lend 3- Panama, if they reach the hex
[Facepalm] I pride myself on my knowledge of World Cup trivia. I don't know how I let that one slip past. Thanks for telling me.
Iceland is looking more and more like a sexy pick for the World Cup. That being said , we have seen many teams in the past do well in Euro cycles only to follow it up and not qualify for the next World Cup. So I will still be hesitant to say it is in the bag, but things look good.
Speaking of Qatar, am I the only one here who thinks there might be a bit of corruption going on in Qatar's World Cup qualifying campaign? For those of you who aren't following Asian World Cup qualifying, here's some background. Qatar were playing the Maldives away from home. The score was 0-0 going into stoppage time, but Qatar scored the winning goal right before the game ended - after nine minutes of stoppage time. You read that right. Nine goddamn minutes of stoppage time. Ridiculous. It's as if the referee was just waiting for Qatar to score and wouldn't end the game until they did. I seriously believe they might have bribed the individuals who officiated that game. Granted, I didn't watch the game, but nine minutes of stoppage time is seriously fishy. At best, AFC just has crappy match officials. At worst, Qatar might well be trying to bribe their way to the 2018 World Cup so that they aren't debutantes when they host in 2022. Any thoughts?
While stoppage time of that length is rather unusual it is not so outlandish as to set alarm bells ringing. All it really requires is a bad injury to a player, plus a substitution or two. For instance, Manchester United's Champions League match with PSV this week had 8 minutes of first half stoppage time caused entirely by one injury stoppage, for Luke Shaw. A referee would be censured in the extreme for what you are suggesting. I haven't seen it either so can't state definitely whether there was anything suspicious or not, but there is enough clearly dodgy about Qatar without needing to imagine corruption everywhere...
Here is the video of the entire Qatar-Maldives match. I just skipped around a bit in the 2nd half, but almost everywhere I stopped it seemed like play had been halted for an injury, so maybe the 9 minutes was legit.
I think that Venezuela should be a good team for Russia 2018 because Venezuela is from South America and everybody knows that nobody plays soccer like the people from South America.
Venezuela is the worst of the South American countries, there's a reason they've never made it to a World Cup and I don't think that's gonna change anytime soon.
They are better than Bolivia, and have been for awhile. They also came in 6th in qualifying for Brazil, one spot behind qualifier Uruguay, but I generally agree it's a tough hill for them to climb, and will be especially tough for Russia with only five qualifying slots and Brazil back in the fold.
worst teams are Peru and Bolivia and have been for a very long time. Venezuela are a decent team who make it tough for teams to win. Venezuela's never made it because they were very underdeveloped for a long time but with the help of certain people they've made big strides in their development resulting in an increase in quality of their players and tactics. I think they will indeed make it to a WC eventually, however with the emergence of Chile and Colombia alongside Argentina and Brazil it will be very tough because they'll have to compete with Uruguay and possibly Peru for that 5th spot. They need to become a bit more consistent as for the 1st poster's question, I think Panama could make it. Their not a bad CONCACAF team however I don't know if they make it in the final phase of the CONCACAF Qualifiers, but I hope they do.
Well, Venezuela has dug themselves into a bit of a hole here. Still early on in this marathon WC qualifying... ... but it it not looking good for them at all.
Those picks sound familiar and right now they look much better than when I posted about them. Venezuela looks much better now under Dudamel but it may be too little too late. They can play spoilers though.