It's really strange how FIFA allocates spots for U20. Oceania definately overrepresented. They don't even get one spot in a 32 team WC yet they get 2 in a 24 team tournament. Also concacaf getting as many spots as CAF, AFC, and Conmebol is utterly ridiculous.
OFC's two slots are a legacy from the 2015 edition in NZ when the hosts automatically qualified and an additional slot was given to the confederation and taken from UEFA. FIFA has yet to reverse this decision and because of the developmental nature of the competition I do not expect it will, at least not in the near future. Slightly behind, but this was the situation after MD2: CONMEBOL - W7, L3, 2.10 points per game CAF - W5, D1, L2, 2.00 UEFA - W4, D1, L5, 1.30 AFC - W2, D2, L4, 1.00 OFC - W1, D1, L2, 1.00 CONCACAF - W2, D1, L5, 0.86
NIG vs BRA was a very good game. Nigeria unlucky to concede two goals, and Kudos to them for not playing for a tie. They were playing to win, strong team, which will be a very strong opponent to anyone. Brazil was being out-played in the first 10 minutes but managed to improve and had their best performance so far.
Luka Romero goal was INSANE Luka Romero agarro la pelota y dijo: “Voy a hacer un gol histórico”. pic.twitter.com/H7orZg5lvQ— Gonzalo Ferreyra (@gonzaloferreyr) May 26, 2023
My opinion: UEFA 6 CAF 5 CONMEBOL 4 AFC 4 CONCACAF 3 OFC 1 Host 1 Maybe make UEFA 6.5 and CONMEBOL 3.5 with a playoff between the two.
FIFA uses the youth World Cup tournaments as a way to grow the game around the world. There's a reason why they are held every two years instead of four.
Playing down to ten men, and still scoring twice. That's an Arsenal, no I'd say Dortmund-esque bottle job by Japan there I'd say. They probably won't make it as the 3rd place team. Israel v Uzbekistan in the round of 16 with one of those teams making the quarterfinals.
I think you hit the nail on the head: developmental nature of the competition. Past titles should not have bearing on developmental allocation. FIFA gives 4 u20 WC slots per confederation, except for UEFA (5) and OFC (2)... those allocation exceptions used to be UEFA (6) and OFC (1). OFC's extra slot could not be reassigned to AFC/CAF/Concacaf/Conmebol without raising political trouble. No idea how the next 8 expansion slots will be divided, while keeping parity of the u20 developmental tournament.
SEN attackers would not pass the ball to each other. Hopefully they will reflect on it during their trip home. Concacaf getting Concacaf'd is as bad as OFC's 2nd wildcard slot.
I get that, but surely the size of each confederation should also be taken into account? CONCACAF has about 1 in 9 members qualifying, while UEFA has 1 in 11 qualify and CAF has around 1 in 13 qualify. CONMEBOL has 40% of its membership qualify.
Yes, it looks unfair to give Conmebol a 40% qualification quota, but that Conmebol chunk gives FIFA strong matches for TV rights sales. "4-slots each" allocation exists since 1997, though. Maybe a play-off approach is needed when the next 8 expansion slots are distributed.
Not sure would get in if Tunisia lose 2-0 against Iraq and France beat Honduras by 1-0. Is yellow and red cards the next tie breaker?
Yes, FIFA seems to have moved very strongly in the "global diversity" direction in the 90's and 2000s. UEFA has the same number of slots in most tournaments at both senior and youth level as they did in the 90's despite numerous expansions in most of these competitions. Playoffs do seem like a good idea for future expanded tournaments.
Not sure who would get in if Tunisia lose 2-0 against Iraq and France beat Honduras by 1-0. Is yellow and red cards the next tie breaker? This is what my last post should have read
And I think that was necessary considering that as recently as 1990 the British Isles had more teams at the WC than Africa or Asia! Incidentally, FIFA said it will expand the U17WC from 24 to 48 teams from 2025 and hold it annually, while the U20 version will remain at 24 teams and be held biennially.
Tunisia just beat Iraq 3-0. They play Uruguay next. What's even more unfortunately for Japan is that Uruguay and Tunisia are level on 3 points and a draw sees both through. They need Uruguay to win by more that 3 goals or Tunisia to win by more than 5 to overtake either of those groups. Even if that happens, they still need for there to be no winner in the France v Honduras game, as if there's a winner in that game, they are gone either way. So basically, they need France v Honduras to be a draw, AND for Uruguay to win by 4 goals v Tunisa, or 5 the other way around.... Maybe a 3-0 win for Uruguay would put them through on yellow cards if Honduras and France draw ;-) Let's face it, Japan is pretty much done I'm afraid....
I doubt annual u17 WCs will occur: - 2023 AFC u17 qualifiers will take 9 months - 2023 CAF u17 qualifiers took 11 months It seems both confederations are too large to complete WC qualifiers, with enough time for both WC draw and tournament to fit into the same calendar year.
I don't think U WC are developmental competition, this is FIFA WC - the top soccer competition at any given age group, gender and modality. FIFA is in charge of organizing, developing and growing the sport. But the develop part for FIFA is the development of rules, regulations and competition around the world. I fail to see how Dominican Republic or Fiji improved due to their participation on this U20 WC. If there was another U20 WC next year would they be able to be a contender just because they participated this year... Nobody improves just because the are able to play in the U20 WC, which is the highest level of competition at this age group. This is a good showcase of new talent and severs as a measuring stick to compare developmental progress of each nation; but this isn't a training camp or clinic. Outside of Europe and S.A. only one region was able to win the U20 cup one time (Africa), past results, IMO, is a valid metric for slop allocation but you do need to keep world cup - global so Oceania does need to have a spot. Every Region should get at least one spot. Competitive regions should get more due to past result, which is why C'bol gets 4.
So it's going to be Argentina vs Nigeria. This matchup came up several times in the adult World Cup, with good results for us, but they've always played us tough. I expect a tough match at this level as well.
I argue that u17+u20 WCs are organized by FIFA, and they are developmental tournaments. FIFA does not force clubs to release players for those competitions. If FIFA wanted top-level youth competitions, then it would force clubs to release players. Under its current youth WC model, FIFA opened the field to age-eligible players who have not reached full-professional status. Youth players under high-priced club contracts have likely reached professional status already, therefore FIFA runs youth competitions which favor participation of players under development.
Tricky for Argentina. I think Nigeria is the better team but playing at home could be the difference. Must see tv for sure.