This matter is not over. Chile will appeal the decision. The Ecuadorian federation and Byron Castillo will sue for damages. In the end Ecuador will play in the World Cup. At least Milad changed the narrative. Some Chileans now feel like a world cup berth was stolen from them. The blame has now shifted to Ecuador not following the rules. To a lot of Chilean fans that'll be the reason why they're not on Qatar. Never mind they made a terrible hire when they named Rueda head coach. Forget about the fact that their golden generation was old and past their prime and they didn't renovate their squad at an appropriate time.
It was over before it started. So what if Byron lied about when he was born? There is no age limit at the world cup. And so what if he lied about being born in Colombia? Unless he has played for Colombia, he is allowed to play for another country. Lots of players play for countries that are not their country of birth. According to FIFA, Article 6.1: "A player who, under the terms of art. 5, is eligible to represent more than one association on account of his nationality, may play in an international match for one of these associations only if, in addition to having the relevant nationality, he fulfils at least one of the following conditions: a) He was born on the territory of the relevant association; b) His biological mother or biological father was born on the territory of the relevant association; c) His grandmother or grandfather was born on the territory of the relevant association; d) He has lived continuously on the territory of the relevant association for at least two years." So, based on Article 6.1, if Byron has lived in Ecuador for at least two year and is recognized as a legal citizen of Ecuador by Ecuador, then he is eligible, fake birth certificate or not. And FIFA must have confirmed that Ecuador considers Byron a legal citizen, that he has played for no national team other than Ecuador, and that he has indeed been living in Ecuador continuously for over two years, which I think was common knowledge. That's why FIFA had no reason to penalize Ecuador, and while Chile can appeal, there is nothing there to be appealed. Stop busting balls, Chile, nothing was stolen from you. You are not going to the World Cup. As far as Byron suing for damages, good luck to him.
Peru should have won this one easily. They just didn't play like they know how to play. I was surprised they didn't even bother to train in the game field. This field will be our first game field. Sometimes when one or two players play bad, it infects the rest of the team.
Unfortunate for Peru. I was happy for them when they returned to the World Cup in 2018 and credit to Ricardo Gareca, who took Peru back to the tournament and who brought the team to the brink of a second consecutive berth. Post-match interviews showed Gareca isn't ready to discuss his future, but I wouldn't be surprised if he left. He is probably burned out and with his team out of the competition, it may be better for him to find a new project to work on. The Peruvians will be grateful and will never forget him for what he's done.
Very surprising. I expected Peru in Qatar. The reasons: 1. Easy match for us 2. We can qualify with relaxed approach The process of learning, based on regular participation. Gareca Nardi showed quality earlier. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(CONMEBOL) If we observe the Peruvian road, it's evident that they lost against the bigger teams. The first major victories came in Round 8 against Ecuador. This was a turning point for Peruvian improvement. Against Uruguay 1-1, Chile 2-0, Colombia 0-1, Ecuador 1-1. But, Peru won where they needed. It was expected to win against Venezuela, Bolivia and having equal moments against Paraguay. Colombia collected more points against qualified teams. Crucial match was Colombian defeat against Peru. But still, CONMEBOL team should prevent Asia, Oceania teams. Paraguay, Chile and Colombia were the unexpected surprises. Who would say, that they wouldn't qualify in any of first 5 positions. 7 Peruvian victories came against: Ecuador, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, Venezuela, Colombia, Paraguay. The key match was the second match against Bolivia. With victory in Bolivia, Peru could qualify directly.
It's unfortunate Peru didn't qualify. South American football benefits from having more national teams compete at the World Cup. Peru now has the daunting task of rebuilding. Carvallo, Corzo, Zambrano, Advincula, Ramos, Calcaterra, Costa, Yotun, Lapadula, amd Ruidiaz in all likelihood will not be part of the next cycle. Farfan and Guerrero are done as well. They'll also have a lot of players enetering their 30s which is when player performance can dip and injuries are more likely to happen.
Lets see what can BRA, ARG, URU, ECU do? Uruguay might invite older veterans and spoil things. Torreira, Valverde, Nunez must be the leaders, instead of Cavani, Suarez, Godin, Caceres, Muslera, who served good.
My personal view is that Ecuador will be eliminated from the World Cup as early as on the fifth day of the tournament (1st team eliminated all together). Uruguay are for me in a dogfight with Serbia to become a non powerhouse semi-finalists. I slightly favour the Europeans. Argentina will make at least the semi-finals. Brazil might face a stern test in Spain the quarterfinals. It remains to be seen whether they pass it.
Given WCQ for 2022 has been over for quite some time, this post may be an informative and fitting conclusion to this thread. Slightly over 1 month ago, CONMEBOL officially announced that all the South American soccer federations who comprise CONMEBOL voted unanimously to maintain the current every team vs. every team, home & away WCQ format. CONMEBOL also informed FIFA at that time. If FIFA ratifies this decision, the 18-round system will continue, but this time, CONMEBOL will have six direct berths rather than four.