FIFA International Match Calendar: Proposed Changes & General Discussion

It's being reported from a few sources

A new tournament set to take place!!the UEFA-CONMEBOL Nations League will start in 2024. All 10 Conmebol nations will take part and the tournament will still be played in Europe.

The top 6 ranked South American teams would join League A and the other 4 League B.

— Diego Montalvan (@DMontalvan) December 17, 2021

https://www.espn.co.uk/football/uef...efa-nations-league-from-2024?linkId=144700060

I feel like FIFA is not going to be very happy. First CONMEBOL and UEFA nix their every two years World Cup plan, and then they expand the Nations League so there is more money for themselves.

 

True, they won't be happy. But FIFA needs to develop plans that are feasible and have added value.

Even though this technically "expands" the NL, it wouldn't add any extra matches. It is neat and tidy and has value added. Any time FIFA comes up with a plan for a new or revised competition it seems to blow up the whole football calendar as we know it.

 

I wonder how Asia, Africa and CONCACAF will react to UEFA and Conmebol further detaching themselves from the rest.

 

Invite the final 4 from the Asia Cup and the African Cup to play in the CONCACAF Nations League.

Whoops, looking at the last Asia Cup, 3 of the final 4 aren't exactly big drawers: Qatar, UAE, Japan and Iran.

 

I mean, they are more than invited to play in Copa America 2024 we know that Conmebol doesn't shut the door to anyone. There won't be gold cup, afcon or asian cup that year either, if I'm not mistaken.

We can have a 16-team tournament with the US, Mexico, Canada, the african champions, the asian champions and some arab team willing to pay money.

 

There is a webinar up on the FIFA website analysing the results from FIFA's survey which was released just after UEFA released the evaluation it commissioned of the impact of the proposed changes on European club and NT soccer.

I had to laugh when the FIFA webinar kept referring to the open nature of the debate, that is something Conmebol, UEFA, ECA, and IOC definitely would not agree with!

 

Why would Arab teams have to pay money when they're the best teams in the region?

Senegal, Morrocco, Tunisia and Algeria are the top ranked African countries and Qatar won the last AFC Asian Cup.

Edited: Senegal is not Arab but is 96% Muslim.

 

When he said Arab he meant "oil rich mediocre team that nobody would pay to watch".

 

To me, at least, the more natural progression of the Nations League concept would be to move towards Conmebol+Concacaf merger on the one hand. AFC+OFC+CAF merger, on the other hand, and then have the (tier 1) winners join the UEFA Nations League winner along with lets say the previous World Cup winner in a World League semifinal for the World League (tier 1) title. (You could do something similar for the other tiers too).

 

If these moved in the direction I like instead, the top tier league for the Nations League of the Americas (using FIFA rankings for the first edition before relegation/promotion) would be the top 16, divided in 4 pots as follows:

Pot 1: Brazil, Argentina, USA, Mexico
Pot 2: Colombia, Uruguay, Peru, Chile
Pot 3: Canada, Paraguay, Ecuador, Costa Rica
Pot 4: Jamaica, Venezuela, Panama, El Salvador

(Based on current rankings, Bolivia would be the only Conmebol side in league 2)

The tier 1 AFC+OFC+CAF (AOC Nations League) would be:

Pot 1: Senegal, Iran, Japan, Morocco
Pot 2: Tunisia, Algeria, Korea Rep, Australia
Pot 3: Nigeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Cameroon
Pot 4: Qatar, Ghana, Mali, Ivory Coast

 

Right now I'd place South Anerican teams the following way. Totally based on how I assess the current strengh of teams - not factoring in history at all.

League A: Brazil & Argentina
League B: Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay, Peru, Chile,
League C: Paraguay, Bolivia, Venezuela

No team other than the big two has the quality at the moment to hold their own in League A.

 

I guess if only two CONMEBOL teams would be eligible to start from the highest tier league CONMEBOL wouldn't have looked very favourable at this idea of creating a mixed Nations League with UEFA.

I don't see why six teams should start in League A.
Probably it's related to revenue reasons.
I don't have any other explanation.
The current level of play in South America justifies for only Brazil and Argentina to join League A.

And three teams should work their way up from League C if they can.
For instance North Macedoinia or Georgia two sides that will compete in League C would beat imo any of Paraguay, Bolivia or Venezuela on a neutral ground right now.
And they are not even the best.
We got also Slovakia, Turkey, Greece and Northern Ireland in League C.

 

What is this nonsense? Uruguay and Colombia don't have less quality than Hungary, Poland, Wales, Czechia, Austria...

 

On paper Uruguay and Colombia should be be better than these sides but the reality is with the form both are in currently they don't deserve to be in League A over these sides. Hungary and Poland got both a result against World Cup favourites England. Wales grabbed four points over the Czechs and drew Belgium. Czechia drew Belgium and reached the quarterfinals at the EUROs.
Austria had a poor qualfying campaign but pushed eventual EURO winners Italy very hard.

What has Uruguay done of lately? Nothing.
Colombia finished 3rd at the Copa America but since it's awful what they offer in the final third. They can't score at all as of late.

Ecuador is clearly the third best team in South America right now.
If anything you can make a case for them to be in League A.
Being third in the standings after 14 games is more impressive than winning bronze at a tournament of small size like the Copa America

My logic is that CONMEBOL should earn their places in League A. By performances on the pitch.
I wouldn't hand them over the spots just because they are guests.

 

World Cup quarter-finalists.

 

This will be played in 2024... both teams won't play badly forever. And even then judging them on the basis of form in last 6 months is quite harsh.

And to say that teams like Poland and Hungary deserve a place more than them because "they got a draw against England" regardless of it being a single game or how those games transpired (Hungary had one shot ffs) is one of the most childish things you can say.
More so given Uruguay and Colombia never get the chance to play England or any european power for the matter.

 

Colombia got two draws against Argentina in official and decisive games this year. But, eh, what's that next to the amazing welsh point obtained against the belgian substitutes

 

Poor Ecuador 2024, the universe will not allow it to organize a Copa America ever again.

 

That was two and a half years ago.
It went all downhill since to the point Uruguay might not even qualify this time.

 

If this goes through, agreeing to play all of the games in Europe is short sided and will adversely affect CONMEBOL long-term. CONMEBOL's team's will be at a disadvantage without their share of home games, which will impact their results, and eventually impact their World rankings, which ultimately affect their seedings/ability to reach Pot 1 status.

This will reinforce the stereotype that UEFA is far and away the best confederation. While I think we all agree that is probably true, UEFA consistently takes measures that give their teams advantages (Like above), and then point to those results (not necessarily earned on a level playing field) to argue for more world cup places/other advantages.

 

But $€£¥$£€!

 

You seem to be assuming the reason Uruguay might not qualify is due to a drop in form on their part. The other possibility is that the other nations have raised their level - in which case the argument can be made for more teams in a combined group A.

In truth, there really aren't enough cross-confederation games to know for sure. Because of that, I think it would only be fair to give CONMEBOL at least 4 group A teams, and put the rest in group B. I think it's hard to make a case for putting any teams in Group C based on the populations of the CONMEBOL countries/CONMEBOL not really having any true minnows.

 

Yes, of course. Short term greed will rule the day, and ultimately, this will probably end up hurting them long term.

 

For me it's obvious that it's a dip in form.
I have watched quite a few games in CONMEBOL qualfying and the only very much improved side I see at the moment is Ecuador.