Africa "should" be a favorite along with South America in the playoff. OFC will be a non-factor and Asia 9 is likely a team of the quality of Iraq or Oman. North America is likely to be some teams like Honduras and Trinidad who are good but with Africa still having a brutal qualifying, I would expect them to be the favorite; especially if its the South Africa vs Nigeria loser. One caveat would be if a team like Honduras makes it. With the tournament in the US, it will be a massive pro-Honduras crowd which could help.
I agree. Africa and CONMEBOL are favorites. But if Honduras makes it they could make things a bit interesting. Especially if the match is in Miami. The stadium would be filled with Hondurans with the huge population down there.
Or El Salvador. Honduras is very poor right now. I dont see the crowd making that much of a difference tbh, especially as I believe the African playoff team will be a very strong team that SHOULD have qualified directly. I just can't see them getting by 2 tough playoff matches against other African opponents only to lose to a Honduras in the end. It could happen but I would bet against it. Keep in mind that heavy Mexican crowds in the US have often failed to propel the Mexicans at times. So I just dont see the crowd being thst much of a factor. If it was in Honduras proper, that would be a completely different story, but not in the US. The South American team should also be too much.
True, point well taken. However this is still the early stages of the Rueda part of the cycle and from what I hear they had injuries for that playoff. Also consider playing in front of 20K fans and 65K fans is a bit different of a dynamic too. Not to mention Central American teams know each other's styles. Intercontinental matches are a bit more complicated.
Yes. Both the African and South American teams should win. But the hypothetical support/atmosphere could make it more interesting than if it were say in Qatar or Spain.
I fully agree that if we dont get a shocker team from Africa that they should be the heavy favorites with South America. Concacaf will be unforgiving tho. Jamaica, Costa Rica, and Pamana will be the Pot 1 teams but any slip up against the pot 2 teams (El Salvador, Honduras, or Haiti/Curacao) will send them to the playoffs where they will very likely be seeded.
I watched that game. Honduras had a couple key players missing and the referee whistled foul for every little contact thus depriving Honduras of one of their assets which is physical play and their press.
CONCACAF is its own special breed of soccer. As a US fan we have come to accept the crap pitches and biased refs who during the best of times call nothing.
Regarding the chances of smaller African teams such as Comoros qualifying for the World Cup, people often forget the most important aspect: the long period of the qualifiers. Its a 2 year period, which makes it very difficult for the smaller teams. Why is that? Its because its possible for Comoros to be in better form than Ghana for 1 month. Or 2 months. Or 3 months. But in 2 years is very very difficult. Football changes very quickly. You see it in club football. A team Can qualify for the Champions League one season, and the next they are battling relegation. In the Comoros vs Ghana example, we must look at the pool of players. Ghana have so much more to choose from. Every year they Will have some New players playing in top leagues. And their currant players like Kudos, May be much much better in a year. The squad depth is so much more than Comoros. Comoros have Been very good in recent years. Such a Big improvement. But some of the players who played the last round of qualifiers, May be without a club next year. Or sit on the bench at their club. Then what? Who Will replace Them? If that happens to a Ghana player, they have 10 others to choose from. That is what makes it so difficult for the smaller teams with the less talent pool. They Can have periods or generations, where they are on fire. And then they Can be bad for 20 years After. How Will Comoros be in october 2025? He really have no idea. But I love a good underdog story, so they have my full support
You would think... but I was genuinely surprised that Australia didn't really have to break a sweat to steal a draw at Honduras in the 2017 playoffs - as in, Australia were closer to winning that game than the hosts. Pavón and Costly were generational players (among a talented squad, to be sure), and Honduras have yet to replace either their quality or their charisma. Isn't that the precise reason we have World Cup qualifying in groups, though? So that flavor-of-the-month sides get weeded out in favor of consistently better teams.
I was surprised as well. Syria gave us a much harder time in the AFC playoff. Mind you that was 2 world cup cycles ago so it's not really relevant to today (or 2026 when the playoffs happen)
That is why all qualifying groups should be played over a maximum of 9 months (for example March to November); longer periods increase predictability.
It all depends on what you prefer. Do you want the Best teams to qualify, or do you prefer it to be completely random. The shorter the period, the more surprises Can happen
Between 6 and 8 games over 9 months is sufficient to find the teams which deserve to qualify while optimising fan engagement.
True. Although, Australia is a solid team that has qualified before. Not being intimidated by some of the toughest teams to qualify against (Remember Uruguay did not even phase them.) The hypothetical we are talking about here are African teams that have never made it this far before and this would be the biggest match in their Country's history. The nerves would be a factor and having to play in what would feel like a road match would add to the drama and nerves.
I'm hoping we wont be in an intercontinental playoff again but it's true that we have had some experience (mostly bad but more recently good) in the past with 10 of them to qualify and 3 more just to get to the final stage. At least these days they are a second chance rather than an only chance. It may be a daunting proposition for some nations experiencing it for the first time but all the nations in the playoffs would have just missed qualifying directly and will be keen to make amends. I think those nerves will disappear once kickoff happens. They may return in the last 15 minutes of the game depending on how its going.
Having to play in front of what essentially is a road crowd can be intimidating though. Also depends on how well prepared the team is. I am not that familiar with the managers in Africa or Asia at this playoff level caliber. Rueda would have Honduras prepared. He has taken them to the World Cup before.
I am pretty sure the African rep is going to be a team that SHOULD have qualified directly. So a strong likelihood of being a team that has made the worldcup before. I dont think it's gonna be some inexperienced team.
Even if they don't have WC experience they will be a team that came a high point scoring second in their group and then they've gone through another couple of playoff games to get to the IC playoffs. The African rep should have had plenty of experience by then of playing under pressure. The Asian rep will be similarly well prepared. The chances of the African rep having previously been to the world cup will be higher though as Asia don't tend to rotate their reps as much leaving a much smaller field.
Changing the subject closer to the topic at hand... ...there's rumors that Ghana may have to play Mali at a neutral site because the stadium they wanted to play in does not meet FIFA standards. That could make things very interesting. Mali may have an advantage in that Group if the rumors are true.
https://www.fcupdate.nl/voetbalnieu...r-chong-en-kluivert-om-voor-curacao-te-kiezen use google translate if interested. Dick Advocaat tries to lure some good Dutch players into the Curacao camp.
I think it is the exact opposite. If the qualifiers would have been played in a shorter time frame of maybe one years, the teams a more stable, more consistent and the real strength of nations will easier make them pass the qualifiers. with that extensive spread over more than two years it more or less comes down to day-form. just imagine Ghana has another bad day at the return leg vs. the comoros then their chances are almost down the drain.