Snippets from around the World
CAF (Africa)
Zambia gets ready to kick off its World Cup Qualifying campaign for
Brazil in 2014 in a slightly odd position.
They are continental champions and deserved ones at that, besting Ghana
and Ivory Coast to win the 2012 African Nations’ Cup. However they are not the top ranked team in
the continent, not even one of the top few.
And given that the groups were seeded and drawn based on rankings from
July 2011, Zambia’s stock falls even further, as they were placed based on a
FIFA ranking of 74. Arguably, they
aren’t even favourites to progress from their own group, as they kick off
against Ghana (still smarting from their defeat at AFCON 2012), Sudan and
Lesetho in Group D. The ten group
winners progress to the final qualifying round where they square off in five ties
to determine the African qualifiers.
Matchday 1 is on June 1 2012. The
hard road to Brazil begins at Sudan for Herve Renard. Wonder if he’ll call up Otto Rehhagel and ask
about the latter’s experience with Greece after Euro 2004. Five teams will reach World Cup 2014.
CONCACAF (Central and
North America)
USA looks to continue its perennially strong qualifying form as
they seek to make their way to Brazil 2014, something they have achieved for
every World Cup since Italia ’90.
However, the recent disaster of the Olympic qualifiers will loom large
as the U-23 team stumbled in unexpected fashion. Still, under new coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who
has a rich legacy at the World Cup, both as player and coach, with Germany,
expectations are high once again. USA
will look to finish first in qualifying, besting Mexico, Canada, Honduras and
Costa Rica along the way. Recent results
are very encouraging with five straight friendly wins, including a first ever
defeat of giants Italy in Genoa. Lining
up for the Americans will be North America’s most consistent striker and one of
America’s few top class talents – Clint Dempsey – plying his trade in the
English Premiership, where he has put together yet another prolific season.
Dempsey, along with fellow striker Landon Donovan, Everton goalkeeper Tim
Howard and captain Carlos Bocanegra, at Rangers, will be the spine around which
Team USA’s campaign will be built. Being the 2nd ranked nation in the region,
USA got a bye to the third round where they will square off against Jamaica,
Guatemala and Antigua and Barbuda in Group A.
They take on the latter on June 8.
Three teams will make it to the World Cup with a fourth team entering a
playoff against the winner of Oceania.
North, across the border,
expectations are quietly building for Canada
and for opposite reasons, to USA. After
a very impressive Olympic qualifying campaign where they emerged from a
difficult group, unbeaten before falling to eventual winners Mexico in the
semi-finals, valuable experience has been gained for several members who will
be filtering through to the senior team.
Canada has not made the World Cup since Mexico in 1986 but has come
close several times, only to fall away in the final few games. Legacy may once again prove to be a strong rallying
cry as Canada were arguably the first ever winners of an international soccer
tournament, bringing home gold at the 1904 Summer Olympics (Ed - Trivia Alert). Once again the team is a mix of experience
and youth with a smattering of top level performers. Canadian fans will be following their team
with rapt attention as the country now has three teams in the MLS, after
Montreal joined Vancouver and Toronto, this season. The usual suspects of Dwayne De Rosario,
Kevin McKenna, Julian De Guzman and Atiba Hutchinson will once again expected
on to stand up and be counted. Ranked 8th
in the region, Canada teed off in the second round finishing top of Group D
with an impressive four wins, two draws and 18 goals scored and only one
conceded. They were drawn in Group C of
the third round alongside Cuba, Honduras and Panama. The top two teams from each of the three
groups enter a final six team round robin stage. Canada kicks off at Cuba on June 8, should
they be preparing for New Zealand ?
UEFA (Europe)
European qualification kicks off
in September as teams hit the warpath a couple of months after Euro 2012, in
Poland and Ukraine. Once again all eyes
will be on Spain, Holland and Germany as each seeks to wrap up qualification midway through 2013,
with consistent, strong performances enroute to a perfect qualifying
campaign. As always with such a large group
of talented and deep teams, almost every group has something to watch out for,
with several enticing rivalries and matchups to come. Group A sees Balkan rivals and former
Yugoslav republics of Serbia, Macedonia and Croatia square off; while a battle
of Britain is also in the offing with Wales and Scotland both featuring. Group B sees Italy renew rivalries with Euro
2004 group combatants Denmark, World Cup 2006 group stage opponents Czech
Republic and World Cup ‘94 semifinal foes Bulgaria. Group C has a Teutonic/Nordic feel to it with
Germany renewing its recent qualifying rivalry with Sweden and Austria also
present in the group. However, one will
be relishing the long trip to Kazakhstan (Ed
– Yes, they are UEFA members).
Netherlands are the marquee name in Group D with the runners-up spot
Turkey’s to lose. Group E will feature
an interesting matchup between two alpine teams based around a young core of up
and coming talent as Switzerland takes on Slovenia. Baltic pride is at stake in Group G at
Latvia, famously at Euro 2004, drawn against Lithuania. Group H has Euro 2012 co hosts Poland and
Ukraine playing each other as both teams set to host England as well. Finally, Group I has the tastiest matchup
with both Spain and France drawn together.
UEFA qualification starts on September 7, 2012. The nine group winners will be joined by four
of the runners-up to make the 13 teams from Europe at Brazil.
COMNEBOL (South
America)
One group, nine teams. plus hosts
Brazil. Ironically, despite the mesmeric talents of
Lionel Messi, Argentina will not be
one of the favourites to win the qualifying group. In any case they only crept through to World
Cup 2010 in South Africa as the fourth best team. That honour of favourites, goes to Uruguay, deserved winners of 2011 Copa
America and the most balanced and consistent team on the continent. They already lead the pack with seven points
from three games. Led by Luis Suarez and
Diego Forlan, they will hope to be joined by Chile, talented by somewhat suspect temperamentally, aforementioned
Argentina and a consistently hard to beat Paraguay. Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador have a chance
to make the top four but are very much on the outside looking in. The top four gain tickets to Brazil as direct
entrants, while the fifth placed team has a two legged playoff against the
fifth placed team from Asia. The first
time Brazil played host to a World Cup, in 1950, Pele was nine years old. He then won World Cups at the ages of 17, 21
and 29. This time he’ll be 80 years old, but still a doyen of the game.
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