Football (Soccer) Thread

[katmai]

Sounders

[Liep]

Sounders

The MLS actually got in the news here with a short article about the penalty shootout. First time that has happened without it being because a Dane has played in the match.

[dps]

Sounders

I was pulling for Seattle because Toronto is, you know, like, in Canada, but, dang, did the Sounders make it hard to root for them.   They were basically outplayed all night.

[crazy canuck]

I like Seattle, but that was an ugly win.

[Ed Anger]

LOLerpool strikes again.

[Syt]

From 2026 on, FIFA World Cup will have 48 participating teams. Yay, more irrelevant group matches.

[Tamas]

Even more importantly: no more draw result on group matches. Going to go straight to penalties.

[Syt]

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jan/10/fifa-vote-expand-world-cup-48-teams-from-2026

Fifa approves Infantino's plan to expand World Cup to 48 teams from 2026

The Fifa council has rubber-stamped plans to expand the World Cup to 48 teams from 2026, with the revamp proposed by the governing body's president, Gianni Infantino, receiving unanimous backing.

Delegates in Zurich were asked to vote on four suggestions to change the existing format or stick with the current setup of 32 teams.

This is the first time since the 1998 World Cup that changes have been made to the makeup of the tournament, with the 2026 competition set to feature 16 groups of three.

Infantino's preferred option for change was for a 2026 competition featuring the 16 groups followed by a 32-team knockout round, increasing the number of games from 64 to 80 but remaining inside a 32-day schedule. There were also options to have a 40-team tournament, with 10 groups of four or eight groups of five, but the only other 48-team makeup would mean a 32-team one-game knockout round, with the winners joining 16 already qualified teams. Infantino has also suggested that penalty shootouts be brought in to settle the results of all drawn games, thereby minimising the risk of teams colluding in their final group games to eliminate others from the tournament.

The Swiss has repeatedly said his main motivation for expansion is to give more nations a chance of experiencing the joy of a World Cup, which will bolster international football in developed markets and help its growth in new ones.

More details will be announced at the conclusion of Tuesday's meeting – although the allocation of the extra 16 qualification slots under the new format was not expected to be resolved at this point. African and Asian nations are expecting significant increases on their current allocation of four spots apiece.

The other major decision regarding 2026 – who will host the event – is not scheduled for consideration until 2020, with a bid featuring the US, either on its own or in conjunction with one or both of Canada and Mexico, the overwhelming favourite.

So ok, number of group matches stays the same (16x 3 vs 6x 8), but with the top 2 teams qualifying from the group stage? Might as well expand to 64 and start with the knock out rounds, tennis tournament style.

[Syt]

So, the coming highlights:

- World Cup 2018 in Russia
- UEFA European Championship 2020 in 13 different countries
- Christmas World Cup 2022 in Qatar
- 48 team World Cup in 2026

Meanwhile UEFA will lock in half the Champions' League starting spots for the 4 largest leagues in Europe, cementing a disparity between the haves and have nots in the European league system while meekly trying to talk up their losers' cup tournament.

[Josephus]

to me it's less an issue of a boring first round, 48 teams makes the qualifications pointless. You look at every group and go....yup those teams will all qualify.

[Duque de Bragança]

It's good to see that the vision of the likes of Havelange, Blatter, Platini and the like is still there with Infantino.   

[Duque de Bragança]

So, the coming highlights:

- World Cup 2018 in Russia

Not the first time it's in a dictatorship and that it was bought. Hell, bribing to get the competition has been the norm for a while now.
The others are awful, though the date for Qatar is not the worst problem actually.

[Valmy]

Not the first time it's in a dictatorship and that it was bought.

As far as I know that only time the World Cup ever previously took place in a dictatorship was Argentina in the 1970s and even then that was one of those short lived military South American things.

[Duque de Bragança]

Not the first time it's in a dictatorship and that it was bought.

As far as I know that only time the World Cup ever previously took place in a dictatorship was Argentina in the 1970s and even then that was one of those short lived military South American things.

Check again, before WWII. Hint: Ed's teacher but Ed surpassed him.

[Valmy]

Check again, before WWII. Hint: Ed's teacher but Ed surpassed him.

Oh right. That one probably better fits the mold as Argentina's government had only been in power a short time in 1978.