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2014 FIFA World Cup - qualification


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I know, but what were the chances anyway that Canada would qualify? They have done so only once, and that was 26 years ago. You can comfort yourself with the prospect of hosting the Women's World Cup in 2015, with probably much better prospects for the Canadian team there (judging by the team's performance at the London Games).

The reason we're so disappointed is because this was our first chance in 15 years to make the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, which includes the continent's top 6 teams. We never make it to the final round anymore. We actually never even come close. This time, we had a real shot at making the final round. And out of those 6 teams, the top 4 would qualify for the World Cup (the 4th place CONCACAF team would most likely face New Zealand in a playoff, which is much better than having to play Uruguay like the last time), and we avoided playing Mexico and the US until now. All the stars aligned for Canada making the final round, and to lose 8-1 is just adding insult to injury. At least Germany still has many chances to qualify. Canada is out.

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OK, I overreacted a bit. I can understand that it's even harder to know that your country won't qualify for the World Cup yet again.

On the other hand, yesterday's performance of the German team raises a lot of difficult questions, too. We are used to qualifying for the big tournaments, so we rather expect titles of our team. And with such a narrow brink between excellence (which the German team showed in the first 60 minutes of the match against Sweden) and disaster (in the final 30 minutes), one has to ask oneself the question whether this German team will ever win any title.

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*lol* You don't have to feel sorry. Of course we raise the bar very high for our national team and we had much reason to do so in recent years, bearing in mind that that team got pretty close to winning titles in 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012.

But on the other hand, one can't deny that the team has a mental problem. That showed during EURO 2012 already, especially in the semifinal against Italy. That showed also in other matches before and after the EURO (the first two World Cup qualifiers against the Faroe Islands and Austria were pretty shaky as well, and the 6-1 against a disastrous Irish team only disguised the problem). And that's a serious issue to be addressed if Germany still wants to play for and even win titles.

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So last night's match wasn't a unique event. It only has showed an old problem much clearer than ever before: that the team lacks the ability to fight even under difficult circumstances, to keep focussed and to sustain a good performance. As I said, the brink between excellence and disaster is appallingly narrow for that team.

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England's World Cup qualifier against Poland in Warsaw has been postponed because of a waterlogged pitch

The stadium where the match would be held has a retractable roof. What happened?

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I feel sorry for my friend deawebo, supporter of Guatemala. They also were close to the final stage, but fell behind Jamaica on goal difference. But they showed progress and one day will be in world cup, as well as Venezuela.

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Polish officials scramble to explain roof fiasco

Officials in Poland scrambled Wednesday to explain why they failed to close the stadium roof and prevent the country's World Cup qualifier with England being postponed by a waterlogged pitch.

The match was rescheduled for Wednesday.

Heavy rain on Tuesday left pools of water on the field at the 1.8 billion zloty ($600 million) National Stadium, built for this year's European Championship. The stadium has a retractable roof, but it was left open despite intensifying rainfall.

On Wednesday, the Polish Football Association and the National Sports Center, which runs the stadium, were trying to avoid taking the blame.

According to stadium managers, the Polish FA said that neither team, nor the FIFA representative or referee, wanted the roof closed, despite the bad weather. FIFA requires matches to be held under natural conditions, the same as during training.

They said the roof cannot be closed while it rains, which was the case for most of the day Tuesday. They also denied that the recently-fitted grass was of poor quality and unable to absorb the rain. They maintained the drainage was sufficient and worked properly after the roof was closed when the rain stopped.

"(The) FIFA match commissioner decided at 8 p.m. to close the roof,'' but the stadium managers said it was not possible due to the heavy rain, the association said. The FA apologized to the fans for the inconvenience.

The folding roof was opened during the day Wednesday, despite earlier plans to have the game played indoors.

AP

http://sportsillustr....248/index.html

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At least they watched a dribble and a celebration :lol:

Sometimes it is better thave a stadium with a good drainage system than an expensive one with a retractable roof.

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England U21s qualifier yesterday

Danny Rose has monkey chants aimed at him for 90 minutes, has stones thrown at him by Serbian fans, and in response kicks the ball into the crowd in anger at the end of the match. A fairly mild response to such provocation one would think.

Of course, the behaivour of the Serbian fans and their players has been big news today with even the Prime Minister asking UEFA to punish Serbia. And the Serbian FA have just released a statement....

Serbian FA response..."While most of the English team players celebrated the score, their player number three, Danny Rose, behaved in inappropriate, unsportsmanlike and vulgar manner towards the supporters on the stands at the stadium in Krusevac, and for that he was shown a red card."

Vile lot these Serbians aren't they? A player gets racially abused during a match and has stones thrown at him, and rather than apologise for their fans' behaivour the Serbian FA calls the victim 'vulgar' and 'unsportsmanlike' for reacting to it.

A ban is more than apporopriate for Serbia now and they wouldn't be missed given that this is the second time England's black players have been treated like this in that country. And let's not forget the riot they caused in Italy last year too.

If UEFA doesn't ban Serbia they should - as a bare minimum - consider the country unsafe for visiting teams and have them play their home matches in a safe, neutral country (in the same way Pakistan have to in cricket).

Absolutely fuming about this having read what the Serbs have to say, :angry:

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What's a "hexagonal"? Why not a rhomboid?

Its Concacaf `s qualifying last round, a single group of six teams (USA, Jamaica, Mexico , Costa Rica, Honduras and Panama),

the top 3 teams advance to 2014 World Cup and the fourth-placed team will advance to a play off against the winner of the Oceania qualifiers (probably New Zealand)

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And with such a narrow brink between excellence (which the German team showed in the first 60 minutes of the match against Sweden) and disaster (in the final 30 minutes), one has to ask oneself the question whether this German team will ever win any title.

The problem is that the German team leadership and football association have jointly fostered a culture of mediocrity over the past 20 years or so. That issue didn't originate with Joachim Löw, but he has certainly not made things better. Under his leadership, Germany scored the following results (he was responsible for the strategy in the 2006 World Cup as well, since Jürgen Klinsmann didn't have a coaching licence)

  • 2006: Defeated by Italy in the World Cup (during a semifinal on home soil)
  • 2008: Loss against Spain in the final of the Euro
  • 2010: Semifinal loss against Spain in the World Cup
  • 2012: Semifinal loss against Italy in the Euro

Now, we all acknowledge that the world has changed - but that hasn't really expanded the pool of contestants for the World Cup. Whilst I'm not quite certain how you read the above performances of the German national squad, I would be inclined to see them as a mediocre balance sheet at best. When a country of Germany's capacity, prestige and ability in footballing enters the World Cup, its objective cannot be to place fourth or fifth. But what really became clear to me during the match against Sweden was this: The players just quite simply don't give a damn about playing for the Federal Republic - they don't sing the national anthem (and as the child of immigrants to this nation, I feel very strongly about this issue), take the fans for granted, constantly sweet-talk a record of utter disappointment and failure and just don't fight on the pitch.

That's what irked me the most after the Olympic Games, by the way: The German Olympians, people who often train at great personal sacrifice and without millions in sponsorship deals, fought hard and with valour - so that they could climb up on that podium and sing our anthem and do our country proud. Let's face it: Most participant in the Olympic Games (including gold medallists) would dream about the kind of attention showered on footballers (or cricketers/rugby players, if you're from one of the Commonwealth countries). Yesterday's match revolted me to the core - Germany gave away a decisive lead, and effectively snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Part of me even wanted our team to fail and the Swedes to score the 4:5. Why? Because these overpaid millionaires need to wake up, and so do the executives in the German footballing establishment. If you don't do well in the World Cup, fine - if it happens a second time, that's alright as well. But four successive defeats? Germany has been without any title since 1996 (Euro). We haven't won the World Cup for 22 years. Here's why: We have stopped believing that it matters, that our country and representing it matter at all.

It's time for the German media and the fans to stop accepting lousy excuses from a mediocre, failed coach and demand real performance - on and off the pitch. After all, as they say, the definition of insanity is if you try the same thing over and over and expect a different result. Yesterday's match showed that there is nothing to be expected from Messrs Löw, Bierhoff, Schweinsteiger, Özil and Khedira. Time to tear these guys a new one!

Sorry about the rant, but I feel rather passionate about my football!

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It's hard to believe that's the attitude of German fans right now. Here in Engand we see your team as one which almost scores at will, plays attractive football, is consistently a challenger for titles even if it doesn't quite get them, and has players which seem to show great pride playing for their country. The crop of players which suddenly emereged in 2010 for Germany was amazing frankly. There is also widespread belief your FA and the Bundesliga does much more to foster your national team than ours does. Along with France's Clairefontaine and Spains club academies, Germany is a country we look at most of the time and say "why can't we do things the way they do?"

I can't believe you're all so down on yourselves.

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plusbrillantsexploits, I wouldn't call it "mediocre" if our team manages to stay in the Top 5 (or even Top 3) of national teams worldwide over the course of six years straight. After the early defeats in the 1994 and 1998 World Cups and the EUROs in 2000 and 2004, that is really not a self-evident record.

I wouldn't call it "mediocre" either that judging by the number of won matches (I believe the share currently is about 68 %), Jogi Löw is the most successful coach in the national team's history.

And I wouldn't accuse the respective players of "not giving a damn about playing for Germany" just because they don't sing the anthem. This is a fake debate, and I could only laugh and shake my head in disbelief when all those football "experts" blamed the EURO defeat against Italy on the non-singing of the anthem by several players. I think it's a personal decision to either sing or not sing, but not a sign for a lack of motivation on the field of play.

However, it's true that the German team needs balls and more fighting spirit. To me, they sometimes appear spoiled by their own talent. They have to learn that they can't rely on playing beautifully only and always finding an easy not overly-defensive opponent who allows them to play their style. They have to use their talent more efficiently. And they have to develop the strong will to fight, fight, fight for a big goal - instead of always telling at news conferences that "of course we want to become European/World Champions". They also have to feel it and not only say it.

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It's hard to believe that's the attitude of German fans right now. Here in Engand we see your team as one which almost scores at will, plays attractive football, is consistently a challenger for titles even if it doesn't quite get them, and has players which seem to show great pride playing for their country. The crop of players which suddenly emereged in 2010 for Germany was amazing frankly. There is also widespread belief your FA and the Bundesliga does much more to foster your national team than ours does. Along with France's Clairefontaine and Spains club academies, Germany is a country we look at most of the time and say "why can't we do things the way they do?"

I can't believe you're all so down on yourselves.

I don't remember that you were that relaxed about your own national team after the defeats in recent EUROs and World Cups. ;) You want your team to win titles as well, don't you. And I think it's only natural that if your team is already among the top teams in the world, you also strongly expect them to win at least one title.

And even in a talented team there are always flaws - as I said: To me, the German players sometimes seem spoiled by their talent and by the feeling that everything has been arranged fine for them so far by managers, clubs and even the praise of the general public. They don't use their full potential, and that is what we (I think, rightfully) urge them to change.

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I don't remember that you were that relaxed about your own national team after the defeats in recent EUROs and World Cups. ;) You want your team to win titles as well, don't you. And I think it's only natural that if your team is already among the top teams in the world, you also strongly expect them to win at least one title.

I'm not saying don't be dissapointed, especially after throwing away a 4 goal lead. What I am saying is you've got it pretty good, so don't go throwing the baby out with the bathwater. There's a thin line between not winning trophies and winning them and Germany is doing much, much more right than its doing wrong. A tweak in mentality and a bit of luck is perhaps all you need to get there. Reading plusbrilliantsexploits' post you'd think German football was in crisis when in actual fact it's looked upon with envy even from countries like my own.

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The game against Sweden was an accident. Germany remains the best team together with Spain. They are the favorites for 2014. I also include Argentina in this list because the proximity and a "certain player".

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CONCACAF asks FIFA to conduct World Cup qualifying draw

Unable to agree on a schedule for the final round of World Cup qualifying, the United States and five other nations in the hexagonal have asked FIFA to conduct a draw.

Representatives of the six federations in the North and Central American and Caribbean final round met Friday in Miami in an attempt to work out a schedule for the matches, which start Feb. 6 and end Oct. 15.

The U.S., seeking its seventh straight World Cup appeared, was joined at the CONCACAF meeting by Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama and Jamaica. The draw by FIFA may be held Nov. 7.

AP

http://www.usatoday....r-draw/1645341/

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Minister offers to resign over roof fiasco

Poland's sports minister offered to resign on Wednesday over the embarrassing postponement of the country's World Cup qualifier against England last week after torrential rain turned the National Stadium pitch into a swimming pool.

FIFA ordered the match to be played a day later after the game, originally set for October 16, was called off when officials failed to close a retractable roof over the venue that cost £344 million for Euro 2012.

The debacle sparked a wave of criticism from fans and pundits and prompted Prime Minister Donald Tusk to vow to punish those responsible. He will present his findings later on Wednesday.

"I feel politically responsible for the situation," Sports Minister Anna Mucha told reporters. "The responsibility of the minister is not only to make sure that all procedures are followed. It's wider."

The Sports Ministry oversees the National Sports Centre, owners of the stadium, and are blamed by some for failing to anticipate trouble with the playing surface.

Local media reported the pitch was much thinner than the one used for Euro 2012 matches, making it less able to absorb the heavy precipitation.

Organisers said the roof over the 58,000 capacity arena could not be closed during rainfall due to safety concerns and neither of the teams nor FIFA wanted to close it when there was still time.

Poland managed a 1-1 draw in the delayed World Cup qualifier but both managers lamented the effects the delay had on their players.

Thousands of angry fans also complained that they did not attend the match because they could not afford to stay longer in Warsaw and reschedule their tickets home.

Wednesday's game was played under the roof despite sunny weather and mostly clear skies.

http://uk.eurosport....-085742601.html

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Official sacked after stadium roof fiasco

Robert Wojtas was on Monday dismissed as head of the National Sports Centre (NCS) after a World Cup qualifier against England was postponed recently when officials failed to close the stadium's retractable roof amid heavy rainfall.

The NCS runs the National Stadium, which saw farcical scenes on October 16 when torrential rain and a waterlogged pitch forced the match to be rescheduled for the following night.

Sports Minister Joanna Mucha dismissed Wojtas, and said that Michal Prymas would take charge of the centre for the rest of the year.

Prymas was the head of Euro Poznan 2012, a company in charge of getting the central Polish city ready for the championships that Poland co-hosted with Ukraine.

Mucha offered to step down last week, but Prime Minister Donald Tusk did not accept the resignation and defended Mucha amid calls for her to quit over the embarrassing incident.

Tusk said there was nobody to blame, but criticised the Polish football association PZPN.

PZPN has said the Fifa delegate requested the closure of the roof one hour ahead of the original kick-off and was told by NCS that was not possible because of safety concerns.

http://www.superspor...ium_roof_fiasco

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