Have to say that this was one hell of a World Cup. Not at all what I was expecting but that is what makes the game great. The Final was actually kind of a mess. Entertaining, certainly, but not the best tactical/strategic game. France got completely out played all over the field and still wins the game rather easily. I would say this Cup was great for the game because it kept a lot of casual fans watching and entertained. But I would also say that overall it was not the greatest Cup from a quality of play perspective. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it as much as anyone, but many great teams struggled to put quality games together over the course of the tournament.
Friends and I continue to bet that the next WC will not be in Qatar. Many of us think they were simply waiting to get this one over before that controversy starts. Personally, I think it is completely outrageous that they would even consider having the Cup there let alone change it to the winter so people don't die from the heat. The disruption to the leagues will be enormous. I do not think FIFA will change their minds on their own, but I do think it is possible that the European Federation (or even South America) threaten to boycott if it is not changed. Only something of that magnitude will likely get them to change it. Another friend thinks the US bid won for 2026, because they can always move them up to 2022 since all the infrastructure is already in place. Will be interesting to watch, but I do not think it will get changed. Oh and do not get me started about expanding for this year because Qatar does not even have the facilities right now for the 32 team field. I have been to many World Cups but I do not think you could pay me to go to Qatar.
Thinking about 2026, I am not sure how I think about expanding to 48 teams. That is 16 more teams. Would be great if the next best teams got in but the allocation is ridiculous. Africa gets 4 more, Asia could have 4 more, CONCACAF gets six teams, only one more likely from South America and 3 from Europe. Then there is a ridiculous 6 team playoff for the last 2 spots (Can not be a team from Europe and one will be from the host). Hell, in 2026 all of Concacaf could be in the tournament. Then, there are 16 groups of 3 and the top two teams move on the get back to the original 32. I really do not get it. All about the politics. So the vast majority of the new teams come from the worst performing countries who will likely get eliminated anyway before we get to 32 teams. The only thing that I like about this is that one group game gets replaced by a knockout game. The big problem is with draws and with three teams there is a lot of room for collusion between teams in the last game. I think they are going to have to go to a shootout for games that end in a draw and award the winner an extra point. I think this is the only way to avoid a ton of controversy. Again, will be interesting to see how this evolves.
Its been fun, 4 years will be here before you know it.
