Looking back at International Week
November 26, 2007 2:00 PM
With EURO 2008 and the road to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa now set, I thought I would take this time to make some overdue observations on the latest twists and turns in international soccer in the past week.
A week ago Saturday, it was hard to imagine that England would have had a chance to reach Austria and Switzerland next summer, but Israel’s win over Russia underlined the parity now regularly seen at the international level. It was that type of parity that still gave the likes of Finland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland a chance to reach the finals. By that Saturday, Scotland’s hearts were broken by Italy, while Finland and Northern Ireland took their hopes to the final qualifying day last Wednesday.
In typical fashion, I sensed that level of over-confidence from the English media that the Israel result had all but booked their place at EURO 2008 - as if to say that that a win or draw with Croatia would be routine. I understand that I’m saying this, despite the dark cloud that hung over the England squad and their head coach Steve McClaren at the time, but I keep harking back to my experience of English soccer fans and their somewhat blinded confidence that they can beat any country in the world, no matter what the situation is. Though this may dissatisfy England fans who read this, the soccer gods were smiling on Wednesday. Croatia were the far better side at Wembley Stadium and deserved to beat The Three Lions. England’s performance was very poor and indicative of their woeful qualifying campaign. I was relieved when they were knocked out. Had they reached EURO 2008, the inevitable tournament exit would still have come and McClaren would eventually be out of a job. Instead, the reaction of the English Football Association to missing the finals was surprisingly swift and decisive. The FA have had the reputation of tending to let such decisions hang in the air, while the media and public opinion have already made up their minds. McClaren’s firing last Thursday was not a surprise, what was a surprise to me was the quickness of the decision and the strong language used by FA chairman Geoff Thompson at the press conference. You could say that The FA were trying to put forward an image of credibility. I would say that their moves were a start by English soccer’s governing body, but the appointment of McClaren’s successor and addressing their system’s failings are what The FA should be measured on from this point forward.
As for the final tournament, Croatia impressed me throughout the EURO 2008 qualifiers and will be worth watching. I would also like to put a word in for Romania, who only suffered one defeat and finished ahead of the Netherlands in Group G. They have some notable players like Adrian Mutu and Cristian Chivu, but keep your eye on striker Daniel Niculae. He plays his club soccer in France’s Ligue 1 for Auxerre and could become one of the stars of the finals. In fact, the make-up for EURO 2008 includes six Eastern European countries and not a single nation from the British Isles…How times have changed…
By the weekend, things quickly shifted to South Africa and Sunday’s preliminary draw for the World Cup. Canada were handed a tough path to the finals in 2010, with the likelihood of having to face top CONCACAF rivals in Honduras, Jamaica, and Mexico in the semifinal group stage. Before that, Dale Mitchell’s squad must contend with St. Vincent & the Grenadines over two legs in June. They might sound like a soccer minnow, but they were ranked pretty high amongst second tier of nations in the region. Having witnessed part of Canada’s poor performance in South Africa last week, assuming we will waltz this tie next June is a dangerous thought, in my opinion.
Some of the other notable results from Sunday’s draw were the USA likely facing political rival Cuba in the same CONCACAF group stage. England will have revenge on their minds after getting Croatia in their European group, while the former Yugoslav republic of Montenegro will compete for the first time as an independent nation in a qualifying group that includes Italy, Bulgaria, and the Republic of Ireland. In Asia, the third-round group stage saw Australia, China, and Asian champions Iraq drawn together, while more political undertones were raised from North and South Korea being paired in Group Three with Jordan and Turkmenistan. In Africa, the second-round group consisting of Senegal, Algeria, Liberia, and Gambia will be interesting to watch, while Nigeria will have to contend with hosts South Africa in Group Four. The South Africans will participate in this stage, as the competition also counts towards qualification for the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola.
South America and Oceania have already begun their qualification processes in the past couple of months. That may be hard to believe for some, as we are about two-and-a-half years away from South Africa 2010. However, when you consider that 204 countries are trying to make the finals, then you can see the magnitude and level of global organization that is needed. After all, it is the biggest single sporting event on the planet….
Posted By: Simon Fudge on November 26, 2007 2:00 PM
