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The first round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers are now over. So far, twenty one countries have directly qualified for the tournament to be held in Brazil next summer. There have been no major surprises in terms of qualification; some teams like England cut it rather fine but they did enough to get the job done. The next round is the dreaded play-offs. The draw is officially complete and the play-offs will be over by late November. The play-offs see twenty two nations competing for the remaining eleven spots.
Let’s take a look at a few things to look forward to during the qualifiers:
1) Zlatan Ibrahimovich vs. Cristiano Ronaldo – When Portugal and Sweden were drawn to play against one another, the first thing that came to most people’s minds was that Ronaldo and Ibrahimovich, two of the best forwards of their generation, would be playing against one another. Both will be crucial to their countries hopes of winning the play-off and both would like to play in the World Cup next year, especially Zlatan, given his age. The flipside of this draw is that fans will only get to see one of the two superstars at Brazil next year. Ah well, can’t have it all now, can we?
Chelsea reserve player/trialist Bertrand Traore will be key to Burkina Faso’s chances
2) Burkina Faso making their maiden World Cup – Burkina Faso (known as Upper Volta till 1984) aren’t a known entity in world football. At all. Prior to 2013, when they made the finals of the African Cup of Nations, their biggest accomplishment in international football was a fourth place finish in the same tournament in 1998 when they hosted it. However, the minnows have been on the rise of late and are currently 3-2 up on aggregate against Algeria. They have the chance to make history and qualify for the World Cup for the very first time on November 19th.
France national team
3) Can France find form at the right time? – France are the strongest European team in the pay-offs. One wouldn’t expect a team that possesses the quality they do to be in the play-offs; however, over the past few years, trouble and the French national side have gone hand-in-hand. They will face a stiff test when they take on Ukraine. If France can find their form, they won’t have any trouble seeing off Ukraine. However, it remains to be seen whether France will decide to turn up for the qualifiers or not.
Iceland national team
4) Iceland looking to make history – Iceland have been one of the biggest surprise packages of the qualifiers. Playing with attacking freedom, they have somehow made it to the play-offs and should they make it, they will be the smallest ever nation to play in the World Cup. They will have to beat Croatia, which won’t be easy at all. However, Croatia are in a bit of a crisis. They have lost their last four qualifiers on the trot and they dismissed manager Igor Stimac after their disaster showing. The match will be a tense one, for sure.
