By Papi Briano ‘Spanish Football Matador’
The countdown to Russia 2018 is nigh, the date for the draw is 1st December. At the time of writing only 8 teams had secured qualification: Russia, Brazil, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Belgium and Mexico. With two consecutive rounds of fixtures to decide the groups during the international break, expect either distraught, relieved or ecstatic players once they return to their clubs for league action next weekend. The process hasn’t been as straightforward for some nations as we have come to expect and here we isolate two of those biggest names which are in precarious situations as far as securing their spots is concerned.
Argentina: Two times champions and last edition’s runners-up are undoubtedly the biggest possible casualty. The patient is not dead yet but the symptoms are terminal. Argentina have only scored 16 goals in sixteen rounds while conceding fifteen. A team that boasts the ultra-attacking talents of Messi, Aguero, Dybala, Higuain, Di Maria et al have scored the second fewest goals in the qualification round robin in South America! Only the top four secure automatic qualification and currently the Albiceleste lie 5th which only guarantees a two-legged play-off spot against New Zealand. While it was once inconceivable that we could have a World Cup without Messi it’s now fast approaching a harsh reality. The hiring of Sampaoli, the third coach during qualifying, from Sevilla was supposed to instill drive and belief into an ageing squad that had lost in four consecutive finals of major competitions. There only seems to be a mild flicker only when Messi is on the pitch, when he has been injured or suspended the team simply doesn’t win.
Sampaoli has tried to rejig the squad calling up new players, mostly attacking ones, to try and complement Messi’s talents but there has been no gelling. This is simply attributed to the consistent cutting and chopping of the midfield and forward line. The Dybala experiment has particularly been a letdown since him and Messi have almost the same kind of positional play leading to Messi to drop farther back into midfield. Now the coach has recalled Fernando Gago for the last two rounds to try add more inventiveness to a midfield which seems to sink to a new low with every match given the mind numbing displays they have put on show during the qualifiers.
Argentina first face Peru at home on Friday then finish off against Ecuador in Quito, some 9,500 feet above sea level, every Argentina fans’ worst nightmare if Messi and co don’t produce at home facing Peru. Peru currently occupy the fourth and final automatic qualifying spot, level on points and goal difference with Argentina but ahead of them by virtue of goals scored. Defeat at home to Peru could mean they make the playoffs at best. Two wins out of the two remaining games secures qualification. The only problem is they are three games without a win and have managed only back-to-back wins once in qualifying, and that was 18 months ago. Expect a riveting and nail biting photo finish to the end.
Holland: They have been a mess for a while even made a dog’s breakfast out of qualifying for Euro 2016. In their current situation it will take the most favorable of outcomes to just make the play-offs. It makes some grim reading if you are a fan of the Dutch; Robben will only likely make it to Russia as a fan the way things stand. With two games remaining they trail leaders France by four points and second-placed Sweden by three. Only the sides in top spots are guaranteed a place in Russia, with the eight best runners-up facing a play off. As fate would have it, the Dutch will be facing one of the teams above them that being Sweden in Amsterdam next Tuesday in their penultimate game. It may be too late by then…
To get an even clearer picture Arjen Robben remains their most exciting player at the age of 33 while the coach, Dick Advocaat, has recalled Ryan Babel in place of the ineffectual Wesley Sneijder! That’s without mentioning that Van Persie is also back in the team apparently for inspiration. The odds are greatly stacked against them in reality but failure to qualify for a second consecutive major tournament will be tantamount to blasphemy in this football mad country. Isn’t Holland supposed to be the greatest footballing nation to never win the World Cup? Right now its fans just want to get to this one. You can’t blame them.
If matches involving Argentina and Holland in their qualification quests are not must see TV, am willing to learn the new meaning. This is box-office material in the waiting!