Peter Anderson ⚽️ As the World Cup heads towards the pointy end one thing is clear: World Cup 2022 is high on entertainment but low on quality. 

It has been for a few years, but now the gap is widening to a noticeable level. Most of the big names at this World Cup are in their mid-thirties. Think Ronaldo, Messi, Lewandoski, Bale, Modric, Suarez, Cavani and Giroud; all yesterday's men. With the exceptions of Mbappe and Vinicius, there has been a severe lack of new, exciting talent. 

Germany have gone home, a pale imitation of previous dominant sides. Belgium too, their "golden generation" wasted on a clueless manager in Martinez, promoted above his talent. Much like Sven and the English golden generation of 20 years ago. Brazil, who used to arrive at World Cups packed with superstars, now fields Man U sub, Fred and Spurs sub, Richarlison, with Vinicius and Neymar the only superstars available. Argentina also tells a similar story. With Messi and Di Maria well past their prime, they take to the field with Brighton's Macallister and Man City youngster, Alvarez. Gone are the days of South American mystic.

This lack of squad quality or depth has thrown up some interesting points. Firstly, with France missing their established spine of Pogba, Benzema, Lucas and N'Golo Kante, England have arguably the strongest squad, certainly the deepest. I still think that their Pickford-Maguire-Stones central partnership and Southgate's lack of nous will cost them dear. They destroyed Senegal on Sunday night but now face France in a potential thriller next weekend. I can't wait for that one!

And secondly, and perhaps most importantly, is that the World Cup is wide open. Never before has every FIFA federation been represented in the last 16. We have seen a brave few upsets and more seem on the cards. I work for a Madrid company and know full well that the Spanish are bricking it over facing Morocco.

I still think that France-Brazil is the most likely final, but I would not be surprised to see a "new" team make the final, certainly the semi-final. The "smaller" teams are making this a very entertaining competition, despite the negative press, but if you want real quality footy then you'll need to wait until the Champions League kicks off again in the New Year.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports.

High Entertainment ⚽️ Low Quality

Peter Anderson ⚽️ As the World Cup heads towards the pointy end one thing is clear: World Cup 2022 is high on entertainment but low on quality. 

It has been for a few years, but now the gap is widening to a noticeable level. Most of the big names at this World Cup are in their mid-thirties. Think Ronaldo, Messi, Lewandoski, Bale, Modric, Suarez, Cavani and Giroud; all yesterday's men. With the exceptions of Mbappe and Vinicius, there has been a severe lack of new, exciting talent. 

Germany have gone home, a pale imitation of previous dominant sides. Belgium too, their "golden generation" wasted on a clueless manager in Martinez, promoted above his talent. Much like Sven and the English golden generation of 20 years ago. Brazil, who used to arrive at World Cups packed with superstars, now fields Man U sub, Fred and Spurs sub, Richarlison, with Vinicius and Neymar the only superstars available. Argentina also tells a similar story. With Messi and Di Maria well past their prime, they take to the field with Brighton's Macallister and Man City youngster, Alvarez. Gone are the days of South American mystic.

This lack of squad quality or depth has thrown up some interesting points. Firstly, with France missing their established spine of Pogba, Benzema, Lucas and N'Golo Kante, England have arguably the strongest squad, certainly the deepest. I still think that their Pickford-Maguire-Stones central partnership and Southgate's lack of nous will cost them dear. They destroyed Senegal on Sunday night but now face France in a potential thriller next weekend. I can't wait for that one!

And secondly, and perhaps most importantly, is that the World Cup is wide open. Never before has every FIFA federation been represented in the last 16. We have seen a brave few upsets and more seem on the cards. I work for a Madrid company and know full well that the Spanish are bricking it over facing Morocco.

I still think that France-Brazil is the most likely final, but I would not be surprised to see a "new" team make the final, certainly the semi-final. The "smaller" teams are making this a very entertaining competition, despite the negative press, but if you want real quality footy then you'll need to wait until the Champions League kicks off again in the New Year.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports.

6 comments:

  1. The biggest problem is that young exceptional talent are spotted and signed then sent to an academy to have their talent taken away from them by coaching experts who most of the football world have never heard of ..like most sports they have been infiltrated by sport gurus AKA spoofers

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  2. There is talent in Australia coming through, we blooded lots of new young players and they did themselves credit. I can see them getting to a semi final in the future. Would be a lot more if the Australian Government invested a fair share into the game rather than netball, AFL and Rugby. Football is the number 1 most participated sport down here and receives sweet FA in comparison to these other sports. I spend a fair bit of time coaching kids and can see a lot of talent on the pitch that needs nurturing but isn't due, to the lack of resources. Frustrating.

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  3. Steve R
    How is the system Down Under? In Spain, the kids only play 7-a-side until they're 12. Every neighbourhood has dozens of 7-a-side pitches and there are literally hundreds of kids teams. It is a joy to behold! They are light years ahead of us. I remember in primary school playing on 11-a-side pitches and the keeper had no chance of saving a shot. His highest jump was still a yard short of the crossbar!

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    1. No 11 a side for under 11's Peter, and the pitches are set much smaller. Futsal is exploding in popularity and in the club I'm involved with I Futsal is used as a component of training, usually once a week. Vastly improves close control and quick thinking which translates onto the park. I tend to get my boys to use a tennis ball for a good part of training because it helps no end! Takes me back to my Primary school days too!

      The irritation is in community sport level. There's no assistance from the State for costing and it can be over 600 bucks (400 quid-ish) per year for kids to play whereas the other sports are heavily subsidized. AFL and Rugby fight tooth and nail to keep Soccer out at all costs because they can see their own demise as it gets more popular. The talent is here we just need to look at who we've produced down the years from Craig Johnson to Kewell, Viduka, Cahill et al. Hell, even Christian Vieri grew up in Sydney and his brother played for Australia before he played in and for Italy!

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  4. From what I saw of the World Cup England were the best side in it. They were unlucky this evening. But pleased France went through. My son is in Lyon going wild with his France top

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