qualification just over 12 months away now for nations across the globe looking to book their place at the 2022 tournament.
That hotly (pun) anticipated tournament – scheduled to take place between November 21 and December 18 – is controversially to be held in winter in order to avoid the searing summer temperatures of Qatar, with domestic seasons heavily disrupted. This could be the tournament that makes or breaks the idea of domestic football taking a back seat to accommodate international competition.
The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic means it will be just a 16-month gap between the climax of the European Championship and the next World Cup. Questions will be asked of the schedule players will asked of when the compete on club and international platforms. Governing body Fifa now wants to make football’s biggest event a biennial affair which will only further complicate schedules for players and their clubs
Qatar automatically qualify for their first World Cup as hosts, while Germany’s 4-0 win overNorth Macedonia on October 11 saw them guarantee a finals place with two games to spare.