The World Champions have qualified

Argentina has been awesome in terms of defending their title in the World Cup qualifiers, and last night they could seal their mathematical qualification against none other than their arch-rivals of Brazil in front of a home crowd in Buenos Aires. 

Brazil, on the other hand, have been a shadow of themselves in these qualifiers, lingering on 4th-5th place, which may be sufficient to qualify, but is not where we expect to see the great Brazilians, who at least in social media were eagerly pumping up the atmosphere before the match.

 Perhaps a little air went out of the balloon as Argentina´s qualification was sealed before the match, when Bolivia tied Uruguay at home, but this was not obvious as the match started with a highly motivated Argentina who was leading 2-0 after only 12 minutes on excellent strikes by Julian Alvarez and Enzo Fernandez, and it seemed it could be a total trashing until Cuti Romero gave away the ball to the Wolverhampton striker Matheus Cunha, who scored easily in what was one of Brazil´s few shots in the match. For a short period Brazil seemed optimistic, but it quickly faded as Alexis MacAllister scored a splendid third for Argentina, first-timing a perfect pass from Enzo Fernandez. 

It is always a shame in these matches that players spend as much time bitching and crying as they do playing, and the first half ended in disgraceful arguments and fights between the players. 

Well, they may be great footballers, but they are not upstanding citizens. 

Second half was dominated by Argentina, who could have scored more, but Giuliano Simeone´s marvelous strike was the only goal amid many chances, and Argentina sealed a memorable victory, and appears as a serious contender for the title, even without a certain Lionel Messi….

Nations League Quarterfinals

 If UEFA had wanted a good publicity for the Nations League, they could probably not have fixed the matches to be so perfect as they were yesterday in the second leg of the quarterfinals: full of goals, drama and excitement.

• Portugal defeated Denmark, perhaps not so surprising overall, but certainly in a dramatic fashion after losing 0-1 in Copenhagen. Ronaldo missed a penalty early in the match, but Joachim Andersen equalised via an own goal, before my namesake Rasmus Kristensen equalised for Denmark. In the second half Cristiano Ronaldo finally scored, before Christian Eriksen again equalised for the Danes, and in was only a late strike by Francisco Trincao that brought the match into extra time, and Portugal finally winning 5-2. But credit to the Danes!
• Germany appeared to have it all after winning 1-2 in Italy, and winning 3-0 at half time on goals by Kimmich, Musiala and Kleindienst. But in the second half Italy was reborn, and managed to equalise to 3-3 on two goals by Moise Kean and a late penalty equaliser by Giacomo Raspadori. It was all too exciting for the Germans who are nevertheless through
• Croatia had won 2-0 in the first leg against France, and held in the first half. But in the second half the French equalised the tie on goals by Bayern Munich's Michael Olise and PSG's Ousmane Dembele. It was sufficient to take the match to extra time and penalty kicks, where the French stood tall and won 5-4, as expected, but to great disappointment by the always great Croatians.
• Spain versus Netherlands was probably one of the most expected matches after the first leg between the two rivals ended 2-2 in Amsterdam. The Real Sociedad striker Mikel Oyarzabal gave Spain an early lead on a penalty kick. It held until the second half when Memphis Depay equalised on another penalty, but Mikel Oyarzabal again brought Spain ahead, before Ian Maatsen equalised again, and the match ended 2-2. In extra time the young superstar Lamine Yamal scored a splendid goal to bring Spain ahead 3-2, but again the Dutch equalised to 3-3 by Xavi Simons on a penalty. There had thus been plenty of penalties as the match went into penalty kicks. Despite the fact that the young Lamine Yamal missed for Spain, the Spaniards still managed to pull a 5-4 victory.

So yes, these were very exciting matches for a tournament that most people do not care much about.

At least it is better than boring friendlies.

Internationals

Thursday and Friday there have been a lot of internationals. In Europe the UEFA Nations League quarterfinals kicks off with the first legs, and Denmark defeated Portugal 1-0 on a goal by the young Manchester United player Rasmus Højlund. More surprising perhaps than the victory was that Denmark outplayed the classy Portuguese who are managed by Roberto Martinez, who for six years managed the best Belgian side ever, but never gave them any titles. The Portuguese were bad against Denmark, who may now eye a surprise semifinal?

In other matches Germany defeated Italy, Croatia defeated France and Spain and the Netherlands tied 2-2.

Nearer to home the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals took place. Mexico defeated Canada 0-2 to make it to yet another final, but the real surprise came in the USA-Panama match, where a last minute strike by the Coquimbo Unido striker Cecilio Waterman, gave the Panamanians the victory. The result may nevertheless not be surprising since the Panamanians have the screws on the arrogant North Americans: the have defeated USA in four of the last five matches, among them the 2023 Gold Cup.

Panama will face Mexico in the final on Sunday.

In South America the World Cup qualifiers are heading into the last phase. Brazil and Colombia played, and Brazil got a last second 2-1 victory on a strike by Vinicius Jr. and are third in the qualifiers behind Argentina and Ecuador. That said, Colombia is also likely to qualify as six out of ten teams qualify directly.

In the meantime the Argentine World Champions are all but certain to qualify after having defeated Uruguay 0-1 in Montevideo, on a fantastic long-range strike by the young Lyon player Thiago Almada. Argentina just have to not lose their next match (against Brazil), and will be assured qualification.

Why Darwin?

I did not watch today's Champions League matches because I was working. But as I was heading home in the afternoon I followed the penalty kicks between Liverpool and PSG, following the Parisians surprising 0-1 victory. 

I have never been a fan of Darwin Nuñez; I am surprised he should be the best attacker from a great football nation as Uruguay. When he signed for Liverpool I thought that maybe, just maybe, Liverpool would be the right club for him, but I do not think it has been. So when he went up to strike Liverpool's second kick, I felt he might miss, and I think most people feared or hoped he might (depending on who you support).

And indeed he missed, starting Liverpool's defeat, as Curtis Jones also missed the next shot, while the Parisians scored on all their kicks. 

I know penalty kicks are a high level lottery, and that a defeat cannot be blamed on one penalty miss, but at the same time I wonder why Darwin Nuñez had to take a penalty in such an important match.

PSG are now through having defeated one of the favourites in this weird-format CL, and expect to see all big teams through...

Suffering with Cruz Azul

Here in Mexico they say that being a Cruz Azul fan is to suffer, and yesterday I suffer.

Cruz Azul has not been convincing under their new Uruguayan manager Vicente Sanchez, and they were hosting the Rayados of Monterrey with their new signing in central defense, the former Real Madrid player and all-time record-holder for most red cards in the Spanish League, Sergio Ramos.

Cruz Azul started a bit nervous, and it was none other than an unmarked Sergio Ramos who scored on a header after only 12 minutes, following a corner kick.

After this it was Cruz Azul dominating, and it seemed that Mr. Ramos and company had their problems with in particular Angel Sepulveda and the Polish Cruz Azul player Mateusz Bogusz. And in fact Nacho Rivero's equalizer came from a perfect pass from the Pole in between the two Monterrey central defenders.

1-1 at halftime and Cruz Azul came out with everything in the second half, and within the first fifteen minutes had 4-5 great chances to score, but this is where one suffers, as the strikers were too forgiving. Ten minutes before time, when it felt that Cruz Azul's dominance had to give a goal the Cruz Azul Argentine defender Gonzalo Piovi, who had played a fantastic match, received a direct red card, and this took the air out of the home side. That said, the Greek striker Giorgios Giakoumakis had a chance to win the match for the home team, but in the most shameful way missed.

So it ended 1-1 for Monterrey and Sergio Ramos, and they can only be satisfied, although Ramos was widely booed by the fans for his constant complaining during every situation, and should probably have received a yellow card.

But he will eventually.  

A new record for Salah

Watching the top team in the Premier League, Liverpool, play against the bottom side, Southampton, should not be an interesting match, and it wasn't, despite Will Smallbone bringing the visitors ahead 0-1 just before halftime. In the second half Darwin Nuñez scored one of his rare non-misses to equalize and then Mohammed Salah sealed the victory with two penalty goals.

What was special about the match is that with his two goals the great Egyptian Mohammed Salah sealed his position as top-scorer of the Premier League, and equalized Sergio Agüero's record as the foreigner with most goals in the Premier League, a record he is very likely to get in the next matches. He also became the third all-time Liverpool scorer behind Ian Rush (who was among the spectators today) and Roger Hunt.

Mohammed Salah is already a Liverpool legend, and today just seals it as Liverpool is almost sure to take the title this season. But with a spectacular season the Egyptian seems like the best player in the world at the moment. 

A true star and a true legend.

Coming to Mexico

The Mexican league is an interesting league, partly because of intense historical rivalries, the passionate fans, the quality of Mexican players, as well as many interesting players from specially South America, but also from Europe; either players who made the change unexpectedly and have had great success such as the former Marseille striker Andre-Pierre Gignac, who has played for Tigres for nearly ten years, as well as the Greek striker Giorgios Giakoumakis, who joined Cruz Azul last year. 

Colombian player and journeyman James Rodriguez joined Leon this year, and started well with a goal in his first match in a side that is currently top of the league, and today it was announced that the Rayados of Monterrey have signed former Real Madrid star Sergio Ramos in a very interesting move. Monterrey already have former Sevilla star Lucas Ocampo, as well as Sergio Canales, with a long career in Spain, including the national team.

While it is interesting to play in Mexico, and surely to live in this beautiful country, there is another draw for these recent signing: both Monterrey and Leon will be playing the highly touted FIFA World Club Cup this June in the USA, and for these old stars it is an opportunity to shine late in their careers. But it will also be interesting to see how they fare in Mexico.

The confusing Champions League

The money making machine of the Champions League is over with its new format, with eight teams going through directly to the knock-out, and a further 16 teams going through to the play-off knockout. It did not seem to matter to most teams; the objective was not to end among the bottom twelve where there were not really many surprises.

Surprises perhaps in the top eight: Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter, Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid were accompanied by Aston Villa and Lille. The latter was the best French side, but with favourites PSG, Brest and Monaco all going through to the play-offs. Other big teams made it through to the play-offs too: Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Benfica, Real Madrid.... In my view the problem is that none of the teams really cared that they did not end in the top-8, but that they were able to "relax" some matches without never really putting in doubt that they would progress. And two matches more? They are confident enough to win and make more money on it....

The only big team that really seemed to struggle was crisis-hit Manchester City, who until the last match could have been eliminated but won 3-1 over Club Brugge (who also made it through), and appear likely to be a hard nut to crack for anyone in the play-offs (and more money because it could be a big match!).

The draw for the play-offs will be on Friday.

Debacle

I was almost going to watch Barcelona-Valencia, but decided to do something else as expectations on Valencia doing anything are very low. And thankfully I did not watch a debacle where a team of washed-out veterans and youth players lost 7-1 to FC Barcelona.

Valencia is on its way to be relegated, being second to last, only ahead of hapless Valladolid. Perhaps it is time for Valencia to be relegated following the many years of Telenovela ownershipo by Peter Lim, and ever increasing debt, and all the most talented players being sold (one of the products of Valencia's youth academy, Ferran Torres, scored for Barcelona today). It has been painful to be a Valencia fan during Lim's ownership, and all the club needs is some stability, and perhaps this will be found in Segunda Division...

The worst Manchester United side ever

 It is not the fans, not a journalist or pundit who recently called the current Manchester United side "maybe in the history of Manchester United". No, the one who said it was none other than the current Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim who said it following another Manchester United defeat in the Premier League, 1-3 at home to Brighton.

This is quite an incredible remark from a manager who only joined the side in November 2024, but who has not had the success that was hoped for (or expected). It was also a strange change for Mr. Amorim, who came from success in Sporting Lisbon, and joined a club who was already in an enormous crisis and it did indeed look that Mr. Amorim had to do something superhuman to change what was happening. 

And now it looks that Amorim has realised the truth: that the crisis in Manchester United is deep, very deep, and that it is about the entire club, not just the manager. 

Does his comment help?

I do not think it is wrong to say what many fans and journalists are already saying, and surely many in Manchester United thinking, specially after another loss, and it is a wake-up call to a group of still-highly paid footballers who are clearly not delivering on the pitch. Manchester United looks less as a team than a group of offended rich kids.

Mr. Amorim may be a great manager; at least he speaks truth, but what he will do about it, remains to be seen.

The Country that will host the World Cup

Mr. Donald Trump will be President in 2026 when the World Cup final will be played in the USA, and thus Mr. Trump will be awarding the FIFA Trophy to the winner.

The 2026 World Cup, co-hosted between the USA, Canada and Mexico, will happen in the shadow of increasing world tensions, from the USA bullying the world (notably its co-hosts Mexico and Canada), and wars and tensions in Ukraine, Middle East, Sudan, Central Africa.... Amid all these tensions social media will fan to the fires of nationalism, xenophobia and racism, which will all be burning brightly, not only in the political sphere, but more and more in the social sphere: the new conflicts are no longer conflicts between politicians or nations; they are conflicts between peoples.

And in the midst of all this, football "fans" from 48 nations will congregate for the World Cup, and matches will be full of distrust, overblown pride and outright hate. There will be little friendly cheering, and every play on the pitch will be interpreted as a political event. Just as Real Madrid and Barcelona, many countries will feel that they are entitled to victories, while many players will be fanning the flames of hate by their rich-boy arrogant attitudes.

In such a World Cup the values of football will be completely gone: playfulness, joy, friendly competition, respect and joking will be absent. And whoever lifts the trophy following a war rather than a competition, will receive the trophy by Mr. Trump.

The clasico in the desert

 The Spanish Super Cup final between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid took place in the country that will host the 2034 World Cup, Saudi Arabia, and thus, everyone should stop complaining, because Saudi Arabia is already host to a lot of sports-events, whether we like it or not.

Money talks, specially as these two sides faced one another, and the confrontation happened in the midst of the controversy of Dani Olmo being allowed to play for Barcelona despite some apparently creative financial juggling from FC Barcelona that many Spanish clubs are complaining about. That said, we have always known that there are other rules for these two sides who, despite all the controversy, are always good for some entertainment.

And the final was entertaining indeed. Barcelona was far far superior, but Real Madrid had Kylian Mbappe, who with his speed and quality was basically the only threat that Real Madrid had, and he proved it early on when he brought Real Madrid ahead. But that was virtually everything Real Madrid had to offer, and in particular defenders like Lucas Vasquez, Aurelien Tchouameni and Ferland Mendy were played around with by Barcelona's quick and excellent technicians. Young Lamine Yamal equalized for Barcelona with a brilliant strike, while Robert Lewandoski scored on a penalty committed by another poor Real Madrid player Eduardo Camavinga. By halftime the score was 4-1 for Barcelona with additional goals by Raphinha and Alejandro Balde, and when Raphinha made it 5-1 early in the second half against a Real Madrid side where Ancelotti had decided to make no changes, one thought that this could be a historical victory for Barcelona.

However, Mbappe's speed gave Real Madrid a bit of breathing space as he was taken down by the substitute Polish Barcelona goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny, who was correctly shown a red card (the referee did forgive red cards for Vinicius Jr. and Camavinga nevertheless), and in the subsequent free kick Rodrygo made it 2-5.

Barcelona pulled back, and that was the end result as Real Madrid showed zero threats against a Barcelona side that dominated throughout the match. And if anyone still questions the Balon d'Or: while Vinicius Jr. was invisible throughout the match, Pedri completely dominated the midfield alongside Gavi and Pau Casado to a degree that was humiliating for Real Madrid.

I don't really care that Barcelona won, but it was entertaining to see them play so well, but one has to wonder about Real Madrid: I have always considered Carlo Ancelotti one of the best managers in the world, but in this match he seemed to have missed everything. Tchouameni and Lucas Vasquez were simply not up to the task, and he had no answers to Barcelona's midfield control. It was one of the worst displays of Real Madrid in that desert afternoon in Saudi Arabia.

2025 forecasts

It is hard to be optimistic about 2025, both in and outside football. Football, like the world in general, is becoming more tribal, hateful, since hate and tribalism mobilises more money. Fewer and fewer fans watch because they want to watch good football, but rather because they want to belong to their tribe and hate the other tribe.

It is sad, but with that out of the way I have my predictions for 2025 (I am notably bad at predicting though):

• Liverpool will win the Premier League, and I think that Manchester City will squeeze into the top 4 instead of Nottingham Forest. Amorin will fail to qualify Manchester United to Europe.
• Real Madrid or Liverpool will win the Champions League, whose current format will favour all the traditional top teams as the surprises in the league will all be eliminated in the first round of knock-outs. FC Barcelona will suffer from its financial mess and not get far.
• Brazilian teams will be even more dominant in South America, and all four semifinalists of the Libertadores will be Brazilian
• The Club World Cup will be a big economic success for FIFA as they get the European teams on board, who will completely dominate the tournament with some VAR and referee assistance
• Real Madrid will win La Liga after a lucky streak ahead of Atletico Madrid. Valencia will be relegated and will have a hard time returning to the top flight.
• France will win the UEFA Nations League.
• FC Copenhagen will win the Danish League, Bayern Munich the German, Napoli the Italian, PSG the French.
• Cristiano Ronaldo will return to Europe to finish his career.