The FIFA World Cup is the biggest showcase of talent and ability in football, with many footballers skyrocketing their careers.
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Six Confederations, 211 Countries, 32 Spots. One out of the 32 spots in the FIFA World Cup is an unrivalled source of joy, happiness, ecstasy, and elation. Perhaps more importantly, the feeling of representing one’s country when the entire world stops to watch is arguably the best feeling, and no one, except the host nation, is guaranteed a spot. Even before the curtain raiser of the tournament in Qatar, the footballing fraternity saw a number of big names slip out of the quadrennial event.
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The FIFA World Cup is the biggest showcase of talent and ability in football, with many footballers skyrocketing their careers on the back of strong performances on the grandest of stages among the best talent across the globe.
The World Cup is the pinnacle of international football. While the nation’s failure or failure to qualify has caused embarrassment, it has also caused heartbreak.
Colombia are currently ranked 17th in the FIFA World Rankings, and the country’s best performance came at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Colombia had incredible runs in the previous two editions and began to amass impressive results, and with names like James Rodriguez in their arsenal, they were one of the favourites to book a flight to Qatar. Colombia finished sixth in the CONMEBOL qualifiers, effectively ending their chances of competing in Qatar.
Peru currently occupies the 23rd spot in the FIFA World Rankings, and their best result came just over 50 years ago, in 1970, when the FIFA World Cup was held in Mexico. After finishing fifth in the CONMEBOL qualifiers, Peru advanced to the intercontinental playoffs and faced Australia. The teams failed to score in the first 90 minutes, and the game went to extra time at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium. Andrew Redmayne, who came on as a substitute, proved to be the hero, ending Peru’s qualification hopes.
Chile are ranked 29th in the FIFA World Rankings, and their best World Cup performance came in 1962, when they were the hosts and finished third in the competition. Chile progressed to the Round of 16 stages twice in the last three world cups making them strong contenders to qualify for the tournament. With their star players like Sanchez and Vidal underperforming and having won only one of their last four qualification matches, Chile was unable to secure one of the 32 spots in Qatar.
