The national team of Ecuador defeated Colombia this past Sunday 1-0 in Quito. The victory moved Ecuador into fourth place by themselves trailing only Chile, Uruguay, and Argentina. Ecuador has played 5 out of the scheduled 16 games that make up the 2014 World Cup qualifying schedule. Brasil is not involved in the qualifying, because they are exempt from qualifying as the host nation.
If you never experienced a World Cup, then you will be amazed by the effect on our new country if our team actually qualifies for 2014 in Brasil. Imagine the Super Bowl multiplied 1,000 times, and being played over an entire month. Wars have been known to stop for World Cup matches, a country that qualifies for the World Cup sees an increase in their economy, and patriotism.
How are the teams selected? All teams (9) play a home and away match with each country in the group, and the top four teams in the group standings advance to the World Cup, and the fifth place team plays in the inter-continental playoff to determine an additional qualifying team. The group standings are determined by a point system. Each team is awarded 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie (draw), and 0 points for a loss. For example, Ecuador defeated Colombia 1-0 on Sunday, and as a result were awarded 3 points, and Colombia 0 points. The goal is to always win at home against equal (Colombia, Chile, and Venezuela) or inferior (Peru, Paraguay, and Bolivia) teams, win or tie on the road against inferior teams, and a tie against an equal opponent on the road is a good result. Against Argentina and Uruguay the goal is to not get anyone hurt, or be embarrassed when playing on the road, and hope for a tie when playing at home.
The chances for Ecuador to qualify for the 2014 World Cup are good in my opinion. With four countries qualifying out of South America, you can safely assume Argentina and Uruguay will be the top two teams to qualify. There are also three teams that have very little chance of qualifying, those are Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru. This leaves Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, and Venezuela for the remaining two qualifying spots.Chile has played six games, and stand three points ahead of Ecuador, but have played one additional game so far. Colombia has played the same number of games, but is two points behind Ecuador.Venezuela is one point behind, but has played six games so far. So, we need to beat the three bottom teams at home, and away. Losses to Argentina and Uruguay are expected, but we can hope for a tie or win at home. This leaves Ecuador needing to collect more points through the rest of the sixteen game schedule than Venezuela, Colombia, and Chile. Ecuador has already beaten Colombia, Venezuela, and Peru at home, and lost to Argentina and Paraguay on the road. The next match is August 7th versus Bolivia, and then August 11th versus Uruguay, and the site and times will be announced in the next few weeks.
Also, if anyone is interested, the USA national team started World Cup qualifying last week, and won 3-1 versus Antigua at home, and tied 1-1 against Guatemala in Guatemala City. The USA is projected to easily qualify for the World Cup from their group.
FIFA World Cup 2014 - South America Qualifying Group Standings
If you never experienced a World Cup, then you will be amazed by the effect on our new country if our team actually qualifies for 2014 in Brasil. Imagine the Super Bowl multiplied 1,000 times, and being played over an entire month. Wars have been known to stop for World Cup matches, a country that qualifies for the World Cup sees an increase in their economy, and patriotism.
How are the teams selected? All teams (9) play a home and away match with each country in the group, and the top four teams in the group standings advance to the World Cup, and the fifth place team plays in the inter-continental playoff to determine an additional qualifying team. The group standings are determined by a point system. Each team is awarded 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie (draw), and 0 points for a loss. For example, Ecuador defeated Colombia 1-0 on Sunday, and as a result were awarded 3 points, and Colombia 0 points. The goal is to always win at home against equal (Colombia, Chile, and Venezuela) or inferior (Peru, Paraguay, and Bolivia) teams, win or tie on the road against inferior teams, and a tie against an equal opponent on the road is a good result. Against Argentina and Uruguay the goal is to not get anyone hurt, or be embarrassed when playing on the road, and hope for a tie when playing at home.
The chances for Ecuador to qualify for the 2014 World Cup are good in my opinion. With four countries qualifying out of South America, you can safely assume Argentina and Uruguay will be the top two teams to qualify. There are also three teams that have very little chance of qualifying, those are Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru. This leaves Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, and Venezuela for the remaining two qualifying spots.Chile has played six games, and stand three points ahead of Ecuador, but have played one additional game so far. Colombia has played the same number of games, but is two points behind Ecuador.Venezuela is one point behind, but has played six games so far. So, we need to beat the three bottom teams at home, and away. Losses to Argentina and Uruguay are expected, but we can hope for a tie or win at home. This leaves Ecuador needing to collect more points through the rest of the sixteen game schedule than Venezuela, Colombia, and Chile. Ecuador has already beaten Colombia, Venezuela, and Peru at home, and lost to Argentina and Paraguay on the road. The next match is August 7th versus Bolivia, and then August 11th versus Uruguay, and the site and times will be announced in the next few weeks.
Also, if anyone is interested, the USA national team started World Cup qualifying last week, and won 3-1 versus Antigua at home, and tied 1-1 against Guatemala in Guatemala City. The USA is projected to easily qualify for the World Cup from their group.
FIFA World Cup 2014 - South America Qualifying Group Standings
Maybe just my opinion, but I would put Paraguay's chances ahead of those of Venezuela and Colombia. Even though they're low in the table, they have the talent and the track record to make up the 4 points in the table. Especially in these early stages.
ReplyDelete