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This is because Monterrey and Al-Ahly, the possible opponents of Palmeiras in the semifinal of the competition, were much more affected by the commitments of the selections at the beginning of 2022.
The Mexican team, which has a squad with extensive international experience, had no less than ten players called up by five different teams for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
Defenders Héctor Moreno and César Montes, left-back Jesús Gallardo, midfielder Luis Romo and striker Rogelio Funes Mori were called up by Mexico. Goalkeeper Esteban Andrada and midfielder Maxi Meza joined the Argentina squad. Costa Rica (Joel Campbell), Colombia (Stefan Medina) and Chile (Sebastián Vegas) are also getting in the way of the “Rayados” preparation.
Some of these athletes, all important parts of the game set up by coach Javier Aguirre, will only return to Monterrey on Thursday of next week, two days before their debut against Al-Ahly. And they will have to travel to the UAE in the meantime.
The situation of the Egyptians is not comfortable either. Eight of its best players are, since the beginning of the month, playing in the African Cup of Nations. That is, they have not even participated in the pre-season for the World Cup.
And all of them (the six who defend the Egypt national team, one who plays for Mali and another who defends Tunisia) are still alive in the continental competition, whose final will be played on February 6, when Al-Ahly will already have until faced Monterrey.
In order not to enter the World Cup too short-handed, the Cairo club needs at least the Egyptian team not to last much longer in the African Cup. The team of star Mohamed Salah has a tough confrontation against Ivory Coast, tomorrow, for the round of 16, and will be eliminated if they are defeated.
Unlike Monterrey and Al Ahly, Chelsea, Palmeiras’ most likely opponent in an eventual decision, was not much affected by the FIFA date.
As the European qualifiers will not have a round at the beginning of the year, the Blues only lost until next week the Senegalese goalkeeper Édouard Mendy, the Brazilian defender Thiago Silva and the American attacking midfielder Christian Pulisic.
Originally, the 2021 World Cup would be played last December. However, the championship had to be postponed after Japan withdrew from organizing it because of the Covid-19 pandemic. With the change, the continental champions will meet between the 3rd and 12th of February in Abu Dhabi.
Regardless of who takes the cup, one thing is certain: the FIFA tournament will have an unprecedented champion. Chelsea, favorites at the time, played in the 2012 final, but were defeated by Corinthians. Palmeiras, on the other hand, had a bad campaign last year and finished in fourth place.
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