Rest assured, Qatar and Japan are still in Asia. And yet, both countries are participating well in the Copa America in Brazil, which started on the night of Friday to Saturday and continues until July 7. They were indeed invited by the South American confederation, CONMEBOL, to participate in the tournament. A custom since 1993.
Ten countries is too few
CONMEBOL has only ten members: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Difficult, therefore, to form groups. At twelve, it’s much easier. So, at each edition, foreign selections are invited to make up the number.
The calendar has a lot to do with it
With the exception of Japan, which had already been invited in 1999, it is each time nations belonging to CONCACAF, the confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean. With ten participations, Mexico was the most assiduous country, ahead of Costa Rica (5), the United States (4) and Jamaica (2). Honduras, Panama and Haiti were also able to take part. But this year, the Gold Cup, which precisely pits the CONCACAF countries against each other, takes place from June 15 to July 7 …
France, Spain and Portugal declined
The organizers therefore turned to other continents. If France, Spain and Portugal in particular have declined the invitation, Japan and Qatar, future organizer of the 2022 World Cup, have responded favorably. And luck does things well, because several months after receiving the invitation, the two teams met in the final of the Asian Cup. The Qataris then won 3-1.
Two teams in full preparation
“This is an important step in our journey to the World Cup,” admits Felix Sanchez, the Spanish coach of the small emirate, who enters the competition this Sunday against Paraguay, before facing Colombia and Argentina. Not sure, however, that Qatar is very well received by the Brazilian public for its great debut in the competition. The nation ranked 55th in the Fifa rankings certainly lost against the host country in a preparation match (2-0), but it was a Qatari tackle that deprived Neymar of the competition.
The Japanese, who are showing up with a group of novices, are preparing for the Tokyo Olympics next summer, reserved for players under 23. The Japanese team was poured into the group of Chile, Uruguay and Ecuador.
Qatar back next year
Next year, the two guests of the Copa America, organized by Argentina and Colombia, will be Australia… and Qatar, once again.
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