Last week in international soccer, Georgia qualified for the country's first ever European Championship. Brazilian star Vinicius Jr. has spoken out about the effects of racist abuse. Ukraine unexpectedly reached the Euro 2024 final.
There was so much going on that it was easy to overlook Sri Lanka vs Bhutan.
In terms of sports, Sri Lanka is best known for its cricket team, but its men's soccer team is ranked 204th.th In the world. They defeated Bhutan (ranked 184th) on Monday.th) It was the first victory in two and a half years.
The significance of the 2-0 scoreline in front of the home crowd could be seen in the celebrations at the final whistle. One local media outlet described it as a “famous victory.” Another declared it the “greatest moment” in Sri Lankan football.
Meanwhile, the match held in Saudi Arabia yielded big results for Brunei.The country was ranked 194thth Bouncing back from loss against Bermuda (171cent) defeated Vanuatu in the previous match (170th) 3v2 thriller. It was Brunei's first win since November 2022, which included a 10-0 loss to Hong Kong.
Played in Algeria and Andorra (164th) Draw with South Africa (58)th). In Azerbaijan, Tanzania defeated Mongolia 3-0.
The friendly matches between seemingly random groups of 24 countries, hosted by five countries, were the pilot phase of the FIFA series.
The idea from soccer's world governing body was to give teams from different federations who normally don't play each other a chance to play against each other.
Participants included countries with successful soccer careers. The mini-tournament in Egypt was hosted by seven-time African Cup of Nations winners Croatia (2018 World Cup finalist), New Zealand and Tunisia.
However, the project was clearly attractive to small countries. Teams that have not qualified have free schedules and rarely have the opportunity to play against countries at the same level.
Papua New Guinea drew 0-0 with Sri Lanka and lost 4-0 to Central African Republic. The team's coach, Warren Moon, said the series was a “great effort.”
“I know this is a trial and it's a first, but I can only think this can only be a good thing, especially for a country like Papua New Guinea,” he said, as reported by the National newspaper. ” he said.
“I hope this is not the last time FIFA invites us, because I think something like this would really benefit Papua New Guinea.”
The FIFA series is perhaps the latest example of governing bodies increasing the amount of competition in soccer. FIFA has stated that future matches will be held during the international competition period in March in even-numbered years.
In recent years, FIFA has been campaigning for the World Cup to be held every two years instead of every four years. The next World Cup will be held in 2026 in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and only after the number of participating teams has increased from 32 to 48. The first expanded Club World Cup will be held in the United States next summer.
UEFA, which oversees European football, also has growth in mind. In 2016, 16 to 24 teams participated in the European Championship. The Nations League was introduced in his 2018.
Some players have doubts about the additional games and the strain on their bodies. Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne described the Nations League as “just an extra tournament”.
“I watched the game and it wasn't very interesting, a lot of second teams were playing, a lot of different players were playing. It's basically a friendly, but there's more TV rights etc.” he told me in a 2022 interview.
It's tempting to dismiss a new tournament or series of matches as greed. However, a new competition could give the team a chance to test itself against an unfamiliar opponent. To learn and improve. This is especially helpful for countries that don't have a rich soccer culture, don't play many games, and are used to losing heavily when they do.
Many small countries dream of playing in the World Cup finals one day, but it's hard to see them all making it happen. Less than half of FIFA's 211 member associations have ever participated in a World Cup.
So the FIFA series seems to have been a useful exercise, at least in this pilot. Soccer isn't just about the best and biggest teams competing. A friendly between Spain and Brazil, or England and Belgium, would garner more global attention than Algeria and Bolivia. But Algeria and Bolivia's players and coaches may have learned even more from the experience.
Sri Lanka's goals against Bhutan came from Dillon de Silva and Oliver Kellert. De Silva plays in English football's fifth tier, while Kellert plies his trade in Iceland's second tier. They are not household names in international football. But everyone who was at the Racecourse Stadium in Colombo will remember their goal.
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