Latest pearl in the long history of messing about with fixtures.
As we all know, back in 1966 Argentina and Uruguay complained they got to play England and Germany respectively in t he QFs, with a German and English ref. Both teams had players sent off and dodgy decisions (including Germany getting a phantom goal that wasn't, same as in the final, karma huh?).
Then in 1970, for all the talent of that Brazil side, it was somewhat curious the fixture ensured they always played at sea level bar a day trip to Mexico City for the final... while anyone playing them had to endure the altitude in the prior game. Both the semifinal and final were tied 1-1 at half time and it was only in the second half that the samba boys ran rings around leggy rivals: 3-1 and 4-1.
The last Copa America had imbalanced groups with the last two champions sharing a group and getting Japan as the weakest team, while Argentina got Qatar and Brazil got Bolivia. To add insult to injury, the fixture maximised airmiles for whoever got out of that group deliberately making them fly up and down across the country for each and every game.
In June we have a new Copa, played in regional groups, and all nicely planned until UEFA clubs refused to release players for the last FIFA date amid COVID concerns. The two games were postponed and, surely, would have to be played in June instead, pushing the whole calendar back?
Well, no, on Friday FIFA decided to stick to the original June fixtures "in the interest of fairness", i.e. minimising travel for Brazil and maximising it for rivals, as originally planned. You could argue having Argentina playing Uruguay and Brazil the week before the Copa isn't a great idea from a competitive or commercial standpoint. I could grudgingly accept that, but there's been no mention of it, only "minimising travel" (for whom?) has been argued.
But no, they haven't stopped there, they then proceeded to arbitrarily stick the missing games in the future in such a way that the original 6th round gets played in September and the 5th gets played in October. So what? They are FIFA, they do whatever the feck they want anyway.
Sure, all fixtures need to get played anyway, but look at how much easier that third October game looks for Brazil now... and how decimating that run of games can be for Uruguay's World Cup chances. Again, you can say easier fixtures will pile up elsewhere, but playing three games in 9 days is all about managing resources and fitness and there's the eventuality of players being injured "for the wrong FIFA date". It's always better to get a mix, even from a club perspective: that October errand is bound to prove costly for United.
Finally, there's yet another issue which is injuries and suspensions. I've no idea about fitness of various NT stars, but it's a dangerous precedent that FIFA can completely ignore (or not?) sanitary status and change the order of the fixtures with four weeks notice. Furthermore, Cavani would have been suspended for the game vs Argentina in Buenos Aires. A big loss, but in a game any points would be a bonus, now he is suspended for a must win game at home to Paraguay.
Dodgy feckers
Close rant.
As we all know, back in 1966 Argentina and Uruguay complained they got to play England and Germany respectively in t he QFs, with a German and English ref. Both teams had players sent off and dodgy decisions (including Germany getting a phantom goal that wasn't, same as in the final, karma huh?).
Then in 1970, for all the talent of that Brazil side, it was somewhat curious the fixture ensured they always played at sea level bar a day trip to Mexico City for the final... while anyone playing them had to endure the altitude in the prior game. Both the semifinal and final were tied 1-1 at half time and it was only in the second half that the samba boys ran rings around leggy rivals: 3-1 and 4-1.
The last Copa America had imbalanced groups with the last two champions sharing a group and getting Japan as the weakest team, while Argentina got Qatar and Brazil got Bolivia. To add insult to injury, the fixture maximised airmiles for whoever got out of that group deliberately making them fly up and down across the country for each and every game.
In June we have a new Copa, played in regional groups, and all nicely planned until UEFA clubs refused to release players for the last FIFA date amid COVID concerns. The two games were postponed and, surely, would have to be played in June instead, pushing the whole calendar back?
Well, no, on Friday FIFA decided to stick to the original June fixtures "in the interest of fairness", i.e. minimising travel for Brazil and maximising it for rivals, as originally planned. You could argue having Argentina playing Uruguay and Brazil the week before the Copa isn't a great idea from a competitive or commercial standpoint. I could grudgingly accept that, but there's been no mention of it, only "minimising travel" (for whom?) has been argued.
But no, they haven't stopped there, they then proceeded to arbitrarily stick the missing games in the future in such a way that the original 6th round gets played in September and the 5th gets played in October. So what? They are FIFA, they do whatever the feck they want anyway.
Sure, all fixtures need to get played anyway, but look at how much easier that third October game looks for Brazil now... and how decimating that run of games can be for Uruguay's World Cup chances. Again, you can say easier fixtures will pile up elsewhere, but playing three games in 9 days is all about managing resources and fitness and there's the eventuality of players being injured "for the wrong FIFA date". It's always better to get a mix, even from a club perspective: that October errand is bound to prove costly for United.
Finally, there's yet another issue which is injuries and suspensions. I've no idea about fitness of various NT stars, but it's a dangerous precedent that FIFA can completely ignore (or not?) sanitary status and change the order of the fixtures with four weeks notice. Furthermore, Cavani would have been suspended for the game vs Argentina in Buenos Aires. A big loss, but in a game any points would be a bonus, now he is suspended for a must win game at home to Paraguay.
Dodgy feckers
Close rant.
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... and the Aussies hired them 
. We flew commercial via Los Angeles FFS, arrived less than 48 hours before the second leg and missed out on the World Cup in Germany