The Colombian national team woke up very late in these Qatar 2022 qualifiers. Their two consecutive victories with which they closed the qualifying process were not enough to secure a spot in the World Cup playoffs, which ultimately went to Peru. Following the failure, Colombian sports media criticized Reinaldo Rueda, the team's coach, and his players.
The media outlet Publimetro titled the defeat in reference to one of the most famous books in the world: "Chronicle of a Death Foretold". In the article, they mention that "there was no miracle" and they ended up "paying for accumulated sins," the latter referring to the streak of seven consecutive matches without scoring goals and without knowing victory in the final stretch of the tournament.
Publimetro on Colombia's elimination. Photo: Publimetro screenshot
Likewise, El Tiempo was more direct about what happened in Puerto Ordaz. "Reality is written in big black letters: Eliminated from the World Cup! The Colombian national team is not going to Qatar or the playoffs," they expressed.
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On the other hand, in recent weeks, the questioning has focused on the coach's role. Rueda was pointed out as the main responsible for the failure, and the media outlet Pulzo highlighted this aspect. "Reinaldo Rueda's future sentenced after the World Cup qualifiers," they stated.
Pulzo on Colombia's elimination. Photo: Pulzo screenshot
The article details that "it was established that the relationship with the Colombian national team would go until the national team had a competition; that is, until the end of the qualifying process for not going to Qatar."
In this way, Colombia remains in the sixth position of the tournament with 23 points, while Ricardo Gareca's team will play the playoffs in June against the winner of the playoff from the Asian Football Confederation.
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Which teams will face each other in the intercontinental playoffs?
The FIFA draw determined the following matchups for the intercontinental playoffs: the fifth-placed team from South America (Peru) against the fifth-placed team from Asia (Australia or United Arab Emirates) and the fourth-placed team from CONCACAF (Costa Rica, Mexico, or United States) against the winner of the Oceanic qualifiers (Solomon Islands or New Zealand).
Teams qualified for the Qatar 2022 World Cup
Currently, 27 teams have qualified for the tournament. These are:
- 1. Qatar
- 2. Germany
- 3. Denmark
- 4. Brazil
- 5. France
- 6. Belgium
- 7. Croatia
- 8. Spain
- 9. Serbia
- 10. England
- 11. Switzerland
- 12. Netherlands
- 13. Argentina
- 14. Iran
- 15. South Korea
- 16. Japan
- 17. Saudi Arabia
- 18. Uruguay
- 19. Ecuador
- 20. Portugal
- 21. Poland
- 22. Senegal
- 23. Morocco
- 24. Ghana
- 25. Cameroon
- 26. Tunisia
- 27. Canada