Expanded Gold Cup 2025

[Obinna]

56 minutes ago, Shway said:

The average team has two XIs, yes quality can drop with rotation, however it is an idea that isn't done enough because players want to play in every game.

More games, requires more players. 
 

side note...I wonder if there are any stats on the use of the 5 man subs.

I see your point and agree that clubs should use their depth regardless of level, but the other side of the coin would be the criticism that teams aren't taking this or that competition seriously. Fans pay top dollar to see the best players, so if you are increasing the fixture congestion (which I don't agree with) all to earn more money, it's kinda counter productive for you to rotate your squad.

[Mihairokov]

40 minutes ago, RS said:

Can you relate to the decreased quality of games that will inevitably happen when fatigued players are forced to play nearly year-round?

Wasn't Qatar one of the best World Cups quality-wise because it was mid-season and not when players are typically off?

[RS]

13 minutes ago, Mihairokov said:

Wasn't Qatar one of the best World Cups quality-wise because it was mid-season and not when players are typically off?

Yes, and you answered your own question as to why.

Players in European leagues were in mid-season form in Qatar, only three months into their season after getting a regular summer break, rather than playing in a World Cup after the full season grind.

Unfortunately we can't schedule every WC when players are relatively fresh.

[kacbru]

3 hours ago, Shway said:

The average team has two XIs, yes quality can drop with rotation, however it is an idea that isn't done enough because players want to play in every game.

More games, requires more players. 
 

side note...I wonder if there are any stats on the use of the 5 man subs.

Why not adopt rolling subs then?  Teams could play an 80 game schedule.  Or even better, have offense and defence specialists that could rotate in whenever there is a change in possession?  And maybe squash the ball a bit so it is more pointy?

[Unnamed Trialist]

5 hours ago, JamboAl said:

How many teams except for a small handful can rotate their squad and maintain anywhere near that quality of play?  This is also a very physical sport - if the clubs and the federations keep on adding more games to the schedule, players will continue to break down.  
I also wonder what happens if Bayern makes the final of the CWC and let’s say Phonzie signs for Real Madrid.  Does he basically say, ok, I’m not your player any more - best of luck in the final. I’m also going to guess he might play for Bayern and not us in the Gold Cup.

Apart from that, was listening to Footy Prime today and in one of the few things they do that makes sense, they argued there are so many fixtures you just miss a lot and can't follow everything. Giving the example of that Campeones Cup 5 days ago no one had a clue was happening.

It is excessive and in a global football culture it's too much. The big teams have matches vs. minor opponents that do not inspire (I am not going to see Barça-Young Boys tomorrow, for example, screw that), the smaller teams have thinner squads and you only follow them for local fan interest, and irrelevant to near useless competitions are adding up everywhere. We don't have enough fixtures for friendlies vs new rivals because we are bound to Nations League vs. the same Concacaf opponents as always. 

They've added 2 group stage fixtures to Champions, Europa League, Conference, then the World Club Cup (which used to be the Toyota Cup, UEFA winner vs Libertadores, one match, private sponsor, until FIFA came along parasitically). It's their fault but England has the Carabo or EFL or whatever they call that uninteresting proposal, Spain took a single-match Super Cup and made into a final four in Arabia, adding travel and displacing league fixtures. Both England and Spain could reduce the top flight to 18, reducing 4 league fixtures, but that means two teams without that income. 
 

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

9 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Also explains why they're the only host venue breaking the East - West division between tournaments.

No, greater L.A. (Rose Bowl) is also hosting.

https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_FIFA_Club_World_Cup

 

Edited September 30 by Olympique_de_Marseille

[Unnamed Trialist]

18 minutes ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

No, greater L.A. (Rose Bowl) is also hosting.

https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_FIFA_Club_World_Cup

 

Also, the two exceptions, thanks.

Is the Rose Bowl the WC venue in LA?

They said they wanted the Club Cup in the East coast to not be too late for European viewers, so we might assume that the West Coast venues will be considered for Asian teams, just speculating?

Edited September 30 by Unnamed Trialist

[An Observer]

2 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Also, the two exceptions, thanks.

Is the Rose Bowl the WC venue in LA?

They said they wanted the Club Cup in the East coast to not be too late for European viewers, so we might assume that the West Coast venues will be considered for Asian teams, just speculating?

Tbh, as someone who lives in HK, I prefer the Eastern timezone slots. A 7pm or 7:30pm start there equates to a 7:00am or 7:30am start in HK (and SG, Japan, Korea and coastal China) or 6:00am or 6:30am for most of ASEAN and central China) which means you can essentially watch the match before work especially if you work from home that day.  The similar start on the West coast works out to 10 or 10:30am which puts you firmly in the the work day or even on the weekend, gets you close to lunch (I must admit my wife prefers that I kill two hours essentially before or during breakfast on the weekends watching soccer; by 10am she wants me to get my ass off the sofa and start doing something with her which means I watch more TFC and CFM than whitecaps)

[Mihairokov]

2 hours ago, An Observer said:

Tbh, as someone who lives in HK, I prefer the Eastern timezone slots. A 7pm or 7:30pm start there equates to a 7:00am or 7:30am start in HK (and SG, Japan, Korea and coastal China) or 6:00am or 6:30am for most of ASEAN and central China) which means you can essentially watch the match before work especially if you work from home that day.

China is only one timezone, is it not?

[An Observer]

Yes.  You’re correct. I somehow forgot that and was thinking the central and western part was on a different one.  Similar to India which has one as well (although China is much larger so those in the West are a bit fucked by it).

[An Observer]

5 minutes ago, An Observer said:

Yes.  You’re correct. I somehow forgot that and was thinking the central and western part was on a different one.  Similar to India which has one as well (although China is much larger so those in the West are a bit fucked by it).

This also applies to Spain somewhat.  I was in Santiago de Compostela last year for work and found it to be pitch dark when I was waking up for my morning runs at 7-7:30am in early September.  It should really be on the UK/Portugal timezone but is on the same one as the rest of Spain.

[SthMelbRed]

1 hour ago, An Observer said:

Yes.  You’re correct. I somehow forgot that and was thinking the central and western part was on a different one.  Similar to India which has one as well (although China is much larger so those in the West are a bit fucked by it).

China's size is largely east to west, while India's is more north to south. So, in this regard, China's worse off for having just the one time zone.

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 hour ago, SthMelbRed said:

China's size is largely east to west, while India's is more north to south. So, in this regard, China's worse off for having just the one time zone.

As a political policy it is actually quite smart I'd say. 

When you travel south of Barcelona, towards Zaragoza or Valencia, you cross the Greenwich meridian, they have monuments on the freeways, quite cool. But this is far eastern Spain, so most of Spain is west, in the same area of latitude as the British Isles, if you look it is almost exact except easternmost Catalonia.

But in a different time zone. Only when you get to the Canary Islands, further west, almost in line with Iceland, you are in the UK/Portugal time zone. Then for Portugal, Madeira is the same time zone, in line with Canary Islands, but Azores is a further hour behind.

Edited October 1 by Unnamed Trialist

[Mihairokov]

6 hours ago, SthMelbRed said:

China's size is largely east to west, while India's is more north to south. So, in this regard, China's worse off for having just the one time zone.

Yes, but the most harshly affected areas are the far west which have hardly anyone living in them, comparably-speaking. The Northeast has it a bit rough but not that bad. The vast majority of China's population lives in what should be the two "main" timezones of the five they should geographically have.
 

5 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

But in a different time zone. Only when you get to the Canary Islands, further west, almost in line with Iceland, you are in the UK/Portugal time zone.

Remember being in Iceland and watching footy and F1 and not realizing until the matches started that Iceland was on GMT with England.