Venezuela and Guatemala are two of the selections that more FIFA eliminatory processes accumulate, but the years go by and the World Cup is denied

Since 2026, perhaps since 2022, the FIFA World Cup will have the participation of 48 teams, 16 more than those now participating in Russia 2018. Although this news has caused controversy over the costs that represent this number of teams on the part of the next organizers of the tournament, for some countries means an increase of the hope of being able to qualify in the World Cup.

Leer en español: Venezuela y Guatemala: los países que sueñan con llegar a la Copa del Mundo

In 2018, 209 teams from the six FIFA confederations played the qualifiers prior to the world championship, according to the FIFA website. However, just as this number of participants has grown since the first World Cup in 1930, the number of teams that make it to the final tournament has also increased. From the 13 teams that played in the first World Cup in Uruguay to the 32 that play in 2018, the opportunities to classify are becoming bigger. With all this, there are several selected that, despite playing several playoffs, have never been able to achieve the World Cup dream.

The failure of the 'VinotIGNORE INTO' team

Venezuela is one of the ten national teams that is part of the South American Soccer Confederation (Conmebol, by its acronym in Spanish), and therefore of its World Cup qualifiers. However, despite playing all the Qualifiers since 1966 (with the exception of 1974) and having outstanding players such as Juan Arango, Tomás Rincón, Roberto Rosales, Fernando Amorebieta and Salomón Rondón; in recent years the South American nation has not been able to take the step to the final phase of the World Cup.

"While most Latin American countries are soccer fans, Venezuela is more like some of its Caribbean neighbors in their passion for baseball," explained the Venezuelan Embassy in the United States, in 2012. This is because, for many people, soccer has not had throughout the Venezuelan history the same support that baseball has received. Some even catalog the "ball game" as a national sport of the South American country.

However, "soccer has grown with a global effect" in Venezuela, as Juan Andrés Daza, general manager of the Venezuelan television channel Meridiano TV, said in an interview with El País. Also, the former president of the Venezuelan Soccer Federation (FVF, by its acronym in Spanish), Rafael Esquivel, told to the same Spanish media that since 2015 soccer "is the most practiced sport in the country. Baseball has four months of activity per year." This shows the work of sports authorities to strengthen the level of soccer in Venezuela.

This was reflected in the last participation of the Venezuelan national team in the U-20 World Cup held in 2017. In this competition, the 'VinotIGNORE INTO' team obtained the runner-up, after losing the final against England with a result of 1-0. Despite the defeat, the work done by this new generation has sown an ounce of hope among the Venezuelan fans ahead of the qualifiers to Qatar 2022. "We have not been able to give that victory to our country, but in our minds and in our hearts we will champion all our lives," said coach Rafael Dudamel, quoted by CNN.

Dudamel is the same trainer of the soccer team of seniors who finished last in the playoffs of Russia 2018, who was able to show his support to the younger ones by summoning "9 players of that selection sub'20 that so much illusioned the country", according to the agency EFE. Among the main soccer young talents are the goalkeeper of Millonarios FC of Colombia, Wuilker Fariñez; midfielder Yangel Herrera, who plays in the Major League Soccer; and the forward of Málaga, Spain, Adalberto Peñaranda, among others.

The Guatemalan 'curse'

Guatemala is one of the teams that has played the most matches in Central America. According to the Sports News media Diez of Honduras, the Guatemalan team has been part of 15 elimination processes in the region. In addition, in its history appears the name of Carlos Ruiz, the top scorer in the history of the FIFA World Cup Qualifying with his score number 39, reached against St. Vincent and the Grenadines in 2016.

However, these numbers have not been translated IGNORE INTO the dream of Guatemala: to qualify for a World Cup. The maximum competition of soccer has been elusive to the Central American country, although the national authorities have given a hand to the curse. According to an opinion column written by the journalist from the news media República, Marizza Herrera, "those involved in a sports development policy in Guatemala do not see how important it would be to have a high-level national team of soccer."

However, this is not all. The 'Guatemalan curse' lasted at least four years since FIFA eliminated that World Cup team in 2016. This, after the Soccer Federation of Guatemala (FEDEFUT), refused "to expand the mandate of a committee appointed in December 2015 (by FIFA) to administer and prosecute said Guatemalan organization," according to La Nación. This took place after FEDEFUT was splashed in the corruption case known as the 'FIFAgate', which cost the head of the former president of the highest World soccer organization, Joseph Blatter.

"There is no federation, there is no coach, athletes have no motivation to compete because at the international level today they have no opportunities," said José del Valle, ESPN's Guatemalan analyst, in conversation with the BBC.

Others who dream of arriving one day

However, Venezuela and Guatemala are not the only Latin American teams (much less in the world) that have never attended a World Cup. Among the most relevant cases are those of Nicaragua and Belize, who are even positioned below Trinidad and Tobago, a country that attended the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

For its part, in Europe predominate the stories of Luxembourg and Finland, the first with 20 qualifying processes since 1934, while the second has participated in 18 qualifiers, according to the Goal portal.

For this 2018, this list was made shorter with the classification of the National Teams of Panama and Iceland to the World Cup of Russia. On June 16, the Icelandic team debuted at the highest soccer event against the two-time world champion: Argentina; and the Central American team did it on the 18th of the same month against Belgium.

Latin American Post | Christopher Ramírez Hernández

Translated from "Venezuela y Guatemala: los países que sueñan con llegar a la Copa del Mundo"