Argentina and Brazil to join restructured UEFA Nations League from 2024 - Reports
Argentina and Brazil are reportedly set to join the UEFA Nations League starting with the 2024 edition.
ESPN has reported that UEFA has held conversations with CONMEBOL to allow the participation of South American nations in the Nations League. During a recent interview with Meczyki, the UEFA vice-president Zbigniew Boniek said:
"This is the last UEFA Nations League in this format. We had a meeting with CONMEBOL, the confederation of South American countries. From 2024, teams from this continent will join the competition."
Boniek revealed that they haven't decided on the format as of yet for the revamped version of the competition.
"In what format will it be? We're still working on it. The schedule of matches for the national teams is restricted so you can't mix it up too much," he said.
🤝 UEFA and South American Football Federation CONMEBOL in talks about a new joint UEFA Nations League from 2024.
🏆 Which would see Brazil, Argentina and the eight other South American national teams competing.
[via @SkyKaveh] https://t.co/9gQDe9JXQv
He also indicated that the top six South American nations, i.e., Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia and Peru could join League A of the Nations League. The likes of Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Venezuela are likely to be placed in League B.
This will allow CONMEBOL heavyweights like Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay to take on the likes of England, Spain, Germany and Italy. High-voltage, cross-continental clashes such as these haven't taken place outside of the FIFA World Cup since the introduction of the Nations League.
It will also be worth seeing how FIFA responds to this idea. The organization has already insisted upon a biennial World Cup, which has largely been opposed by both UEFA and CONMEBOL. A joint Nations League could bring an end to the idea of having a World Cup every two years.
Argentina and Brazil have already booked their tickets for the 2022 FIFA World Cup
The revamped Nations League format is likely to cause some disturbance in the international calendar. However, the focus of all nations at the moment will be on next year's World Cup.
From the South American zone, Brazil and Argentina have already secured qualification for the Qatar showpiece. The Selecao are currently top of the table with 35 points from 13 matches. La Albiceleste are six points adrift in second having played the same number of matches.
12 teams have already joined hosts Qatar at the 2022 World Cup.🏆
🇦🇷 Lionel Messi will be at Qatar 2022. Argentina's 0-0 draw with Brazil was enough to send La Albiceleste through because Chile lost to Ecuador. https://t.co/t0jbWFaOsS
Argentina and Brazil also met in November in a CONMEBOL qualifier for next year's World Cup. The match ended 0-0 with chances few and far between to help maintain the Selecao's spot at the top of the division. However, the draw sealed La Albiceleste's spot in the Qatar tournament.
Brazil will be seen in action next on January 27, 2022 when they take on Ecuador in another qualifier, with Argentina facing Chile on the same day.