Injured players such as Kylian Mbappe missed too many games, Erling Haaland asked to come off in Norway’s fourth match, resources were stretched for coaches in smaller countries, and extra demands were placed on the time and money of fans and sponsors. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential debate.
European soccer federations told UEFA they are unhappy with the new extended four-game blocks of international matches that concluded this week. “A disaster,” said one official among multiple federations who spoke to The Associated Press on the sidelines of a closed-door UEFA meeting on Thursday in Berlin.
“We’re all starting from scratch now, in a sense. UEFA said it will gather feedback from its member federations before considering a submission to FIFA regarding the 16-day block that combined what used to be separate two-game breaks in September and October. Outside Europe, FIFA has said the longer break allowed time for regional tournaments such as the eight-team Arabian Gulf Cup, which was played from September 23 to October 6 in Saudi Arabia. FIFA pushed to condense international breaks in 2021 as part of its biennial World Cup proposal and later updated its calendar for men’s football. After the UEFA meeting on Thursday, officials said only Azerbaijan among the 55 member federations spoke out clearly in defence of FIFA’s management of the calendar.
“We now have the issue of not only having the occasional player coming back injured, but also the fact that you go two or 2½ weeks without any momentum,” Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovač said this week. “For those who play in the Champions League and have had little vacation, it’s more brutal than for the others,” Norway coach Stale Solbakken said of the schedule after substituting Haaland in the second half of a loss to Portugal on Sunday.
