Why is qualifying for the World Cup so difficult? Fact: 24 UEFA teams are allowed to participate in the European Championship, but only 13 teams from Europe are allowed to participate in the FIFA World Cup

Now Fouda’s era is over. After four years or 48 games with 27 wins, six draws and fifteen losses. Qualified for the European Championship, climbed to the first group in the Nations League, only this wonderful qualification for the World Cup failed again. what is the reason? Since Herbert Prohaska with the 1998 World Cup in France, no team president has made it to the World Cup finals with Austria.

Is it because of the quality of our players, is it because of the playing systems of the team leaders or is it because of the training of coaches and players in the youth of the Austrian Federation? Josef Hexberger reached the European Championship on home soil without having to qualify. Marcel Kohler was the first to qualify for the European Championship. Franco Fouda not only qualified, but his team qualified for the round of 16. But the FIFA World Cup seems out of reach at the moment. This is despite the fact that our players play in the English Premier League, the First Division and the German Bundesliga.

One thing has to be said: UEFA has 55 national associations. In the last UEFA European Championship, 24 teams were allowed to participate. Only 13 countries from UEFA are allowed to start the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Therefore, qualifying for the World Cup is much more difficult. You have to realize here that Austria is currently unable to play among the best countries in Europe. Because you will have to beat the teams that are ahead of us in the FIFA rankings. We never managed to do that under Franco Foda as team boss. This is just a fact.

Wales, Denmark, Belgium, Croatia and also Sweden, who were not present this time, have played regularly in World Cup tournaments in the past. Regardless of the name of the new team manager, the problems are much deeper and also affect our clubs in the Bundesliga. Not only does the ÖFB, but of course also has to do his homework.