Silent Lonesome Man

I have written a previous article about Turkey and its switching affiliation between the AFC and the UEFA , given its geographical proximity. Yes, there are a lot of questions, but I guess when you wonder, the current campaign for Qatar 2022 may have provided insight. In particular, Vietnam suffered the most in this stage. You know, Turkey and Vietnam are not similar to each other. One is already recognised as a middle-sized power in European football, while one is just beginning to breathe the sky of the last round. The qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup between them is also different: Turkey belongs to the European front, while my country is Asian. Yet after seeing how the run in Asia worked after just two matchdays, one may conclude why the Turks have little optimism to join the AFC. Best seen with the situation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying in Asia were Vietnam's games against Saudi Arabia and Australia at home already. The first match against Saudi Arabia saw th...

Third-place. Third in a FIFA World Cup. You can imagine this in Turkey after the 2002 FIFA World Cup held in South Korea and Japan. And more of irony: this is Turkey's just only second appearance. Most of the Muslim-dominated countries do have national teams that qualified for more than a World Cup, but only two appearances is a surprise. Yet Turkey achieved the unthinkable that still, no Muslim majority countries could: finishing in the last four. Ever since the Turks opted to join the European football family, the question has always lingered among the Turkish population that, should they have switched to the Asian football home instead, or stay in Europe for better football development. Many people question the same, why Turkey has little success in qualifying for more than two World Cups in spite of mad supporters? Turkey is a country with a rich history. It was conquered by the Byzantine and the Persians for various eras, then the Arab expansion before the Turks settled in Ana...