Compared to other continents, the World Cup qualifiers in South America usually start relatively early, mainly because their format is not quite the same as other continents.
For example, in Europe, their World Cup qualifiers adopt a group stage promotion mode. There are dozens of countries divided into more than ten groups, and then the top ranked country will directly qualify for the World Cup finals. The second ranked country in the group will have to go to a playoff to compete for the corresponding spot.
Due to the scattered grouping and less intense competition between countries, the competition schedule is not as tight. As long as each group can complete the game during the national team competition and complete the task before the start of the World Cup. If there is a war or disaster that needs to be delayed midway, it is only necessary to negotiate with the national team competing in this group, which does not affect the overall situation.
The South American qualifiers are different. They adopt a "league round robin" model and decide who will advance based on their ranking. What is a league cycle system? It means that each team has to compete, playing one game each at home and one away, and finally determining the ranking order.
Compared to the group stage format, the league round robin system is more concentrated and the arrangement is also more complex, often affecting the whole body. For example, the match between Argentina and Ecuador was previously scheduled for September 8th. If something happens and needs to be postponed temporarily, it will affect the subsequent match arrangements.
This is not about negotiating with the opponents in the group, but also confirming with all the opponents in the league and redeploying all the schedules.
Equivalent to the European model, which is divided into groups, each with their own tasks, and once arranged, they can be carried out separately; On the other hand, South America is a whole, where everyone is together and we have to discuss things together. Therefore, arranging the competition schedule and pace will become relatively tight.
Moreover, most South American athletes will play football in Europe. Europe is quite far from South America, and some even take more than ten hours by plane, which is very tiring. For the convenience of the schedules of each team, as well as the fatigue of the athletes, the schedule can be extended. In addition, it is not arranged so densely, which reduces the probability of errors and reduces the burden on the athletes.
By the way, one more thing that also matters is the format of major football leagues in South America. Unlike traditional cross year schedules, some countries in South America have very complex and diverse competition systems. For example, you often hear about the spring and autumn leagues in South America, which belong to the independent semi circular point system.
It is the opening of the first half of the season, belonging to the Spring League; The opening of the second half of the season belongs to the autumn league, and the champions are divided into two schedules based on their points. Uruguay, Venezuela, Paraguay, Argentina and other teams have all adopted this model.
One reason is that some countries in South America are located near the equator, as we all know.
