Panic may have set in for World Cup wallchart makers around the globe this week when FIFA announced that they were moving the start date for this year’s tournament forward by one day.
Hosts Qatar, originally scheduled to play in the third match on November 21, realised that in fact they should be the ones to kick-off proceedings (as has been the case in the last four editions) and their opening game against Ecuador will now be played on November 22.
The fact that this decision has only just been made now, with the World Cup firmly on the horizon, only sums up the controversial and chaotic nature of the whole event.
But what it does mean is that, August 12, marks exactly 100 days until the tournament gets going.
With the countdown now on, Sportsmail takes a look at the countries and players with the biggest issues to sort before they travel to Qatar.
August 12, marks exactly 100 days until the winter World Cup in Qatar gets going
England have plenty to think about…
On face value, no country in the world has performed better in the last four years than England, who were World Cup semi-finalists in 2018 and European Championship runners-up last summer.
But with 100 days to go until Qatar, optimism around the Three Lions’ chances could not be lower after a woeful summer in the Nations League. If Gareth Southgate was trying to decrease expectations, he did a pretty good job.
In their matches against Hungary, Germany and Italy, England took just two points from a possible 12 and scored only once – Harry Kane’s late penalty against Die Mannschaft.
The play was turgid as the whole team looked devoid of confidence, energy and attacking intent. There were even calls for Southgate to be sacked, which while a little premature, highlighting the current mood around the national team.
England’s poor Nations League campaign in June has seen optimism levels shrink among fans
England’s women soaring to glory at the European Championship with an attractive brand of football has only increased the desire for Southgate to be bolder and more inventive with his tactics.
Meanwhile, the opening day of the Premier League season was not kind to the Three Lions boss when it came to his centre-backs. Conor Coady, Tyrone Mings and John Stones did not start, Ben White played at full-back and Harry Maguire was part of another shambolic defeat at Manchester United.
… and so do the reigning champions
If England could clutch at one straw from the Nations League, it’s that reigning world champions France also endured a disastrous 10 days as they too picked up only two points.
Despite possessing arguably the most potent strikeforce in international football in Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe, with a stellar supporting cast, Les Bleus scored just three times and fell to home defeats by Denmark and Croatia.
France are on poor form despite having a strikeforce of Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema
After a poor showing at Euro 2020 last summer when they were knocked out in the last-16, the pressure is on Didier Deschamps to deliver as his team go about defending their title in Qatar.
France will also be aware of a remarkable trend at recent World Cups – the reigning champions have exited at the group stage in the last three tournaments.
Ronaldo’s poor preparation
Cristiano Ronaldo will equal the record for the most World Cups appeared at if he features at his fifth tournament in the winter, but his ongoing transfer saga is threatening to derail his preparation.
It is now over a month since the Portuguese superstar asked to leave Manchester United, but his future is still no closer to being resolved. Erik ten Hag does not want to let Ronaldo leave and a club is yet to come forward and declare a strong interest in signing him.
With fewer than three weeks to go until the end of the transfer window, the 37-year-old faces the possibility of being somewhere he doesn’t want to be on September 2: Old Trafford.
Cristiano Ronaldo is set to equal the record for the most World Cups appeared at this winter
Ronaldo has not thrown all of his toys out of the pram yet – he featured in United’s defeat by Brighton on the opening weekend – but could he refuse to play in order to force a move? He would be an unhappy figure if he stays in Manchester, at the very least.
What does that mean ahead of what will surely be his last World Cup? Will he be fit by the time the tournament arrives? Will he be in the right headspace? Portugal will hope they don’t need to find out.
An AWOL Aussie
Australia know the feeling of having concerns over a star player. One of their key men Tom Rogic remains mysteriously off the radar with just 100 days to go before the World Cup starts.
The midfielder, who has 10 goals in 53 caps, left Celtic as a free agent at the end of last season and hasn’t been in contact with national team boss Graham Arnold after withdrawing from their June World Cup qualifiers for personal reasons.
In his absence, the Socceroos defied the odds to book their place at the tournament with a play-off win over Peru on penalties, but their chances in Qatar would be significantly boosted by Rogic being on the pitch.
Tom Rogic remains mysteriously off the radar with just 100 days until the World Cup starts
‘I texted him and didn’t get a reply,’ Arnold told reporters after the win over Peru. ‘I am concerned about Tommy, but I know the PFA (Professional Footballers Australia) are looking into it.’
The 29-year-old has since been active on social media and was also randomly spotted in the back of photo of One Direction star Louis Tomlinson, but Australia will hope he finds a new club soon and is in peak condition by November.
US striker dilemma
The USA are back on the world stage after failing to qualify in 2018 and have plenty of talent in their squad such as Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie of Juventus.
Where manager Gregg Berhalter does face a dilemma though is upfront. It is not so much that the US have a lack of striking options, but rather they have a lot of players who are yet to prove themselves.
Berhalter only picked two out-and-out centre forwards in his squad for matches in June – Jesus Ferreira and Haji Wright.
FC Dallas star Ferreira, 21, is probably the favourite to start after he scored four goals in one game against Grenada earlier in the summer, but that is hefty pressure on young shoulders.
Championship strikers Daryl Dike (left) and Josh Sargent are hoping to make the USA squad
It means that Berhalter will probably be left scouting the German Bundesliga and the English Championship in the next three months in the hope that someone comes good.
In Germany, Union Berlin’s Jordan Pefok and Augsburg teenager Ricardo Pepi will be looking to make their mark. Pepi failed to score in 11 league appearances last season following a move from FC Dallas, while Pefok has netted two goals in two games since a summer switch from Young Boys.
Meanwhile in the English second tier, Josh Sargent is aiming for a significantly better second season at Norwich after struggling in the Premier League in his debut campaign, while West Brom frontman Daryl Dike is in a race to get fit as Steve Bruce confirmed he had suffered a ‘substantial tear’ to his thigh muscle.
Can Neymar and Brazil finally deliver?
Since winning a record fifth World Cup in 2002, Brazil have underwhelmed every four years on the global stage.
La Selecao have failed to get past the quarter-finals in three of the last four tournaments and were humiliated 7-1 by Germany on the occasion they did reach the semi-finals on home soil in 2014.
Since the last World Cup, Brazil have reached two Copa America finals – winning in 2019 – and have seen young attacking talents such as Gabriel Martinelli, Rodrygo and Matheus Cunha emerge.
Neymar must win the World Cup to be considered alongside Brazil’s greatest ever players
But the real pressure lies on the shoulders of a player who is now one of the old heads – Neymar, who turned 30 in February.
The PSG forward was tipped as a generational talent, but surely he must win the World Cup to be considered alongside his country’s greatest ever players.
He also has personal ambitions to fulfil. Neymar was injured for Brazil’s Copa America triumph in 2019 so is without any major international honour, while he could break Pele’s goals record in Qatar as he sits on 74 and is only three away.
With the countdown on, he and the rest of the squad must learn to deal with rising expectations. Brazil are currently the favourites to lift the trophy.