Can teams substitute injured players for others with the World Cup already underway? Here we solve the doubts
This is the FIFA regulation in this regard just ten days before the start of the Qatari event
With the World Cup in Qatar just around the corner, one of the hot topics in this regard is injuries. The names of Sadio Mané, Giovanni Lo Celso or Marco Reus have monopolized attention for ailments that already have them -or almost- off the lists of their national teams.
In such an atypical edition of the World Cup event, right in the middle of a season, doubts arise. doHow long before the championship starts can a player be substituted from the final list?The regulations prepared by FIFA for the Qatar 2022 World Cup establish within article 24 that teams “may substitute players who cannot compete due to injury or serious illness up to 24 hours before their first match in the World Cup.”
Since the championship kicks off on Sunday, November 20, the players’ work with their various clubs will not end in many cases until just a week before, which means that players could be injured with their teams before they concentrate with the national team. .
Also, The regulation adds that the substitutes “do not necessarily have to be included in the provisional list and that they must wear the number of the injured player they have replaced on their shirt.” Finally, FIFA establishes that it will be the Medical Committee that certifies that the injury makes it impossible for the player to participate.
Nowadays, players injured during the World Cup cannot be substituted, but the squads have been extended to 26 players for the autumn event in the Persian Gulf. In other words, unlike what happened in previous World Cups, the final list has become 23 footballers to be able to oscillate between 23 and 26. This must be delivered by Monday, November 14, at the latest.