The draw for the World Cup play-offs took place in Zurich on Friday, with three tickets to Qatar up for grabs. Path C turns out to be particularly difficult – at least two “greats” will miss the World Cup.
The draw for the World Cup play-offs has produced some interesting constellations. The pairings at a glance:
Way A:
Semi-final 1: Scotland – Ukraine
Semi-final 2: Wales – Austria (home right in the final)
Way B:
Semi-final 1: Russia – Poland (home right in the final)
Semi-final 2: Sweden – Czech Republic
Way C
Semi-final 1: Italy – North Macedonia
Semifinal 2: Portugal – Turkey (home right in the final)
“tricky” for Mancini, “difficult” for Kuntz
“It’s very difficult for us. North Macedonia is a good team and then we have to play the final away, in Portugal or Turkey. It’s very tricky,” Italy coach Roberto Mancini said during the draw. It means the Squadra Azzurra could miss out on the final tournament for the second time in a row, having done so at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
It will also be particularly tricky for former Germany U-21 coach Kuntz. His Turkey would probably have to beat Portugal and Italy, who are clear favourites against northern Macedonia, in succession to qualify for the final tournament in the winter of 2022 (21 November to 18 December). “That is definitely the most difficult path. The biggest wish is to bring the grand final to Turkey so we can see what is possible for us,” Kuntz said.
The ten group runners-up and the top two group winners of the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League who did not finish in one of the top two places in their World Cup qualifying group had qualified for the play-offs. Austria and the Czech Republic were in the draw thanks to the Nations League.
The six best group runners-up were placed in pot 1 (Portugal, Scotland, Italy, Russia, Sweden, Wales) and thus have home rights in the semi-finals. Ukraine (pot 2) and Russia could not be drawn against each other after a UEFA decision for political reasons.
The twelve teams will play three play-off legs (A, B and C), each with a semi-final and a final (without second legs). The winners of these three routes qualify for the World Cup.
Asia vs South America, CONCACAF vs Oceania
Play-offs will also be played in the other federations. The AFC team (Asia) will take on the CONMEBOL team (South America), while the CONCACAF team (North and Central America) will face the OFC team (Oceania). Asia’s fifth will face South America’s fifth and North and Central America’s fourth will meet the best nation from Oceania.
None of the four representatives has been decided yet. As things stand, Australia or Japan could clinch the play-off spot for Asia and then face a strong South American representative such as Colombia, Peru, Chile or Uruguay. In North and Central America, Panama currently occupy fourth place, with likely opponents from Oceania being New Zealand.
Where to watch the play-off matches
DAZN will broadcast all six semi-finals and the three finals of the European play-offs – a total of nine play-off matches – live and exclusively. The semi-finals will take place on Thursday, 24 March 2022, the finals on Tuesday, 29 March 2022.
