The European play-off draw took place today and brought us some really interesting deciding matches for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. The highlight of the draw is certainly the potential clash between the last two European Champions, Portugal and Italy, in the Final Round. After suffering an upset in the last minute against Serbia, the “Reds” will have to go through the Playoffs Stage, if they want to qualify for the World Cup next year. First of all, Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates will have to defeat Turkey in the First Round and then they will face someone between North Macedonia and the reigning European Champions from this year, Italy.
Italy also suffered an unexpected turn of events as they couldn’t get past Northern Ireland in their last match for the European Qualifiers. Switzerland eventually got the 1st place in the Group, while the “Blues” will have to enter the unpredictable Playoffs. There is a visible decline in the team’s performance after they won EURO 2020. However, that was pretty anticipated, since most of the players play numerous games throughout the season without getting enough rest.
The first games will take place on March 24 and March 25, while the deciding fixtures will be on March 28 and March 29.
The whole European Play-offs draw for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022:
Path A: Scotland – Ukraine
Path A: Wales – Austria
Path B: Russia – Poland
Path B: Sweden – Czech Republic
Path C: Italy – North Macedonia
Path C: Portugal – Turkey
