One of Portugal and Italy to Miss Out on 2022 World Cup
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The draw for the UEFA 2022 World Cup playoffs took place on Friday and there are some great ties to look forward as teams aim to claim the remaining 3 spots at the tournament.
The one section of the draw that really caught the attention was the parings of Portugal vs Turkey and Italy vs North Macedonia.
There is not too much to worry about for either of the leading teams with that draw. Both Portugal and Italy will fancy their chances of making it through to the final, especially as they play their ties at home.
However, despite being two of the seeded nations, there was nothing to keep them from potentially meeting in the final and that is exactly what has happened. The draw means either Portugal, who won the 2016 European Championship or Italy, the current European champions, will fail to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
The draw will have come as a massive blow to both nations, who have paid the ultimate price for not winning their qualifying groups. Portugal finished second behind Serbia having lost against them in the final group game at home.
Italy finished second in their group behind Switzerland having been held by the Swiss at home and failing to beat Northern Ireland away in their final fixture.
Elsewhere, Scotland will meet Ukraine at home and the winner will play either Wales or Austria away in the final. Russia will play Poland and the winners of that will have a home final against either Sweden or Czech Republic.
Both Wales and Scotland will be pleased with their draw and will believe they have a good chance of qualifying for the World Cup. However, Austria, who have been out of form recently, will see the draw as a good chance to progress if they beat Wales because it means they will play the final at home.
Ukraine will also think they have a decent chance, especially as they came through their group with France without losing a single game. So, the draw is open and every team will be going into the matches believing they have what it takes to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
The Russia, Poland, Sweden, and Czech Republic quartet is also difficult to call. Any of the four teams could beat the other on their day but Sweden will start as favourites at home against Czech Republic and should at least make the final.
Back to the Italy and Portugal situation and a defeat for the Portuguese could mean we have seen the last of Cristiano Ronaldo at the World Cup. It is going to be one of the biggest one-off matches in the history of UEFA internationals, nerve wracking for those involved but fantastic entertainment for the neutral.
Some of the other big name players who could miss out if their nation loses include Robert Lewandowski, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gareth Bale, Leonardo Bonucci, and David Alaba.
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