Mondial-2022 | Senegal, Portugal, Poland, Tunisia and Cameroon qualify

(Dakar) Senegal, Portugal, Poland, Tunisia and Cameroon qualified for the World Cup in Qatar on Tuesday.

Sadio Mané will be there, not Mohamed Salah. The remake of the 2022 African Cup of Nations final, won by Senegal on penalties, has again turned in favor of the “Lions”, who will play their third World Cup next November after 2002 and 2018.

At the end of a penalty session during which “Mo” Salah missed the target, it was his Liverpool teammate who gave him victory to the Senegalese.

In the first leg, Egypt had nevertheless taken the lead (1-0). And Salah was not for nothing since he had provoked the goal against his side of Saliou Ciss.

But on Tuesday, it was the Abdoulaye-Wade stadium, in Diamniadio, near Dakar, which exploded with joy, twice. In the very first minutes of the match, when Boulaye Dia erased the Senegalese deficit following a free kick from Idrissa Gueye (1-0, 3^and). Then in the very last seconds, when Mané scored the decisive third shot on goal.

Carried by their impressive public, also adept at using lasers to disrupt their opponent, Aliou Cissé’s men first multiplied their chances.

Like Ismaïla Sarr’s two attempts captured by Mohamed El-Shenawy (28^and32^and), that of Nampalys Mendy (42^and) who grazed the left post or even a cross from Bouna Sarr narrowly released by Emam Ashour in front of Ismaïla Sarr before the break.

Little dangerous, the Egyptians waited for the second period to be more enterprising.

The Pharaohs could have even cooled the atmosphere when twice the head then hits it (70^and75^and) from Zizo came to give a warning to the Senegalese while for his part, Ismaïla Sarr, alone against the goalkeeper, missed the target (82^and).

In extra time, it was Mohamed El-Shenawy who stood out, winning several times to prevent his team from being crunched by the Lions.

But that was only delaying the moment when they were finally going to roar, once again, with pleasure.

Bruno Fernandes sends Portugal to the World Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal qualified for the 2022 World Cup thanks to a double from Bruno Fernandes against the surprising North Macedonia (2-0), Tuesday in Porto during the Europe zone play-offs.

The 2016 European champions took the lead shortly after half an hour on a goal from Bruno Fernandes, served by Ronaldo (32^and, 1-0). The attacking midfielder of Manchester United made the break by scoring again in the middle of the second half (65^and2-0).

“We were patient, never afraid. We controlled the game in a very clear way,” said Portuguese coach Fernando Santos.

The Lusitanians will participate in the eighth World Cup in their history, their twelfth consecutive major tournament.

Faced with uninhibited Macedonians, the Portuguese were slow to get a first chance.

As often, “CR7” launched hostilities. Well served in depth by Otavio, the five-time Golden Ball unleashed a nice cross shot from the left, but it shaved the right upright of the opposing cages (14^and).

Macedonia reacted shortly after with a shot from Ezgjan Alioski on the side (20^and).

Diogo Jota then believed to open the scoring from a corner, the Liverpool striker’s header pricking finishing just above (24^and).

Then, Portugal scored a goal 100% “made in” Manchester United. Bruno Fernandes intercepted a bad Macedonian pass and relied on Ronaldo who gave him the ball in the race, the playmaker concluding with a clear shot from close range (1-0, 32^and).

Apart from a long distance strike signed Joao Cancelo off target (45^and +1), Fernando Santos’ men did not have another opportunity to break before half-time.

An offensive silence demonstrating the capacity of the Macedonians to defend well even when largely dominated in the game, like the incredible victory of the 67th nation in the FIFA ranking against Italy (1-0), last week in play-off semi-final.

Returning from the locker room, Bruno Fernandes once again tried his luck, but his shot outside the area was well captured by the goalkeeper of the Balkan team, Stole Dimitrievski (52^and).

It was only a postponement, the attacking midfielder finishing a fine Portuguese counter-attack with an unstoppable recovery from a cross from Diogo Jota (66th, 2-0), definitively sealing his country’s qualification for the World Cup in Qatar ( November 21 – December 18).

A nice revenge for the 27-year-old, who has not been very often decisive with the Portugal shirt, unlike his club performance.

After this second goal, the Lusitanians calmly managed the score, leaving no opportunity for the Macedonians and reviewing their offensive armada with the onset of Rafael Leao and Joao Felix.

Despite this freshness in attack, they did not manage to register a third goal which would have given the air of correction to their victory against a valiant but too limited Macedonia.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who did not score in selection for the fourth consecutive meeting, will be able to console himself with the opportunity to enter the very closed circle of players who have played five final stages of the World Cup.

Poland win play-off final

Poland, with an opener from Robert Lewandowski, qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on Tuesday by beating Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Sweden 2-0 in the play-off final in Chorzow.

The late entry of “Ibra”, at the 80^and minute, did not cause the miracle hoped for by the Swedes. At 40, this character of world football has said goodbye forever to global competition, and perhaps even to the Swedish selection.

And FIFA can breathe. The man she named twice the best player in the world in 2020 and 2021, Robert Lewandowski, will participate well in the tournament next winter in Qatar (November 21-December 18).

After a round of observation, the two teams were not paralyzed by the stakes, and the match gradually unbridled. Sweden had a strong moment, with in particular a first chance by Emil Forsberg, whose cross shot in the box was deflected for a corner with the tip of the fingers by the Polish goalkeeper of Juventus, Wojciech Szczesny (19^and).

The Nordics then tried a lot, sometimes besieging the Polish area, and above all completely silenced for 45 minutes the star of the “White Eagles”, Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski.

But Poland, pushed by their public, offered a superb reply, despite the absence of Marseille striker Arkadiusz Milik, injured last week in the friendly match against Scotland.

Full-back Matty Cash missed the best Polish chance of the first period, completely unscrewing a shot in the box as the goal opened up for him (26^and).

The turning point of the match came just after the break, when Jesper Karlström shoved Grzegorz Krychowiak into the box. Lewandowski was responsible for transforming the indisputable penalty, to allow his country to take a first step towards Qatar (1-0, 49^and).

Sweden has not given up. On another breakthrough from the formidable Alexander Isak, the 22-year-old Real Sociedad player, Emil Forsberg could even have equalized two minutes later, without another impeccable reflex save from Szczesny.

But fate tipped over a huge individual error by Marcus Danielson. Piotr Zielinski, the Naples striker, found himself alone in front of the unfortunate goalkeeper Robin Olsen, whom he beat with a furious shot (2-0, 72^and).

Sweden then lost their footing, and Olsen avoided a heavier score, against Lewandowski in particular, who had at least two chances to score a brace.

Poland, eliminated in the first round at its last two tournaments, the World Cup-2018 and Euro-2020, is therefore offered a new chance. The last undoubtedly in the planetary competition for Lewandowski, 33, and Kamil Glik, 34, and the teammates of their generation.

Tunisia qualified after a draw

Tunisia qualified for its sixth World Cup after its draw against Mali (0-0) on Friday in Tunis, confirming the first leg victory (1-0).

The own goal signed in the first leg by Moussa Sissako was enough for the Carthage Eagles, who have already played in the 1978, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2018 Worlds.

Cameroon scores at the last second to qualify

Cameroon qualified for its eighth World Cup by beating Algeria (2-1 ap) at the last second of Karl-Toko Ekambi (120th +4), Tuesday in Blida.

Cameroon, beaten in the first leg (1-0), shattered the dream of the Algerians who had just scored (118th) by Ahmed Touba. Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting (22nd) opened the scoring.