The international break will be, between Thursday March 24 and Wednesday March 30, the scene of decisive matches for many nations with a view to qualifying for the World Cup. The national selections will try to obtain one of the 17 remaining places for the queen of international competitions, which will take place in Qatar from November 21 to December 18, 2022.
In Europe, more than three tickets to the World Cup
To qualify, the play-off teams still in the race will have to win their semi-final match, Thursday March 24, as well as their final, scheduled for Tuesday March 29. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal will face Turkey, while the Italians must overcome North Macedonia. The winners of the two matches will be opposed in the final and only one of the four teams will be able to win their ticket to the World Cup in Qatar.
#VamosComTudo #TeamPortugal pic.twitter.com/vgotCcVdDj
— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) March 22, 2022
Among the other matches played on Thursday, Sweden host the Czech Republic and Austria travel to Wales. Poland, which was to face Russia, has already won its place in the final on green carpet following the exclusion of the Russians in reaction to the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainians, meanwhile, saw their semi-final against Scotland postponed to a later date. Poland and Scotland have therefore decided to organize a friendly match in the land of the Thistle, by donating the proceeds of the match to Unicef, which operates humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
In Africa, five places and five meetings recorded
A little less than two months after Senegal’s victory in the 2022 African Cup of Nations, African football is once again in the spotlight on Friday March 25. The African champions travel to Egypt for a “remake” of the last CAN final. The opportunity to observe again a duel between the two stars of Liverpool, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané. Only one of the two teams can qualify after the return match in Senegal on Tuesday 29 March.
“The World Cup is another competition, we will do everything to qualify. Top-level football does not feed on the past. Today, we are facing two very important deadlines for Senegalese football. Aliou Cisse.
Source: FSF press pic.twitter.com/yj7pNzAKqZ— Football (@FootballSenegal) March 19, 2022
The other big poster of these qualifications opposes Cameroon and Algeria. The Indomitable Lions, semi-finalists of the CAN, will have to be vigilant against revengeful Fennecs after a disappointing African Cup, they who were released from the group stage. The other matches concern Ghana against Nigeria, Mali against Tunisia and the Democratic Republic of Congo against Morocco.
In the rest of the world, nothing is decided
In South America, two places for a direct qualification are still available, while Argentina and Brazil have already validated their ticket for Qatar. Fifth place will return to an intercontinental play-off. Among the teams still in the race are Uruguay, Peru, Chile and Colombia.
On the Asian side, eyes will be on Group 2, where Saudi Arabia, Australia and Japan will try to grab the first two places synonymous with direct qualification. The lowest-ranked nation will need to go through a home-and-away game against third-placed Group A (currently the United Arab Emirates), in order to qualify for an intercontinental play-off.
A few new faces and plenty returning for duty
Here is Australia’s 25-player squad for our final two Group B #AsianQualifiers.
v – Stadium Australia – 24.3.22, 8:10pm AEDT
v – King Abdullah Sports City – 30.3.22, 5:00am AEDT#AsianQualifiers #AllForTheSocceroos pic.twitter.com/9MlNXSqVhO— Socceroos (@Socceroos) March 17, 2022
For Oceania, the teams compete in a qualifying tournament in Qatar, the winner of which will be able to take part in the intercontinental play-off. Regarding Concacaf (North, Central America and the Caribbean), the United States, Mexico and Canada have put themselves in the best conditions and can ensure their qualification during their last three meetings. Late in the standings, Costa Rica and Panama can still grab 4th place, synonymous with qualification for the intercontinental play-off.
15 teams already qualified
Ahead of this last burst of matches, 15 nations are already guaranteed to play in the next World Cup:
Europe: France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, NetherlandsSwitzerland and England
Asia: Qatar, Iran and South Korea
South America: Brazil and Argentina