The Italian national team, the current champion of the Eurocup, could face Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo in the second round of the European playoff for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as long as both teams advance from their respective previous rounds. That's what was determined after the draw held by FIFA this Friday.
The pairing determined that the first opponent for the Azzurra will be North Macedonia, while for the Portuguese team, the adversary to beat will be Turkey. All these matches will be played in a single game, at the venue of the national teams that have obtained the most points in the group stage of the qualifying.
UEFA playoffs towards Qatar 2022. Photo: FIFA
In case both Italians and Portuguese successfully pass the first stage, the venue for the final game will be determined by a draw, where one of the two teams will be eliminated. This would be the first encounter between both teams since 2018, when they faced each other in the UEFA Nations League.
YOU CAN SEE: Attention Peru! Conmebol will face AFC from Asia in the playoff for Qatar 2022.
The team led by Roberto Mancini has a bitter memory of the most recent continental playoff they had to play, as they were eliminated by Sweden for Russia 2018. On the other hand, in Fernando Costa's team, star Cristiano Ronaldo, 36 years old, could miss participating in the last World Cup of his career.
How are the playoffs for Qatar 2022?
In Europe, these are the six ties for the twelve contenders for the remaining three spots for Qatar 2022. All the matches of these semifinals will be played on March 24, 2022:
- Scotland vs. Ukraine
- Wales vs. Austria
- Russia vs. Poland
- Sweden vs. Czech Republic
- Italy vs. North Macedonia
- Portugal vs. Turkey
European playoff ties for Qatar 2022. Photo: European Qualifiers
For the remaining confederations (AFC, Concacaf, Conmebol, and OFC), the matches will be played in a single game, in a neutral venue, between June 13 and 14, 2022. This was the result of the draw:
- Conmebol vs. AFC (Asia)
- Concacaf vs. OFC (Oceania)