First modification:
The double round of qualifiers that ended on Tuesday, November 16, continued to add confirmed for the next World Cup to be played in Qatar. In South America, Brazil and Argentina took out their tickets in advance while six others fight for the remaining places; in Europe the closing of the first round ended with Portugal and Italy in playoffs. In Asia, Iran and Saudi Arabia parade and Africa was ready for the tough final round.
The dizzying days of international football, the last of 2021, came to an end with a balance of ten teams qualified for the Qatar World Cup 2022 that joined the host, Germany and Denmark – who achieved it on the FIFA date in October. However, beyond the lights that this ten selected ones took, the qualifiers advance in the six confederations with different tones and contexts.
The South Americans, considered the most difficult in the world, have already issued their first two places for the World Cup after the excellent results they achieved Brazil and Argentina. For the other two and a half places, the contest is very even.
Ecuador (23 points) is the best profiled to follow the path of Canarinha and Albiceleste. Behind are Colombia, Peru (both with 17), Chile, Uruguay (16), Bolivia (15) and more relegated Paraguay (13). With only four days to go, the race to get to Qatar will be intense and changeable.
In Europe, the completion of the first round defined the eight remaining World Cup qualifiers. France, Belgium, England, the Netherlands and Spain, Serbia, Switzerland and Croatia they joined Germany and Denmark on their way to Qatar.
But the big note was that Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal and Italy, the brand new continental champion, did not make the first cut and will have to define their luck in a playoff between 12 teams, where only three will survive. There, tough rivals like Robert Lewandowski’s Poland, Gareth Bale’s Wales and traditional teams like Sweden, Russia and Turkey will be waiting for them.
Meanwhile, Mexico suffered two hard defeats in the octagonal final of Concacaf at the hands of the United States and Canada, dropped positions and the continuity of the Argentine Gerardo Martino began to be questioned more severely.
Despite these setbacks, the Aztecs seem not to risk being left out of the World Cup after the halfway point of the tie that grants three and a half places. With the standings sharply split, Canadians lead with 16 points, one more than Americans. Mexico and Panama follow with 14. The fifth is Costa Rica with just nine units.
Asia, with four rounds left to play, has Iran and Saudi Arabia with a foot and a half in the World Cup. A little further back, South Korea also detached itself from the others. The big winner of this double date was Japan, who recovered from a bad start with two wins, although it remains unconvincing from the performance. Between the Japanese and Australia will be the fourth classified, while the other will enter the playoffs.
Finally, Africa rounded off its second filter and of the 40 that participated in this phase, the top ten were already left. Now the toughest round will begin with the two-legged matches between selected very even and of similar hierarchies. Among them are Sadio Mané’s Senegal, Egypt with Mohammed Salah, Algeria with Riyad Mahrez and solid teams such as Morocco and Nigeria.
The next FIFA date will be at the end of January. There, the qualifying rounds of Concacaf, Conmebol and Asia will probably begin to define their classifications. In addition, the one in Oceania will begin, while awaiting the momentous rounds of UEFA and Africa that will take place in March.
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