Next year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar is sure to be without either Italy or Portugal after the current and previous European champions were drawn into the same qualifying playoff bracket on Friday, meaning that at least one will fail to qualify for the tournament.
Italy first face North Macedonia at home in a playoff semi-final in March, with the winners to play away against either Portugal or Turkey for a spot at the World Cup.
Four-time champions Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, missing the tournament for the first time since 1958 after losing in the playoffs against Sweden.
Photo: Reuters
Now, after winning Euro 2020 in July, they might have to beat Euro 2016 champions Portugal to avoid a second straight failure.
“It’s not a great draw and it could have gone better,” Italy coach Roberto Mancini said.
“Just like we wanted to avoid Portugal, they would have wanted to avoid Italy,” Mancini said.
Photo: Reuters
Cristiano Ronaldo has led Portugal to every World Cup since 2006 and this might be his last attempt at winning international soccer’s biggest trophy.
He is to turn 37 before next year’s tournament starts.
Ronaldo helped Portugal get through the playoffs for the 2014 World Cup, scoring a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Sweden that featured an epic duel between superstars, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic netting twice for Sweden.
“It’s not worth thinking about” Italy, Portugal coach Fernando Santos said. “It’s important that we concentrate on beating Turkey.”
Also in the 12-team draw, Scotland face Ukraine at home, with the winner to play Wales or Austria in the final of their bracket.
Russia host Poland for the right to face Sweden or the Czech Republic in their bracket final.
The six playoff semi-finals are single-leg games on March 24. The three finals are to be played five days later.
The three winners are to complete Europe’s entry of 13 nations in the 32-team lineup in Qatar.
FIFA is to make the tournament draw on April 1 in Doha.
Meanwhile, Qatar is to host the intercontinental playoff in June to decide the final two qualifiers for the tournament.
The intercontinental draw pairs the team from Asia against the team from South America, and a team from North American region CONCACAF against Oceania’s representative.
Those qualifying campaigns are still being played.
The winners of the two single-leg games on June 13 and 14 are to complete the 32-team World Cup lineup, with 13 nations — Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Qatar, Serbia, Spain and Switzerland — already qualified.
Additional reporting by staff writer
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
Taiwan last night defeated Cuba 2-0 in their World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 Group B game at the Taipei Dome and finished the group second. At the Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium, South Korea yesterday defeated Australia 5-2, while Japan last night won 11-3 against the Dominican Republic. On Sunday, Taiwan scored two three-run homers in an 11-3 blowout win over Australia at the Taipei Dome to advance to the Super Round. Fresh off a defeat at the hands of defending Premier12 champions and Group B winners Japan the previous day, Taiwan’s offense came out slugging against Australia from the
TWO-NIL LOSS: Taiwan’s best chance to score came at the top of the fifth with the bases loaded and one out, but Venezuela’s Liarvis Breto got out of the jam Taiwan yesterday suffered a shutout 2-0 loss to Venezuela in the opening game of the WBSC Premier12 Super Round at the Tokyo Dome. Taiwan had seven hits, one more than Venezuela’s six, but catcher Carlos Perez’s two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning delivered the only runs scored by both teams and secured victory for Venezuela. Taiwan’s best chance came at the top of the fifth inning with the bases loaded and only one out. However, Venezuela reliever Liarvis Breto struck out Chen Chen-wei before reliever Pedro Garcia finished the inning by allowing an infield flyball by Lin
As sporting celebrations go, it does not quite have the charm of Roger Milla’s hip-wiggling shimmy with a corner flag at the 1990 World Cup or the imperious swagger of Usain Bolt’s iconic lightning pose. However, a dance move inspired by US president-elect Donald Trump’s stilted on-stage boogieing has rapidly become the celebration of choice across the US sporting world. From the blood-soaked UFC to the hard-hitting NFL and the reliably decorous world of the LPGA Tour, athletes across North America have succumbed to the viral Trump dance craze in the past week. On Monday, US soccer star Christian Pulisic became the latest
RSS