(Q) WORLD CUP 2022 QUALIFIERS (Q)
Qatar, Germany, Denmark, Brazil, Belgium, France, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, Switzerland, England, Netherlands, Argentina, Iran, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Canada, Ghana, Senegal, Portugal, Poland, Tunisia, Morocco, Cameroon, Mexico, United States
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The 10 group winners qualified for the finals; the 10 runners-up and two non-placed teams with the best 2020-21 Nations League record were drawn into two rounds of playoffs with the three overall winners qualifying for the finals.
(Q) Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Croatia, England, Germany, Portugal, Poland
Playoffs
[A] Semi finals Wales 2-1 Austria, Scotland v Ukraine
FINAL Wales v Scotland or Ukraine
[B] Semi finals Russia C-C* Poland, Sweden 1-0 Czech Republic (aet)
FINAL (Q) POLAND 2-0 Sweden
*Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia were suspended by FIFA, and Poland advanced to the final on a walkover
[C] Semi finals Portugal 3-1 Turkey, Italy 0-1 North Macedonia
FINAL (Q) PORTUGAL 2-0 North Macedonia
GARETH BALE scored a splendid brace as Wales moved to within one home win of a place in the World Cup finals for the first time in 64 years.
The Real Madrid winger struck a delightful free-kick on 25 minutes and added a second goal shortly after the restart with a neat turn-and-finish.
A raucous Millennium Stadium then had to roar the men in red to victory after Marcel Sabitzer pulled a goal back for Austria with 26 minutes left.
But the Welsh held off the Austrians comfortably enough for the remainder of the game to set up a winner-takes-all match in Cardiff against Scotland or Ukraine in June.
That postponed tie was moved to an earlier date in the same summer international window following the callous Russian invasion of Ukraine which left the visitors to Glasgow unable to be confident of raising a team.
Sadly, for the Ukrainians, it is not clear at present if their situation in June will be any better. Indeed, right now, it seems more likely to be worse again.
In the other European playoff ties, Portugal and Poland both prevailed at home by a 2-0 scoreline against North Macedonia and Sweden respectively.
Earlier in this window, North Macedonia produced a huge shock by knocking out European champions Italy after a stoppage-time goal by Aleksandar Trajkovski in Palermo.
Consequently, in sharp contrast to their victory at Wembley in the Euro 2020+1 final last summer, four-time winners Italy have now failed to qualify for the World Cup on the last two occasions.
Furthermore, the Azzurri's last match in the World Cup knockout stage was all the way back in 2006 when they were victorious in the Final against France.
North Macedonia were no match for Portugal, though - and a largely one-sided contest in Porto was decided by a high-quality brace from midfielder Bruno Fernandes.
Just past the half-hour mark, Fernandes exchanged passes with Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo before applying the finish - and then, midway through the second period, he volleyed in Diogo Jota's lofted cross-field pass, having started the move himself on the edge of his own box.
The other tie in Chorzow was a closer affair - and, ultimately, Sweden were left to rue a big missed chance by Emil Forsberg in the first half and two critical errors at the back.
Early in the second half, Jesper Karlstrom made a clumsy tackle in the box on Grzegorz Krychowiak - and Robert Lewandowski slotted away the spot-kick for his 75th international goal.
Then, with less than 20 minutes remaining, Naplli midfielder Piotr Zielinski took full advantage of Marcus Danielson's poor control, running through on goal and holding his nerve in a one-on-one situation.
Sweden could perhaps claim they were more fatigued than their opponents with this match coming only a few days after a gruelling semi final against the Czech Republic which included a period of extra time.
By contrast, Poland were given a bye to the playoff final, having been due to play against Russia.
In fairness, FIFA was left with little option other than to exclude the Russians from the competition which they hosted only four years ago after the other teams refused even to countenance fulfilling any fixtures involving Vladimir Putin's pariah state.
And, with the outcome of the section involving Wales, Scotland and Ukraine still yet to be determined, there will now be three unknown finals teams in the World Cup draw on Friday 1 April.
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CONMEBOL (South America)
Top four teams qualified directly for the finals; the fifth-placed team enters an inter-continental playoff.
(Q) Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador
(P) Peru
| Table | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| (Q) BRAZIL | 14 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 5 | 45 |
| (Q) ARGENTINA | 11 | 6 | 0 | 27 | 8 | 39 |
| (Q) URUGUAY | 8 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 22 | 28 |
| (Q) ECUADOR | 7 | 5 | 6 | 27 | 19 | 26 |
| (P) Peru | 7 | 3 | 8 | 19 | 22 | 24 |
| Colombia | 5 | 8 | 5 | 20 | 19 | 23 |
| Chile | 5 | 4 | 9 | 19 | 26 | 19 |
| Paraguay | 3 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 26 | 16 |
| Bolivia | 4 | 3 | 11 | 23 | 42 | 15 |
| Venezuela | 3 | 1 | 14 | 14 | 34 | 10 |
Uruguay and Ecuador joined unbeaten Brazil and Argentina as the two remaining direct qualifiers from the South America region.
Giorgian De Arrascaeta scored in a 1-0 win for Uruguay over Peru in Montevideo last Thursday - and that result was also enough for Ecuador to qualify despite their own disappointing 3-1 loss away to Paraguay.
Indeed, La Tri looked set to finish a strong campaign with back-to-back defeats until the stoppage time intervention of Fenerbahce forward Enner Valencia rescued a point at home to Argentina.
Now, Brazil and Argentina both sealed their finals places back in November with several games to spare - with the Brazilians set to retain their proud record as the only country to appear at every World Cup finals.
Subsequently, both big-hitters remained unbeaten until the very end of their marathon campaigns - and Brazil, in fact, recorded an excellent haul of 45 points from 51.
The Seleção improved with every passing game and finished off in style - with three consecutive 4-0 wins against Paraguay, Chile, and away to Bolivia at high altitude in La Paz.
Everton forward Richarlison found the net twice while Lucas Paqueta and new Newcastle United signing Bruno Guimaraes exchanged a goal and assist each in an easy win.
In the final set of games in CONMEBOL, the only matter left to be decided was the identity of the team advancing to a one-off intercontinental playoff by finishing in fifth.
Despite defeat against Uruguay, Peru started the night in the driving seat - and stayed there as two goals in the first half from Gianluca Lapadula and Yoshimar Yotún against Paraguay in Lima prevented the prospect of any nerves creeping into play.
Peru therefore move onto that playoff, which is set to be held in Qatar in June against Australia or United Arab Emirates.
However, Colombia and Chile - two ageing teams who are well past their best - miss out altogether.
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CONCACAF (North America)
Top three teams qualified directly for the finals; the fourth-placed team enters an inter-continental playoff.
(Q) Canada, Mexico, United States
(P) Costa Rica
| Octagonal | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| (Q) CANADA | 8 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 7 | 28 |
| (Q) MEXICO | 8 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 8 | 28 |
| (Q) UNITED STATES | 7 | 4 | 3 | 21 | 10 | 25 |
| (P) Costa Rica | 7 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 8 | 25 |
| Panama | 6 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 19 | 21 |
| Jamaica | 2 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 22 | 11 |
| El Salvador | 2 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 10 |
| Honduras | 0 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 26 | 4 |
Canada qualified for a World Cup finals for the first time since 1986, topping the final section, nicknamed the Octagon, despite defeat in Panama last night.
Earlier this week, the Maple Leafs - led by County Durham-born coach John Herdman - reached the finals for the first time in 36 years with a 4-0 thumping of Jamaica in Toronto.
"When I first took over and I said, 'We're going to qualify for the World Cup', I don't think they believed us," said Herdman who was born in Consett.
"I'm happy for them because all of these fans have waited and waited and waited, and hung in with us - and we're going.
"I think this country never believed in us because we've given them nothing to believe in. They believe now."
Mexico and United States joined Canada at Qatar 2022 in their final games, with El Tri easing past El Salvador with a 2-0 win in the Azteca Stadium.
The Americans lost to Costa Rica, the only other team in contention for a direct qualifying place - but Los Ticos were unable to overturn their goal difference deficit.
At least, the Costa Ricans still have the fall-back of a playoff against New Zealand - while, for the United States, qualification will come as something of a relief after the almost unthinkable happened in the previous cycle.
Back then, the concession of a last-minute goal against Trinidad & Tobago meant the Americans missed out on the 2018 tournament altogether.
However, the biggest plaudits in the continent are undoubtedly reserved for Canada with this success coming at a particularly good time.
After all, the Canadians will act as one of the three World Cup co-hosts with United States and Mexico at the end of the next cycle in 2026.
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CAF (Africa)
The 10 group stage winners competed in two-legged playoffs with the five winners qualifying for the finals.
(Q) Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, Cameroon
Playoffs
| First leg | Second leg | Result | ||||||
| Egypt | 1-0 | Senegal | Senegal | 0*1 | Egypt | 1-1 (Q) SENEGAL won 3-1 on penalties | ||
| Cameroon | 0-1 | Algeria | Algeria | 1*2 | Cameroon | 2-2 (Q) CAMEROON won on away goals | ||
| Ghana | 0-0 | Nigeria | Nigeria | 1-1 | Ghana | 1-1 (Q) GHANA won on away goals | ||
| DR Congo | 1-1 | Morocco | Morocco | 4-1 | DR Congo | 5-2 (Q) MOROCCO won on aggregate | ||
| Mali | 0-1 | Tunisia | Tunisia | 0-0 | Mali | 1-0 (Q) TUNISIA won on aggregate |
Senegal piled more pain on Egypt, repeating their penalty shoot-out win at the Final of the African Cup of Nations last month in the World Cup qualifiers.
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Cairo, the Lions of Teranga made the perfect start to the second leg in Dakar, scoring after just three minutes through Boulaye Dia.
But no further goals were forthcoming in the remainder of normal or extra time as the contest became a typically tight affair, reminiscent of so many of the matches at the AFCON.
So, to penalties - just 51 days after Senegal had beaten the Pharaohs 4-2 after a 0-0 draw in Yaoundé.
In that shoot-out, Egypt captain Salah did not even get a kick at a penalty after he was assigned to be the fifth taker - but, this time, Liverpool forward Salah stepped up first.
However, this time came in hostile territory with large numbers in the crowd at Senegal's new Diamniadio Olympic Stadium shining bright green laser pens directly onto Salah's face.
The penalty area was more akin to a nightclub than a football pitch as Salah strode up to the ball - and skied the ball over the bar.
Similar treatment was doled out to the other Egyptian players who went onto miss three of their four kicks - while Senegal scored three out of their five, including a successful conversion by Salah's club team-mate Sadio Mane.
Unsurprisingly, the Egypt FA has lodged an official FIFA complaint about the lasers and made accusations that their team was subjected to racism and "terrorised" by the home fans.
For now, though, it is Senegal - and not Egypt - who are in the World Cup draw tomorrow ahead of their third finals appearance.
Elsewhere, in a huge game, Ghana progressed against West African rivals Nigeria on away goals after Thomas Partey's early strike in Abuja.
The Super Eagles struck back on 22 minutes through William Troost-Ekong's penalty - but, despite them piling on the pressure throughout the whole of the second half, a match-winner never arrived.
And so, Partey's goal started a Black Stars party which did not look too likely after their poor AFCON performance and the first leg 0-0 draw in Kumasi.
Unfortunately, it also sparked violence from the Nigerian fans who pelted the Ghanaian players with water bottles and invaded the pitch, before overturning the two dugouts.
In a tie out of keeping with the others, Morocco and DR Congo shared seven goals over the two legs - although the contest was eventually dominated by the Atlas Lions who won 4-1 in Casablanca for a 5-2 aggregate victory.
Morocco's fellow North Africans, Tunisia, also made it through - in rather more sedate style - relying on their rock-solid defence to overcome the perennially frustrating Mali 1-0 on aggregate.
Only an own goal separated the two teams across the 180 minutes as the Carthage Eagles added two further clean sheets to their four in the group stage.
The fifth team to qualify from Africa are Cameroon after a late, late show against Algeria in Blida.
Resuming at 1-0 to Algeria after the first leg in Douala, the Indomitable Lions unexpectedly got back level in the tie through a goal by Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting which eventually sent the tie to extra time.
Algeria striker Islam Slimani had a second-half goal ruled out for offside and another effort chalked off in the first half of extra time.
Eventually, the Fennec Foxes did equalise on the night and take the lead on aggregate through Ahmed Touba with only two minutes left.
But the Algerians remained vulnerable to a second away goal - and Cameroon duly delivered the knockout blow when Karl Toko Ekambi struck with virtually the last kick of the game.
Consequently, it will be an eighth World Cup appearance for the Cameroonians - an African record.
However, Cameroon are also currently on a World Cup record run of seven successive finals defeats, stretching over three tournaments back to 2002.
Altogether, African football remains at the same crossroads at which it has been now for far too long.
Even a lot of the successful teams on the continent lack a proper identity, caught between playing their natural game and trying not to adhere to the damaging stereotypes of defensive naivety.
The outcome has been that the coaching focus, even with some extremely talented players, has been based on making sure the defence is not too weak.
Indeed, the average goals per game at the AFCON (1.92) and in the 10 World Cup playoff matches (1.6) is notably lower than in other games between the best teams on the other continents.
Then, there are the problems with crowd behaviour. Now, of course, these issues are not only found in African football, but they seem to be more prevalent - and deadly - in Africa.
In the AFCON tournament last month, eight people died and 38 more were injured in a crush at the Olembe Stadium - yet, somewhat jarringly, the venue still went on to stage a semi final and the Final itself.
More so than at any World Cup since South Africa hosted the tournament in 2010, it feels as if the teams from this continent need to make a good impression in Qatar.
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AFC (Asia)
Top two teams in both groups qualified directly for the finals; the two third-placed teams enter a playoff (P) with the winner advancing to an inter-continental playoff.
(Q) Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan
(P) United Arab Emirates, Australia
| Group A | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| (Q) IRAN | 8 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 4 | 25 |
| (Q) SOUTH KOREA | 7 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 23 |
| (P) United Arab Emirates | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 12 |
| Iraq | 1 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 9 |
| Syria | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 16 | 6 |
| Lebanon | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 6 |
| Group B | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| (Q) SAUDI ARABIA | 7 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 23 |
| (Q) JAPAN | 7 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 22 |
| (P) Australia | 4 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 9 | 15 |
| Oman | 4 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 14 |
| China | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 6 |
| Vietnam | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 19 | 4 |
The four teams qualifying directly from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) come as no surprise with 30 World Cup finals appearances now racked up by the successful quartet.
Iran - with five previous appearances - and South Korea, with the most previous appearances (10) by an Asian team, ran away with Group A.
Indeed, such was the dominance of the leading pair that their places were secured in the previous international window, leaving them to fight it out over the last two games for top spot.
That looked as if it was going be taken by the Koreans after Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min scored in a 2-0 win against the Iranians in Seoul last week.
But there was a twist in the tale on the final matchday during which Iran beat Lebanon 2-0 while South Korea lost 1-0 away to the United Arab Emirates.
In fairness, the UAE had a lot more to play for with victory in Dubai confirming third position and a place in the AFC playoffs, where they will meet Australia in June.
The Socceroos were only able to finish third in their own section, behind Saudi Arabia (five previous appearances) and Japan (six with appearances at every World Cup since 1998) after losing to both teams in the course of the past week.
Kauro Mitoma scored two late goals as Japan won away in Sydney to condemn Australia to the playoffs with the subsequent 1-0 defeat to the Saudis in Jeddah merely rubbing salt into the wounds.
Now, a World Cup campaign coming to a climax in a playoff of some sort is nothing new for the Aussies.
In fact, no fewer nine of the Socceroos' 14 World Cup qualifying entries have involved a playoff, with success via the route coming on only three occasions - in 1974 against South Korea, in 2006 against Uruguay, and in 2018 against Honduras.
Of course, even if Australia overcome the Emirates in June, they will face a further intercontinental playoff against Peru in order to secure a sixth appearance at a World Cup finals.
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OFC (Oceania)
The full qualifying competition took place in Qatar in March 2022; the winners advanced to an inter-continental playoff.
(P) New Zealand
| Group A | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| Solomon Islands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Tahiti | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Vanuatu* | ||||||
| Cook Islands* |
*withdrew due to COVID-19 outbreaks in their squads
| Group B | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| New Zealand | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 9 |
| Papua New Guinea | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Fiji | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| New Caledonia | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
Playoffs
Semi finals Solomon Islands 3-2 Papua New Guinea, New Zealand 1-0 Tahiti
FINAL Solomon Islands 0-5 New Zealand
New Zealand inevitably progressed from the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) section to set up a playoff against the fourth-placed team from North America, Costa Rica.
Along the way, the All Whites beat Papua New Guinea (1-0), Fiji (4-0), and New Caledonia (7-1) in the group stage, Tahiti (1-0) in the semi final, and Solomon Islands (5-0) in the final.
Newcastle United striker Chris Wood found the net five times - with braces against Fiji and New Caledonia, and another in the final - to become the Kiwis' all-time leading scorer on 33 goals.
Frankly, though, the greatest threat to New Zealand came from the OFC officials' inability to organise a qualification competition due to the island governments' stern travel restrictions in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ultimately, FIFA had to step in and set up a mini-tournament, played throughout this international window away from Oceania in Qatar.
Yet even this attempt became affected by COVID-19 after outbreaks in the Vanuatu and Cook Islands squads forced them both to withdraw.
