DAMS. The World Cup is only 9 months away, but the last European and African tickets are distributed at the end of March with the play-offs.
[Mis à jour le 16 février 2022 à 12h05] After the pandemic, the war between Russia and Ukraine could seriously disrupt the World Cup play-off schedule. Indeed, following the conflict between the two countries, several federations have announced that they do not want to compete in the play-offs against the former host country of the 2018 World Cup. This is the case of Poland, future opponent of the Russians, but also of its potential future adversaries, Sweden and the Czech Republic. These federations “do not plan to travel to Russia” and have asked Fifa and UEFA, organizers of the play-offs, to “react immediately and present alternative solutions” concerning the venue of the meetings. UEFA is also holding an extraordinary meeting of its executive committee this Friday. “The military escalation that we are observing has serious consequences and considerably less security for our national teams and our official delegations,” note the three federations.
Unlike Europe, the Africa zone cannot send teams directly to the World Cup. All nations will have to pass a 3rd round in the form of a home and away match. Here is the complete draw for the Africa zone play-offs for the 2022 World Cup, made this Saturday in Cameroon:
- Republic Democratic Republic of the Congo – Morocco
- Cameroon – Algeria
- Mali – Tunisia
- Egypt – Senegal
- Ghana – Nigeria
eWhat is the draw for play-offs in Europe?
The draw for path A:
- Scotland – Ukraine
- Wales – Austria
The draw for path B
- Russia – Poland
- Sweden – Czech Republic
The draw for path C
- Italy – North Macedonia
- Portugal – Turkey
What is the play-off schedule?
After the draw and the separation of the twelve teams into three ways, the matches will be played next March. Here is the schedule:
Semi-finals (Thursday March 24)
- Track A
- Scotland – Ukraine (8:45 p.m.)
- Wales – Austria (8:45 p.m.)
- Path B (Thursday March 24)
- Russia – Poland (8:45 p.m.)
- Sweden – Czech Republic (8:45 p.m.)
- Lane C (Thursday, March 24)
- Italy – North Macedonia (8:45 p.m.)
- Portugal – Turkey (8:45 p.m.)
Finals (Tuesday March 29)
- Track A
- Wales or Austria – Scotland or Ukraine (8:45 p.m.)
- Track B
- Russia or Poland – Sweden or Czech Republic (8:45 p.m.)
- C-track
- Portugal or Turkey – Italy or North Macedonia (8:45 p.m.)
Dates of dams in Africa
- March 24
- Mali – Tunisia
- Ghana – Nigeria
- Egypt – Senegal
- March 26:
- Cameroon – Algeria
- DR Congo – Morocco
- March 27:
- Nigeria – Ghana
- Tunisia – Mali
- March 28:
- Senegal – Egypt
- March 29:
- Algeria – Cameroon
- Morocco – DR Congo