[Epoch Times, March 30, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Li Rongshi comprehensive report) On March 29, local time, with the end of the latest round of qualifying competitions, 27 of the top 32 qualifying for the 2022 Qatar World Cup have been determined. seats. Asia, Africa and South America have all ended. The final three qualifying spots will not be finalized until June.
12 of the 13 places in the European Division have been confirmed
In the last round of Group B of the European play-offs, Sweden eliminated the Czech team 1:0; in the match between Poland and Russia, due to the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Russia was disqualified from the competition, and Poland successfully qualified. In the final, Lewandowski led Poland to beat Sweden 2-0 at home, qualifying for the World Cup finals for the ninth time in history.
In the last round of the play-offs, the Italian team slammed 32 shots and failed. At the last moment of the game, the North Macedonia team scored a lore goal, thus missing the World Cup finals for two consecutive years. Portugal beat Turkey 3:1. This round, Portugal and North Macedonia meet. As a result, with Bruno Fernandez (B fee) scoring twice, Cristiano Ronaldo led Portugal to a 2-0 win over the opponent and entered the World Cup.
There are a total of 13 qualifying places in the European region, and ten teams have already qualified, namely: England, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, France, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, and the Netherlands; now plus Poland and Portugal, a total of 12 teams.
Relying on star Gareth Bale’s “brace”, Wales beat Austria 2-1 in the play-off semi-finals, one step closer to their first World Cup trip since 1958. In June this year, Wales will compete with the winners of Ukraine and Scotland for a place in the play-off final. Bale, 32, has said that if Wales lose, he will retire in situ.
A total of five teams from Asia have reached the finals
There are 4.5 qualifying places in the Asian region. Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Japan are directly promoted. Together with the host Qatar, five Asian teams have been confirmed to enter the World Cup finals.
In the round of 12, the situation of Group A has long been clear, with South Korea and Iran both qualifying ahead of schedule. In the final round of the contest, the UAE team relied on the goal of the 19-year-old teenager Hareb Sohail to win the South Korean team 1:0, ending the opponent’s unbeaten in the top 12 and securing the first place in Group A with 12 points. Third, get the opportunity to play the play-offs.
In Group B, the Chinese men’s football team withdrew from the competition early, and has been playing the role of “accompanying the prince to study” in recent rounds. The fourth-ranked Australian team in Asia lost to the Japanese team 0:2 in the crucial battle, completely losing the direct promotion opportunity. The Saudi team (23 points) and the Japanese team (22 points) joined hands to qualify. The “Australian Kangaroos” accumulated 15 points and ranked third in Group B. They will play a play-off with the UAE team. The winner will participate in the intercontinental play-off. The fifth place in the South American region competes for a promotion spot, which is probably more fortunate for Asian teams.
In the final round, the Chinese team lost to Oman 0:2 away. After winning two consecutive victories, Oman ranked fourth in Group B with 4 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses. The Chinese men’s football team has 1 win, 3 draws and 6 losses, with 6 points, ranking fifth in Group B. Among them, the Chinese team has 3 draws and 4 losses in the last seven rounds, without a win, and lost all five away games. The Vietnamese team has 1 win, 1 draw and 8 losses, and is at the bottom with 4 points.
All five African entries are confirmed
The African region has a total of five World Cup qualifying places. In the third round of the third round of the qualifiers, Ghana, ranked 61st in the world, drew with Nigeria, ranked 32nd, 1:1 away. Away goal advantage to qualify. This is the first time Nigeria has missed the World Cup since 2006.
In a “Liverpool” civil war, after 90 minutes, Senegal defeated Egypt 1-0, and the two teams drew 1-1 in the two rounds, and the two sides entered extra time. In overtime, neither team scored. The final game entered a penalty shootout, Salah missed the penalty kick, Mane scored the winning penalty, and Senegal defeated Egypt 4:2 to advance.
In the other three games, Tunisia drew 0-0 at home with Mali, thus advancing with a total score of 1-0. Morocco defeated Congo 4-1 at home and advanced 5-2 on aggregate in the two rounds. Algeria and Cameroon were tied 1-1 in two rounds, and the two sides entered extra time. As a result, both sides scored a goal, and the two teams battled 2 to 2. Cameroon eliminated their opponents with the advantage of away goals.
In the end, after three stages of World Preliminaries, the five qualifying teams in the African Division have all been determined, namely: Senegal, Ghana, Tunisia, Morocco, and Cameroon.
There are 2 more intercontinental playoffs in the Americas Division
In the South American Division, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador and Uruguay have already qualified for direct promotion in advance. In the final round, Peru, Colombia and Chile will compete for a chance to play in the play-offs. As a result, Peru beat Paraguay 2-0 to finish fifth in the South American division. They will compete with the winner between Australia and the UAE in an intercontinental play-off in June this year for a place in the promotion.
There are three and a half places in North and Central America and the Caribbean. Canada stood out in the qualifiers, securing a ticket one round early. This is their first World Cup entry after 36 years since the 986 World Cup in Mexico. And that was their only time into the World Cup. That time they ended up ranking 24th, or the bottom one.
The other two direct promotion places, not surprisingly, will be won by the United States and Mexico. If the two teams lose by a small margin in the final round, they can advance. The Mexican team has entered the World Cup finals seven times in a row, while the US team missed the 2018 World Cup. Now their team has many players who play in the five major European leagues. The overall strength has improved significantly, and its world ranking has soared to 13th. ,
It is expected that the fourth place in Central and North America will be Costa Rica. They will face off against Oceania’s No. 1 in June. The winner will qualify for the World Cup.
Responsible editor: Zheng Huang#