By Andrew Warshaw
December 8 – For once there wasn’t a group of death as such but there is no doubt some got it far easier than others.
The draw for the European section of the 2022 World Cup qualifying competition has produced some intriguing ties but in the main, all the big guns – kept apart by the seeding system – will feel relatively confident about reaching the finals in Qatar barring any upsets along the way.
Only the 10 group winners are assured of a place in the finals in November and December 2022, with the ten runners-up advancing to playoffs along with the two best group winners from the current Nations League who have not qualified directly.
The playoffs will feature single-leg knockout matches in March 2022 to determine the last three European nations to book their places.
Much of the excitement is likely to come in the scramble to finish second and qualify for those play-offs.
In that respect, Group G is perhaps the most eye-catching with both Turkey and Norway, the latter including hotshot striker Erling Haaland, posing a threat to the Netherlands’ hopes of qualifying for the first time since reaching the semi-finals at Brazil 2014.
The qualifiers begin in March and defending champions France will be expected to cruise through a five-team group that contains Ukraine, Finland, Bosnia-Herzogovina and Kazakhstan.
“The trips will be very long,” said France coach Didier Deschamps. “We must always have enough humility and respect for these teams.”
Germany, whose coach Joachim Loew has been under severe pressure after a run of poor recent results, will be expected to have few hiccups in a straightforward group while England were pitted against old rivals Poland in a match-up featuring two of the world’s top strikers in Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski.
“We are not naïve enough to think any of these games will be walkovers,” said England manager Gareth Southgate whose team also has to play Hungary. “I can picture games against all those opponents that have been difficult over the years for many England managers.”
Italy are aiming to make up for their failure to qualify in 2018 by getting past Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria and Lithuania in Group C while Belgium, the No. 1 team in the current FIFA world rankings, face Wales, republic of Ireland, Belarus and Estonia.
“We have faced Wales in the past and those games have always been competitive and the Czech Republic is an always a competitive team,” said Belgium coach Roberto Martinez. “Those two sides will be difficult. They are similar in profile with a lot of exciting young players coming through.”
As so often, the draw threw up a few tasty political nuances, not least in Spain’s group where Kosovo were placed after being deliberately kept away from Serbia.
Spain are one of the few countries in Europe that doesn’t officially recognise Kosovo. Nor does Greece or Georgia who are also in that same group though such considerations are unlikely to get in the way of the fixtures taking place.
Group A: Portugal, Serbia, Rep of Ireland, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan
Group B: Spain, Sweden, Greece, Georgia, Kosovo
Group C: Italy, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria, Lithuania
Group D: France, Ukraine, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan
Group E: Belgium, Wales, Czech Republic, Belarus, Estonia
Group F: Denmark, Austria, Scotland, Israel, Faroe Islands, Moldova
Group G: Netherlands, Turkey, Norway, Montenegro, Latvia, Gibraltar
Group H: Croatia, Slovakia, Russia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta
Group I: England, Poland, Hungary, Albania, Andorra, San Marino
Group J: Germany, Romania, Iceland, North Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein
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