Play-offs beckon for big guns
One of Portugal and Italy, the last two European champions, will miss out on a place in Qatar
Ten down, three to go. Most of Europe’s World Cup hopefuls know they will be in Qatar next November. European champions Italy and their Portuguese predecessors are the most notable outliers at risk of embarrassment and elimination in the play-offs next March. Managers of the happy ten must now ponder coping with such a lengthy run-up. Usually the finalists need to merely plot their way through a handful of spring friendlies ahead of the finals in June, making only minor changes to their squads. But a year is a long time in terms of national teams.
Didier Deschamps, coach of world champions France, knows this better than most. He and his colleagues must negotiate Nations League ties in the spring then a handful of friendlies squashed in between a frantically busy club schedule in the autumn.
Deschamps and Co. will not even have the benefit of a two-week pre-finals training camp. League match injuries risk denying them a host of stars at the last minute.
The October qualifiers had seen Germany and then Denmark become the first Europeans to reach the finals. That left everything else to be decided in November.
Belgium, who remain the world’s No.1 team after the latest FIFA rankings, secured Group E victory and their place in Qatar with a comfortable 3-1 win over Estonia. Wales would subsequently take the runners-up spot and enter the play-offs. They will be accompanied by third-placed Czech Republic who benefit from the Nations League “escape hatch” along with Austria who finished fourth behind Denmark and improving Scotland in Group F.
France matched Belgium’s success with Kylian Mbappe celebrating his first international hat-trick in 32 minutes in an 8-0 Group D destruction of Kazakhstan. Karim Benzema shrugged off the distractions of his long-running court case to score twice. Mbappe, a key figure in 2018, said: “Even for those of us fortunate enough to have won a World Cup, it’s still the ultimate dream to play there.”
Spain became the fifth European qualifiers when a lone late goal from Alvaro Morata consigned Sweden to the play-offs. Goalkeeper Robin Olsen had tipped Dani Olmo’s shot on to the crossbar and Morata was on hand to tap home the rebound. Luis Enrique’s men thus qualified for a 12th consecutive World Cup finals.
That same evening the script took an unexpected twist for Spain’s Iberian neighbours Portugal. They only needed a home draw against Serbia, and were on course for Qatar even when Dusan Tadic cancelled out Renato Sanches’ opener. However half-time substitute Aleksandar Mitrovic headed a dramatic late winner to send Serbia to the finals and shocked Portugal into the play-offs.
Defeat ended Portugal’s unbroken winning run in home World Cup qualifiers (ten games) stretching back to October 2013.
No such pain for Croatia, third in Russia, who overtook the 2018 hosts with a 1-0 Group H victory in Split. Luckless defender Fyodor Kudryashov carried the can after deflecting a Borna Sosa cross into his own net with Russia just nine minutes from the finals.
Some 24 hours later and it was injury-hit Italy’s turn to fret after a goalless draw in their World Cup jinx city of Belfast. A notorious defeat there had seen Italy miss the 1958 World Cup finals; this time the 0-0 Group C draw at least offered a play-off shot. Italy’s attack let them down. They finished their campaign unbeaten but paid the penalty for four draws since their Euro 2020 triumph. Switzerland capitalised to overtake Italy, thumping Bulgaria 4-0.
Netherlands booked their place with a 2-0 Group G home win over Norway thanks to late goals from Steven Bergwijn and Memphis Depay. Coach Louis van Gaal, who led the Dutch to a third-place finish in Brazil in 2014, had to watch from a wheelchair in the stands after injuring a hip in falling off his bicycle the previous weekend.
Defeat was costly for a Norway team missing injured Erling Haaland, with Turkey taking the play-off spot instead. At least Norway’s officials and players will be spared their muchdiscussed dilemma of whether to boycott Qatar over human rights concerns.
England wrapped up their Group I campaign with decisive victories by 5-0 at home to Albania and 10-0 away to
San Marino, the world’s worst team at 210 in the FIFA rankings. FIFA has 211 members but the Cook Islands are worse off than San Marino only because they do not have an active national side.
Harry Kane’s late surge of a hat-trick against Albania and four-goal haul versus San Marino meant he finished as 12-goal joint top scorer in the European section along with Dutchman Depay.
At least Norway’s officials and players will be spared their much-discussed dilemma of whether to boycott Qatar over human rights concerns