World Cup Qualification
The Football Union of Ukraine has applied to the International Football Union (FIFA) and the European Football Union (UEFA) to postpone the World Cup play-off. The world association announced this on Thursday evening and emphasized that they were trying to find a quick solution to the problem.
FIFA said it was in contact with the Ukrainian and Scottish associations to find an appropriate solution. The current fixture schedule sees Ukraine taking on Scotland in the World Cup semi-final play-off on March 24 in Glasgow. The winners of that game will face the winners from Wales away against Austria five days later for a ticket to the World Cup in Qatar.
Should there actually be a postponement, this would result in considerable scheduling difficulties. An international match phase is only entered in the international calendar again at the beginning of June, but during this time four Nations League games per team are scheduled. The draw for the World Cup groups will take place in Doha on April 1st.
Russia banned from football
On Monday, FIFA and UEFA suspended Russia from all competitions over the attack on Ukraine. This means, among other things, that the Russian team cannot take part in the World Cup play-off at the end of March and Poland are without a fight in the final for a ticket to the World Cup finals in Qatar in November.
Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic had previously announced that they would not play Russia in the World Cup qualifying play-offs. Poland were drawn as opponents of Russia in the play-off semifinals and should have played in Moscow at the end of March. Now you have home advantage as a winner without a fight against the winner of the match Sweden – Czech Republic.
