Europe: Portugal and Poland without shaking
Thanks to a double from Bruno Fernandes (32nd, 65th) against North Macedonia, Portugal, European champions in 2016, will see the World Cup in Qatar next winter. This will be the fifth participation in a world finals for Cristiano Ronaldo, who remained silent during these play-offs but was perfectly assisted by his Mancunian friend Bruno Fernandes.
Very close to the correctional last Thursday against Turkey (3-1), Fernando Santos’ men this time did not tremble against North Macedonia, who cracked too quickly, five days after his exploit in Italy (1-0).
Exempted from the semi-finals after the exclusion of Russia, Poland for its part dominated Sweden to validate its ticket for Qatar (2-0). Dulled after their success in extra time against the Czech Republic (1-0), the Swedes conceded a penalty after returning from the locker room, transformed by the inevitable Robert Lewandowski (49th). Piotr Zielinski then took advantage of an error by the Scandinavian defense to put his people away at the start of the last quarter of an hour.
If the Bayern gunner will be there next winter, this will not be the case for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who entered 10 minutes from the end of the match and who undoubtedly missed his last great opportunity to shine on the international scene.
Africa: Ghana and Senegal first qualified
Ghana and Senegal also qualified for the 2022 World Cup on Tuesday. The first snagged the draw in Nigeria 1-1 (0-0 first leg). The Black Stars will see Qatar thanks to their double counting away goal (the rule is still in force in the African zone). Ghanaian captain Thomas Partey opened the scoring with a long shot (10th), before William Troost-Ekong equalized from the penalty spot (22nd).
Senegal overcame Egypt on penalties (1-0, 3-1 on pens) on Tuesday at Diamniadio. The remake of the CAN final has once again turned in favor of the Lions, who will participate in a third edition of the World Cup. Beaten 1-0 in the first leg in Egypt, Senegal caught up with Boulaye Dia at the start of the game.
Asia: a pre-dam between Australia and the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, winners of South Korea (1-0), Tuesday in Dubai, joined Australia in a pre-Asian play-off of the World Cup, the winner of which will play a final play-off against the 5th in the Americas zone. South for a ticket to Qatar.
Thanks to this success, the Emiratis, who were forced to win to clinch third place in Group A, overtook Iraq who were also playing their qualification but could not do better than a draw (1-1) in Syria.