Ten European nations have qualified for the 2022 World Cup and only three spots remain.
Eleven countries are still dreaming of earning their places at the tournament in Qatar in November and December, including Scotland, Wales, European champions Italy, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Sweden
The play-off situation is a slightly different one now to that presented when the draw was made back in November, following Fifa’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russia, who were due to face Poland, have been disqualified from the competition, while Ukraine’s path A semi-final with Scotland has been postponed until June.
The 11 countries have been split into three sections, with only one nation advancing from each path.
Here we look at each country’s World Cup record and what they need to do to join Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Serbia, Spain and Switzerland at world football’s greatest show.
Path A – Will England be joined by another home nation at the World Cup?
Austria
World Cup record: Third (1954), fourth (1934), second round (1978, 1982), group stage (1958, 1990, 1998).
Austria are aiming to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1998 and will be Wales’ semi-final opponents in Cardiff.
They only finished fourth in their World Cup qualifying group (the same group as Scotland) but are in the play-offs as one of two nations who qualified because of their Nations League performance.
Real Madrid defender David Alaba and ex-West Ham forward Marko Arnautovic are among their major players.
Scotland
World Cup record: Group stage (1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998).
Like Austria, Scotland are hoping to qualify for their first World Cup in 24 years.
Steve Clarke’s side, who played at Euro 2020, finished second in World Cup qualifying Group F – only losing to group winners Denmark.
Scotland beat Denmark 2-0 in the final round of qualifying matches to earn a home semi-final, but they will be away at either Wales or Austria if they beat Ukraine.
Ukraine
World Cup record: Quarter-finals (2006).
Ukraine were initially drawn to take on Scotland at Hampden Park in a semi-final on 24 March. Clearly that was not a possibility following Russia’s invasion of the country.
Fifa made the decision to delay the game until the June international window, on security grounds and a lack of player availability.
Ukraine reached the quarter-finals of last summer’s Euro 2020, losing 4-0 to England, and have since changed their head coach, with Oleksandr Petrakov replacing former Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko.
They were unbeaten in qualifying, finishing behind group winners France, but only won two of their eight fixtures, with draws in the other six. Andriy Yarmolenko and Oleksandr Zinchenko, who play in the Premier League for West Ham and Manchester City, are regulars for them.
Wales
World Cup record: Quarter-finals (1958).
Wales have only appeared at one World Cup finals, in Sweden 64 years ago when they lost 1-0 to eventual winners Brazil in the quarter-finals thanks to a goal from Pele.
With Rob Page in charge, Wales finished second in qualifying Group E, behind Belgium, who are number one in Fifa’s world rankings.
A draw against Belgium at Cardiff in their final qualifying match secured home advantage for the semi-finals and they will play at home as well in the final against Scotland or Ukraine if they defeat Austria.
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Path B – One last chance for Zlatan or will Lewandowski fire Poland to Qatar?
Czech Republic
World Cup record (as Czech Republic): Group stage (2006).
Czech Republic’s last appearance at a World Cup came in 2006, when they beat the United States but lost to Ghana and Italy and failed to make it out of the group phase.
They beat Scotland and the Netherlands at last summer’s Euro 2020 before losing to Denmark in the quarter-finals, but only finished third in their World Cup qualifying group, behind Belgium and Wales.
However, a good record in the Nations League took them into the play-offs. West Ham pair Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek are among their best-known players.
Poland
World Cup record: Third (1974, 1982), second group stage (1978), last 16 (1986), group stage (2002, 2006, 2018), first round (1938).
Russia’s expulsion means Poland have a bye through to the final, where they will face either Sweden or the Czech Republic for a place in Qatar.
Poland are hoping to play at their ninth World Cup and have Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, named the Best Fifa Men’s Player of 2021, in their side.
They finished six points behind England in qualifying, but did manage to score 30 goals in 10 matches, with Lewandowski getting eight of them.
Sweden
World Cup record: Runners-up (1958), third (1950, 1994), fourth (1938), quarter-finals (1934, 2018), second group stage (1974), last 16 (2002, 2006), group stage (1970, 1978, 1990).
Sweden reached the quarter-finals in Russia four years ago, losing 2-0 to England, but are in danger of missing out in 2022.
They take on the Czech Republic at home in the semi-finals, but will have to do so without striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic because the 40-year-old is suspended, although he would be eligible to play against Poland in the away final.
Sweden had been in a good position to qualify with two matches remaining but away losses to Georgia and then in the deciding game against Spain left them second and in the play-offs.
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Path C – Will Ronaldo salvage World Cup dream or will Italy miss out again?
Italy
World Cup record: Winners (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), runners-up (1970, 1994), third (1990), fourth (1978), quarter-finals (1998), last 16 (1986, 2002), group stage (1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1974, 2010, 2014).
A World Cup without four-time winners Italy? It happened in 2018 and could well happen again in 2022.
Italy, who beat England in the Euro 2020 final last summer to become European champions, remained unbeaten in their World Cup qualifying group but two draws with Switzerland, as well as a home draw with Bulgaria and a 0-0 in Northern Ireland left Italy second, with the Swiss advancing as group winners.
The play-offs will bring back bad memories for Italians as in November 2017 they lost 1-0 on aggregate to Sweden over two legs to miss out on a place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the first time they had not qualified since 1958. They have a home match against North Macedonia and then, if successful, a tricky away game against either Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal or Turkey.
North Macedonia
World Cup record (as North Macedonia): Never qualified.
North Macedonia, ranked 67th in the world, have arguably the most difficult task of any nation in the play-offs as they take on European champions Italy away from home and if they win that are on their travels again, against either Portugal or Turkey.
They have never qualified for a World Cup but, courtesy of their performance in the Nations League, did play at Euro 2020, although they came bottom of their group following losses to Austria, Ukraine and the Netherlands.
But North Macedonia have shown they are capable of causing a shock and gained an incredible 2-1 away win in Germany in their qualifying group, a result that helped them finish second, above Romania.
Portugal
World Cup record: Third (1966), fourth (2006), last 16 (2010, 2018), group stage (1986, 2002, 2014).
Portugal missed out on automatic qualification in dramatic fashion. They needed a draw at home to Serbia in their final match, but conceded an injury-time goal to lose 2-1 – with Cristiano Ronaldo among those in tears at the final whistle.
Now Portugal, whose side also includes other Premier League stars including Manchester City trio Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva, Liverpool’s Diogo Jota and Ronaldo’s Manchester United team-mate Bruno Fernandes, face must-win matches at home against Turkey and then either Italy or North Macedonia.
Ronaldo has played in four World Cups, helping Portugal finish fourth in 2006 – eliminating England on the way – but at the age of 36 this could well be his last chance to appear on the biggest stage of all and to win the ultimate prize.
Turkey
World Cup record: Third (2002), group stage (1954).
Turkey are hoping to qualify for the World Cup for only the third time, and their first in 20 years after they reached the semi-finals in 2002 before losing to eventual winners Brazil.
Their squad includes Leicester defender Caglar Soyuncu and Inter Milan midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu and have to win away at Portugal to set up a home tie against either Italy or North Macedonia.
In qualifying, Turkey finished second behind group winners the Netherlands, although they did record a 4-2 win over the Dutch, before losing the return 6-1.
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