WCQ - MADNESS IN MARCH

Sebastian Zucchet

A couple of weeks ago I brought forward a preview for the upcoming qualifying finale. A lot has happened since then and this article will be a review informing you on everything that has happened during the break.

Asia

With Iran and South Korea already qualified in group A, the focus was on the play-off spot between United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq, and Syria. In the first match, Iraq ended up beating the UAE and with UAE playing South Korea next, it looked like it was all over. But a Harib Abdalla Suhail winner saw them miraculously win while Iraq drew with Syria, ending the pair's hopes of a World Cup appearance.

Group B had an exciting finish. Struggling Australia desperately needed a win at home over Japan for any hopes of automatic qualification. Things were going well and it looked like the match would finish 0-0 until Karou Mitoma broke Australian hearts with a 89’ minute winner. He then added a second goal five minutes later. Australia were sent to the playoffs and Japan had a chance to actually win the group on the final day with Saudi Arabia taking on Australia and Japan playing Vietnam. It would be Saudi Arabia who claimed top spot though a crucial win against Australia, while Japan surprisingly drew to Vietnam.

UAE will play Australia in a play-off in June, and the winner will take on a South American team to see who makes the World Cup.

Oceania

The Oceania qualifying tournament came to a close on Monday, March 30. As predicted, New Zealand stormed through the group stage undefeated, even beating New Caledonia 7-1. On the other side, Solomon Islands were victorious in their group. They faced Papua New Guinea in the semi finals and won 3-2, while New Zealand narrowly beat Tahiti. In my last article about the qualifiers, I called the Solomon Islands a dark horse, and going into the finals I was hoping I would be right. New Zealand ended up dismantling the Solomon Islands 5-0, cementing their spot in the inter continental playoff in June.

Africa

The final round of the African qualifiers provided some great football despite the off-field antics stealing the spotlight.

Starting with Egypt vs Senegal, the first game ended 1-0 in favour of the Egyptians as they looked to take revenge for their AFCON final loss. The second match took place in Senegal where the reigning African champions took an early 1-0 lead through a Boulaye Dia marker. The game would end that way and send the sides to extra time.

The additional time solved nothing and it was onto penalties. Both countries missed their first two penalties, including Mohammed Salah, but as the shootout went on Senegal would be the lucky club to punch their ticket to a second straight World Cup. The headlines though were negative ones about the lasers being pointed in all the Egyptian players' eyes throughout the game from the Senegal fans, as well as throwing water and other objects at them.

The Nigeria vs Ghana matchup looked to be intense, but the first game in Ghana was very dull and ended 0-0, leaving everything for the second match in Nigeria. An exciting first half saw Ghana go 1-0 up through a Thomas Partey goal, only for Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong to slot home a penalty a few minutes later.

Victor Osimhen looked to put Nigeria up 2-1 but it was called offside and the goal was disallowed. In the end Nigeria just couldn’t get that second goal, allowing Ghana to advance to the World Cup via away goals. After the match Nigeria fans stormed the pitch and broke everything in their path, causing various issues in the world of football.

Mali played Tunisia in hopes of qualifying for their first ever World Cup, but it didn’t go the way they planned whatsoever. Following a 1-0 home defeat, the group was tasked with beating Tunisia by at least 2 goals and on the road nonetheless. The Tunisians put out a solid defensive effort, preventing Mali from scoring and finishing the game with a 0-0 score with Tunisia going to their second straight World Cup.

Morocco took on DR Congo with hopes of remaining undefeated throughout qualifying. The first game ended 1-1 with Morocco getting a deserved equalizer later on in the match, but the return leg in Morocco was an absolute thumping, seeing Morocco take a commanding 4-1 victory to seal a spot in Qatar. The Moroccans went undefeated throughout the entirety of qualifying.

The most exciting fixture had to have been Algeria and Cameroon. Algeria won the first game 1-0 with a crucial away goal from Islam Slimani and were looking good for the next game. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored early for Cameroon which eventually led the match towards extra time. Algeria scored in extra time, but the goal was controversially disallowed due to a hand ball. With two minutes left to play Ahmed Touba found the breakthrough tally with a flying header to send Algeria to their first World Cup since 2014. Or so we thought.

In the 124’ minute the ball fell to Cameroon star Karl Toko-Ekambi in the box and he put the ball in the back of the net to stun Algeria and everyone else watching. Cameroon had done the unthinkable and pulled off an incredible final minute comeback. Many fans after the match took to social media to protest the match saying it needed to be replayed due to poor officiating.

South America

Before the qualifying window there was a huge battle between multiple teams for the third-fifth spot. It was between Ecuador, Uruguay, Peru, Colombia, and Chile. Ecuador took on Paraguay in the first game and lost 3-1, but their qualification was confirmed because of a Uruguay win against Peru, which also sealed Uruguay’s spot in the World Cup.

Chile were played out the park by Brazil which ended their playoff hopes, but Colombia beat Bolivia which gave them a chance at overtaking Peru for the playoff spot. Peru beat Paraguay 2-0 and even though Colombia had won, they would be missing their first World Cup since 2010. Peru will now take on either Australia or UAE for a spot in Qatar.

North America

The storyline in North America was Canada qualifying for its first World Cup since 1986. The Canadians lost their first game against Costa Rica, but then beat Jamaica 4-0 at home and booked their flight to the Middle East. With the win against Canada, Costa Rica secured a top four finish because of the USA demolition job against Panama. Costa Rica had made an incredible comeback in qualifying after seeming like they were down and out, and even beat the USA 2-0 on the final day.

Costa Rica will play New Zealand in June in a playoff. Mexico took on their huge rivals USA at the Azteca stadium, but for such a huge fixture the result was a disappointing 0-0 draw. Mexico secured qualification on the final day with a win against El Salvador, and the USA also qualified on the final day despite losing to Costa Rica. The only way they would miss out is if they were beaten 6-0 by Costa Rica.

Europe

The European qualifiers provided some incredible drama in the semi final action.

Wales took on Austria in front of a packed Cardiff Stadium, creating an incredible atmosphere. What can only be described as a Gareth Bale masterclass led Wales to a 2-1 victory. Gareth Bale’s free kick was a gentle reminder for everybody that he is still an incredible footballer. Wales will play the winner of Scotland and Ukraine in June.

Sweden took on the Czech Republic. A cagey affair meant the game went to extra time, and the unlikely hero Robin Qaison scored the winner for the Swedes. They would travel to Poland to play Poland in the final. Poland had played a friendly against Scotland in preparation for the match. Poland emerged victorious in the final with help from the main man Robert Lewandowski and qualified for their second straight World Cup.

The biggest talking point was Italy vs North Macedonia. North Macedonia were the biggest underdogs coming into this and the world was shocked when Trajkovski scored a 92’ minute winner for North Macedonia to send the Euro Champions out and miss their second straight World Cup. On the other side of the bracket, Portugal took on Turkey.

Portugal were cruising with a 2-0 until Burak Yilmaz pulled one back for Turkey. He had the chance to level the game and send it to extra time with a late penalty but put it over the bar breaking Turkish hearts. Portugal would add a third in the final minute to send Turkey home. Portugal took on North Macedonia in Porto in the final and seemed unfazed by North Macedonia’s win against Italy because they played them out the park and a Bruno Fernandes double sealed Portugal’s spot in the 2022 Fifa World Cup.

With the draw completed, we have to wait until June to see who takes the final three qualifying spots, but it will no doubt be an exciting time.