2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar - UEFA Qualifiers

[coco23]

LOL.. we need to wait for another three and half months to find out whether we will be able to watch Cristiano Ronaldo during the 2022 World Cup at Qatar. If they somehow qualify, then that would mean that Italy will be eliminated. Path A and Path B doesn't feature any of the superpower teams. In all probability Austria would qualify from Path A, while either Sweden or Czechia looks probable from Path B. Path C is quite complicated. In addition to Portugal and Italy, they have two very good teams in Turkey and North Macedonia.

I think Path A is pretty balanced. I don't see Austria as a huge favorite. In Path B it'll be the winner of the second match (Sweden or Czech). Patch C will be Italy vs Portugal and that'll be most likely Italy, as much as everybody is hoping for a last CR7 show 

[joker_josue]

I think Path A is pretty balanced. I don't see Austria as a huge favorite. In Path B it'll be the winner of the second match (Sweden or Czech). Patch C will be Italy vs Portugal and that'll be most likely Italy, as much as everybody is hoping for a last CR7 show 

Although I think Italy will be favorites against Portugal.

We cannot forget that at the individual level Portugal has a better team. There's CR7, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Dias, Pepe, Rafa, and a couple of good players. The biggest problem for Portugal is the coach, who insists on a strategy that does not favor these players. But, if eventually he changes his strategy and puts these players to play in their usual positions, then we will have a very well-laid game.

[mv1986]

One great soccer nation is going to get kicked out. For the fans is actually sucks and I am not very keen to watch the play-offs either. It is cooler to watch those clashes at a regular tournament. For Ronaldo it would be a slap in his face at this stage of the career.

Seriously this is big setback for Portugal as recently they have few very talented players and these all are doing very good but still they fail to qualify for world cup and now facing some tough competition from team like Italy which is also having very bad period in last few years as they already miss the 2018 world cup and now again on verge of losing their place second time in a row, but now we have to wait for their next move how they respond and what is outcome of this all.

Few years back I was mad about Italian soccer but sadly now recently they are struggling but good thing recently they won European Cup which is again a good sign for them and their soccer fans.

Italy didn't have a very bad period in the last few years, they just won the European Championship. They won against Belgium, Spain and England at the EURO. I wouldn't call that a bad period to be honest!

That is why I think first of all it is going to be a very close call between Portugal and Italy, and once a team qualified for the final round that team also has the chance to win the World Cup title. Both teams are strong and both should be part of the final round...

[TheGreatPython]

As it might be the last world cup for CR7 I want Portugal to reach the final tournament from Path C. Italy is in real danger on missing two straight world cups. On the other hand, I am not worried because, if CR7 fails, then also i'll get to see Messi & Neymar's super skills who have already got tickets to Qatar.

CR7 is one of most favorite players around the globe and peoples love to watch him in soccer ground with his skills and many other things related to him even Messi having some good number of awards but still not near CR7 about Naymar is already injury porn player, so it's not all about who is coming or who is not coming, but it's all about soccer and CR7 which is massive impact and if Portugal lost their spot then surely It's going to be big setback for this world cup but still all will be on as its usual business, and we will have some good new stars for future with many teams having their tickets for this mega even happening in 2022 in Qatar.

Italy is surely favorite but still with some good number of players also available into Portugal but just need some good strategy for doing some better.

[alpamar99]

I will obviously support and hope that Portugal wins this match against Turkey and Portugal should win this match because on point table they are a far better team than turkey. And obviously, Ronaldo is going to cause a lot of problems for Turkey's defense. Frankly, I don't think that Turkey's defense will be able to handle Portugal's attack.

There are still four whole months before this match, so now it is quite difficult to say who or which team will be in what form and to make a prediction. I do not think that Portugal is much stronger than Turkey to speak of a clear advantage, at least I hope that the match at home will give an additional advantage and Portugal will win.

In terms of ranking, Portugal is indeed superior because they are still in a fairly high position.
But in terms of performance at the moment I think like you said there is still a lot of time to see how they prepare well.
on the other hand i still see the dependence on ronaldo in the ranks of the portugal players which makes it very difficult for them to develop the game they do

As it might be the last world cup for CR7 I want Portugal to reach the final tournament from Path C. Italy is in real danger on missing two straight world cups. On the other hand, I am not worried because, if CR7 fails, then also i'll get to see Messi & Neymar's super skills who have already got tickets to Qatar.

it is certain they will struggle in the playoff path because as you said, this is the last world cup for ronaldo.
But what I meant in the previous thread was that the Portugal national team still have dependencies and expect too much from Ronaldo to lead them to victory so they are too fixated on Ronaldo's strengths and Ronaldo is like working hard on their own.
this is the same as what messi did in argentina

[coco23]

That is why I think first of all it is going to be a very close call between Portugal and Italy, and once a team qualified for the final round that team also has the chance to win the World Cup title. Both teams are strong and both should be part of the final round...

I agree, but that's why we have the qualification round. Switzerland and Serbia came out before Italy and Portugal. If you don't (consistently) beat the smaller teams you are not guaranteed to play in the final round against the better teams 

[Sithara007]

LOL.. we need to wait for another three and half months to find out whether we will be able to watch Cristiano Ronaldo during the 2022 World Cup at Qatar. If they somehow qualify, then that would mean that Italy will be eliminated. Path A and Path B doesn't feature any of the superpower teams. In all probability Austria would qualify from Path A, while either Sweden or Czechia looks probable from Path B. Path C is quite complicated. In addition to Portugal and Italy, they have two very good teams in Turkey and North Macedonia.

I think Path A is pretty balanced. I don't see Austria as a huge favorite. In Path B it'll be the winner of the second match (Sweden or Czech). Patch C will be Italy vs Portugal and that'll be most likely Italy, as much as everybody is hoping for a last CR7 show  

Have to agree. At least on paper, Italy is much better and more balanced when compared to Portugal. The latter depends heavily on individual performances from a few players, while that is not the case with Italy. We'll miss CR7 at Doha, but then we should also remember that Portugal wasted their chances during the qualifiers. They were in a tough group along with Serbia, but until the last two phases, Portugal was ahead of Serbia. Poor performances in the last few matches probably cost them a slot in the 2022 World Cup.

[Bilgent]

LOL.. we need to wait for another three and half months to find out whether we will be able to watch Cristiano Ronaldo during the 2022 World Cup at Qatar. If they somehow qualify, then that would mean that Italy will be eliminated. Path A and Path B doesn't feature any of the superpower teams. In all probability Austria would qualify from Path A, while either Sweden or Czechia looks probable from Path B. Path C is quite complicated. In addition to Portugal and Italy, they have two very good teams in Turkey and North Macedonia.

Path C is really tough now. Portugal and Italy are the biggest teams there and Turkey follow them. But truthfully, Turkey can make some serious difficulties for Portugal in their match in three months. I know that it is very early to talk about it as there could be some injury problems etc.. But for now, Portugal are the favourite to me. And Italy wouldn't have any problem on eliminating N. Macedonia. In this case, one of Portugal and Italy teams will be out of the World Cup which is really difficult for me.

[Daniel91]

LOL.. we need to wait for another three and half months to find out whether we will be able to watch Cristiano Ronaldo during the 2022 World Cup at Qatar. If they somehow qualify, then that would mean that Italy will be eliminated. Path A and Path B doesn't feature any of the superpower teams. In all probability Austria would qualify from Path A, while either Sweden or Czechia looks probable from Path B. Path C is quite complicated. In addition to Portugal and Italy, they have two very good teams in Turkey and North Macedonia.

I think Path A is pretty balanced. I don't see Austria as a huge favorite. In Path B it'll be the winner of the second match (Sweden or Czech). Patch C will be Italy vs Portugal and that'll be most likely Italy, as much as everybody is hoping for a last CR7 show  

Have to agree. At least on paper, Italy is much better and more balanced when compared to Portugal. The latter depends heavily on individual performances from a few players, while that is not the case with Italy. We'll miss CR7 at Doha, but then we should also remember that Portugal wasted their chances during the qualifiers. They were in a tough group along with Serbia, but until the last two phases, Portugal was ahead of Serbia. Poor performances in the last few matches probably cost them a slot in the 2022 World Cup.

In fact, something similar could be said for Italy, that they played badly at the end of the qualifications and missed a great opportunity to qualify directly for the World Cup.
Now there is a great chance that they will not qualify for the World Cup for the second time in a row, which has never happened to them in history.
I agree that Italy seems like a more balanced and a better team, but only one game is played in Portugal and anything is possible.
Portugal will have the advantage of the home field and that may help them, but in fact it is a pity that one of these two great national teams will not qualify for the World Cup due to an unfortunate draw.

[mv1986]

LOL.. we need to wait for another three and half months to find out whether we will be able to watch Cristiano Ronaldo during the 2022 World Cup at Qatar. If they somehow qualify, then that would mean that Italy will be eliminated. Path A and Path B doesn't feature any of the superpower teams. In all probability Austria would qualify from Path A, while either Sweden or Czechia looks probable from Path B. Path C is quite complicated. In addition to Portugal and Italy, they have two very good teams in Turkey and North Macedonia.

I think Path A is pretty balanced. I don't see Austria as a huge favorite. In Path B it'll be the winner of the second match (Sweden or Czech). Patch C will be Italy vs Portugal and that'll be most likely Italy, as much as everybody is hoping for a last CR7 show  

Have to agree. At least on paper, Italy is much better and more balanced when compared to Portugal. The latter depends heavily on individual performances from a few players, while that is not the case with Italy. We'll miss CR7 at Doha, but then we should also remember that Portugal wasted their chances during the qualifiers. They were in a tough group along with Serbia, but until the last two phases, Portugal was ahead of Serbia. Poor performances in the last few matches probably cost them a slot in the 2022 World Cup.

In fact, something similar could be said for Italy, that they played badly at the end of the qualifications and missed a great opportunity to qualify directly for the World Cup.
Now there is a great chance that they will not qualify for the World Cup for the second time in a row, which has never happened to them in history.
I agree that Italy seems like a more balanced and a better team, but only one game is played in Portugal and anything is possible.
Portugal will have the advantage of the home field and that may help them, but in fact it is a pity that one of these two great national teams will not qualify for the World Cup due to an unfortunate draw.

I also believe that they are more balanced and also experienced when it comes to big games like that, but there is also a psychological factor at play. Some of the players are getting tired as it seems (like Chiellini). They won so much and maybe can't reach the limits they used to reach years ago. I think this will be a hell of a close game against Portugal.

[joker_josue]

In fact, something similar could be said for Italy, that they played badly at the end of the qualifications and missed a great opportunity to qualify directly for the World Cup.
Now there is a great chance that they will not qualify for the World Cup for the second time in a row, which has never happened to them in history.
I agree that Italy seems like a more balanced and a better team, but only one game is played in Portugal and anything is possible.
Portugal will have the advantage of the home field and that may help them, but in fact it is a pity that one of these two great national teams will not qualify for the World Cup due to an unfortunate draw.

If we look at the players that Portugal has available, I would even say that they have better players than Italy.
But the problem in Portugal, and it is even criticized for that, is the coach not using these players correctly in their possibilities, setting up a game strategy that does not empower these players.
This makes the Italia team end up having an advantage. Now, if Portugal approaches the game in a different way, then it will have a good chance of winning.

[mv1986]

In fact, something similar could be said for Italy, that they played badly at the end of the qualifications and missed a great opportunity to qualify directly for the World Cup.
Now there is a great chance that they will not qualify for the World Cup for the second time in a row, which has never happened to them in history.
I agree that Italy seems like a more balanced and a better team, but only one game is played in Portugal and anything is possible.
Portugal will have the advantage of the home field and that may help them, but in fact it is a pity that one of these two great national teams will not qualify for the World Cup due to an unfortunate draw.

If we look at the players that Portugal has available, I would even say that they have better players than Italy.
But the problem in Portugal, and it is even criticized for that, is the coach not using these players correctly in their possibilities, setting up a game strategy that does not empower these players.
This makes the Italia team end up having an advantage. Now, if Portugal approaches the game in a different way, then it will have a good chance of winning.

Yes, strategically I would say that Italy is definitely a level stronger than Portugal. But Portugal can be extremely dangerous offensively even though Italy's defense is well organized. Ronaldo will play at his max for a last time when it is all about the World Championship. I am excited to see how much the Italians are going to deliver.

[CLS63]

It looks like one of Italy and Portugal teams are going to be eliminated in the playoff stage. Italy wouldn't have much problem on qualifying for the final game of this stage. Because they have a very easy opponent to beat like North Macedonia. But I'm not going to say the same thing for Portugal also. Because they don't have a very easy job against Turkey. I must admit that Turkey were really bad for a particular time period in the Qualifiers. But they started performing better in their last games. They can cause Portugal to have a really hard time against them. And who knows, maybe Turkey can eliminate them. But it is a low probability in my opinion.

[Juggy777]

In fact, something similar could be said for Italy, that they played badly at the end of the qualifications and missed a great opportunity to qualify directly for the World Cup.
Now there is a great chance that they will not qualify for the World Cup for the second time in a row, which has never happened to them in history.
I agree that Italy seems like a more balanced and a better team, but only one game is played in Portugal and anything is possible.
Portugal will have the advantage of the home field and that may help them, but in fact it is a pity that one of these two great national teams will not qualify for the World Cup due to an unfortunate draw.

If we look at the players that Portugal has available, I would even say that they have better players than Italy.
But the problem in Portugal, and it is even criticized for that, is the coach not using these players correctly in their possibilities, setting up a game strategy that does not empower these players.
This makes the Italia team end up having an advantage. Now, if Portugal approaches the game in a different way, then it will have a good chance of winning.

Yes, strategically I would say that Italy is definitely a level stronger than Portugal. But Portugal can be extremely dangerous offensively even though Italy's defense is well organized. Ronaldo will play at his max for a last time when it is all about the World Championship. I am excited to see how much the Italians are going to deliver.

It looks like one of Italy and Portugal teams are going to be eliminated in the playoff stage. Italy wouldn't have much problem on qualifying for the final game of this stage. Because they have a very easy opponent to beat like North Macedonia. But I'm not going to say the same thing for Portugal also. Because they don't have a very easy job against Turkey. I must admit that Turkey were really bad for a particular time period in the Qualifiers. But they started performing better in their last games. They can cause Portugal to have a really hard time against them. And who knows, maybe Turkey can eliminate them. But it is a low probability in my opinion.

I’m having a tough time seeing two of my favourite teams on the verge of elimination, and it hurts knowing that only one of them can qualify. Lastly past performances don’t matter now, and what will matter is how badly the player’s of Portugal and Italy want to qualify, and I sincerely hope that one of them qualifies.

[wxa7115]

LOL.. we need to wait for another three and half months to find out whether we will be able to watch Cristiano Ronaldo during the 2022 World Cup at Qatar. If they somehow qualify, then that would mean that Italy will be eliminated. Path A and Path B doesn't feature any of the superpower teams. In all probability Austria would qualify from Path A, while either Sweden or Czechia looks probable from Path B. Path C is quite complicated. In addition to Portugal and Italy, they have two very good teams in Turkey and North Macedonia.

Yes, I also thought about it. It's hard for me to imagine the degree of psychological pressure on players who are waiting for a super important match to determine whether they will make it to their last World Cup or not. At the same time, they continue to play in regular games and cannot do anything to quickly come to this important match. Such situations are dangerous by psychological burnout - even before the event occurs, the player has time to spend all his mental strength and this affects the quality of his game.

Without a doubt it is a problem but at the same time that is why they are pros at the sport and they are paid so much, they need to learn how to deal with whatever obstacles are ahead, and in this instance having to wait for months before they have the opportunity to compete again for the right to get a ticket to the world cup is without a doubt difficult for all of them.

But at the same time I am glad it is this way, after all the teams that go to the world cup need to be the very best, and if a team cannot overcome something as simple as to have to wait for a few months before they compete again then they have no right to play at the world cup.

[alpamar99]

I’m having a tough time seeing two of my favourite teams on the verge of elimination, and it hurts knowing that only one of them can qualify. Lastly past performances don’t matter now, and what will matter is how badly the player’s of Portugal and Italy want to qualify, and I sincerely hope that one of them qualifies.

It is very important they really have to play extra and must beat each other in one ticket to follow other countries that compete in the world cup later.
I really like the pattern of play of these two national teams, but indeed one has to be sacrificed.
and maybe we won't be able to see ronaldo in the world cup this time and maybe this will be the last time he plays at the national team level if you look at his current age

[Distraction]

I’m having a tough time seeing two of my favourite teams on the verge of elimination, and it hurts knowing that only one of them can qualify. Lastly past performances don’t matter now, and what will matter is how badly the player’s of Portugal and Italy want to qualify, and I sincerely hope that one of them qualifies.

It seems really unfair to me also that one of these very strong teams are going to be out of the World Cup. But there is nothing to prevent it also. I hope that the most deserving team move on to the big tournament and show their real strength. And I don't think that Turkey can eliminate Portugal. Turkey were performing really good in the past. But now, they are still not playing as a complete team.

[emrecemsan]

To see the World Cup's quality to increase, I think that Fifa need to increase the quota that they have given to European teams. I hope that we can watch many more European teams in the World Cup after the next format of the tournament.

[rmhuntley]

To see the World Cup's quality to increase, I think that Fifa need to increase the quota that they have given to European teams. I hope that we can watch many more European teams in the World Cup after the next format of the tournament.

European have many slot country on every world cup and make them easy how to win from each word cup competition, I think FIFA need to make balance between each region to get same slot country like Asian, African and American have the same country get by European, now need to change maybe next world cup FIFA should give more for other region and not priority again with European.

[joker_josue]

European have many slot country on every world cup and make them easy how to win from each word cup competition, I think FIFA need to make balance between each region to get same slot country like Asian, African and American have the same country get by European, now need to change maybe next world cup FIFA should give more for other region and not priority again with European.

This has already been said before. But then comes the problem of competitiveness. Almost all European countries manage to beat almost all non-European countries.

You can count on the fingers of your hand the countries that face the Europeans: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. And maybe they can surprise Japan, Australia, the United States and Ecuador. Sometimes Egypt and South Africa also have interesting performances.

In short, if today we almost always see the same people going far in the competition, with many without suppressions, if fewer European countries participate, then we would see even less suppressions.