Seven more teams secures their spot in Qatar’s much-anticipated FIFA World Cup 2022 in November.
Tuesday’s final round of FIFA 2022 World Cup playoffs secured seven countries’ spots in the much-awaited tournament in Qatar, with football icons Christiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, and Robert Lewandowski ready to pack their bags and head to Doha in November.
So far, 27 out of 32 countries have qualified, with two more expected to join on March 31.
Cristiano Ronaldo clinched one of the seven spots on Tuesday after his home team Portugal defeated North Macedonia 2-0 in a heated European playoff, securing the player’s fifth World Cup appearance in his career.
“Goal achieved, we are at the Qatar World Cup, we are in our rightful place! Thank you to all the Portuguese for the tireless support! Portugal strong!” Ronaldo posted on social media.
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Robert Lewandowski took his Polish team to the World Cup after securing a penalty in the 50th minute against Sweden in another European playoff.
The win finalised the eight seeds for Friday’s draw: host country, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, England, France, Portugal, and Spain.
Europe so far has 10 spots out of 13 secured for the 2022 World Cup. Belgium, France, England, Spain, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Croatia, Serbia, Portugal, and Poland have all qualified.
The remaining three were decided through playoffs.
Meanwhile, Sadio Mane scored the winning penalty of the African playoffs against Egypt after the teams drew 1-1 on aggregate, sending his teammate Mohammed Salah back to the European league empty-handed. Senegal now heads to its third World Cup and first in Doha.
Also in Africa, Ghana qualified after a 1-1 draw with Nigeria thanks to Thomas Partey’s 10th-minute goal. The continents’ stars will make their fourth World Cup appearance this year.
But like Egypt, Algeria suffered a harsh 2-1 victory against Cameroon after winning the first leg but losing the second. Morocco qualified after a 4-1 victory against the Democratic Republic of Congo, while Tunisia secured its spot with a 1-0 aggregate victory against Mali.
So far, five African teams have qualified, including Senegal, Ghana, Morocco, Cameroon, and Tunisia.
Finally, for the first time in 36 years, Canada has secured its spot in the World Cup after beating Jamaica 4-0. So far, the North American country is the only country that qualified from its region.
Thursday will witness the USA, Costa Rica, and Mexico in action to secure two more spots before FIFA’s final draw on Friday.
As for Asia, five countries have already qualified, including Iran, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, while Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, and Uruguay qualified from South America.
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