The play-offs at the 2018 World Cup were the last opportunity for a number of national teams to break into the planetary championship, which will be held in the summer in Russia. Some teams expectedly overcame their opponents, demonstrating high level games, but in a number of couples real sensations broke out. The one who managed to jump into the last car of the train leaving for Mundial will be discussed further.

According to the established FIFA rules, 32 teams will compete in the final part of the World Cup. Six of them were to be determined as a result of the play-offs. According to the regulations, two games were played in each pair - at the home stadium of one of the teams and on the opponent's field. The winner by the sum of the meetings got to the draw of the tournament, which took place on December 1 in the Kremlin. In the event of a tie in the second game, two additional halves of 15 minutes were assigned. If it was not possible to identify the winner, a penalty shoot-out was held (in none of the pairs did it reach extra time).

The list of butt pairs looked like this:

• Northern Ireland - Switzerland;
• Croatia - Greece;
• Denmark - Ireland;
• Sweden - Italy;
• Australia - Honduras;
• Peru - New Zealand.

It is quite natural that the greatest interest in the fans was caused by the opposition of the European teams. Firstly, they are higher in the FIFA rankings, secondly, these squads demonstrate meaningful football, and thirdly, some of the teams were on the list of favorites for the 2018 World Cup (for example, the Italian team).

UEFA zone: game overview

Perhaps the most exciting couple was Sweden and Italy. Experts predicted a confident passage of Giampiero Ventura's wards, but in reality everything turned out differently. The Italians demonstrated extremely toothless football and the inability to change tactics during the meeting. Read more about how the Azzurra did not live up to the expectations of its fans, read

The second most important pair in the UEFA zone was Croatia - Greece. Croatia, after changing the head coach and winning the “death match” away from Ukraine (0:2), approached the match with the Greeks in a great mood. The Greek national team passed the qualifying tournament for the 2018 World Cup smoothly, without significant downturns. Experts expected tense games with a minimum of dangerous moments. It is all the more surprising that the outcome was already decided in the first meeting, where Croatia defeated their opponents with a score of 4:1. In the second match, the teams rolled up dull zeros, and the Greeks did not even try to make a semblance of an assault on the opponent's goal.

A pair of Denmark and Ireland looked equal in strength. The Danes sensationally outstripped Montenegro in their group, and the Irish did not leave a chance for Wales to join. In the first match, the participants of the pair were limited to zeros on the scoreboard, but in the second, Denmark did not leave a stone unturned from the opponent (5:1). Oddly enough, the Irish scored first: Duffy scored in the 6th minute, and it seemed that they had a ticket to the Mundial in their pocket. But the Scandinavians found the strength to answer - especially the footballer Christian Erikssen, who scored a hat-trick, did his best. It is with his phenomenal game that the fans of the national team associate the successful performance of their favorites at the planetary championship.

In the last couple Northern Ireland – Switzerland lightweight walk was predicted last. In reality, the Swiss made every effort to get to the Mundial. In the first meeting on a foreign field, the defender of the guests, Ricardo Rodriguez, scored, and in the second match, Switzerland focused on defending their own goal. No matter how hard the Northern Ireland tried, they failed to score in the second match. As a result, the players of the country of banks and watches go to Russia, but their attacking potential leaves much to be desired.

The rest of the world

victory in qualifying tournament to in the Oceania zone still does not guarantee anything. The players of New Zealand, who lost to the team of Peru in the play-offs, were convinced of this by their bitter example. The first game ended in a goalless draw, which was in favor of the New Zealanders. In the second match, everything was decided precise strikes Farfan and Ramos, after which it became clear that the Peruvians were going to the planetary championship. No wonder the authorities of this country arranged an official day off on the day of the return game: millions of fans supported their favorites at the stadium and at the TV screens.

In the final pair of Australia with Honduras, there were no surprises. Honduras, sensationally ahead of the United States in the CONCACAF zone, in the first match played with opponents in a draw (0:0). In the second match at home, the Australians beat their rivals with a score of 3:1. Football players from Central America were able to score a goal of prestige only from a penalty kick in the last minutes of the meeting. Australia, with its permanent captain Tim Cahill, will again represent its country-continent at the Mundial.

You can see the results of all play-offs for the right to fight at the 2018 World Cup in the following table:

Members	First match result	Result of the second match	national team pass
Northern Ireland - Switzerland			Switzerland
Croatia - Greece			Croatia
Ireland - Denmark
Sweden - Italy
Honduras - Australia			Australia
New Zealand - Peru

In this way, play-offs a number of surprises were presented to the Mundial (which is worth only the failure of Italy), and also pleased with bright moments and spectacular goals. The demonstrated high level of the game promises hot battles in Russia next summer.

Also watch the highlights of the 2018 World Cup next video:

Not far off, and almost all the teams have already been determined, which in the summer of next year will fight for the gold medals of the most prestigious football tournament. But among the 32 teams that will play at the Mundial, there are still a few places, that is, a few more teams have a chance to jump on the bandwagon of the outgoing train. But, there are much more applicants for getting into Russia than free places, which is why FIFA introduced the play-offs of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The confrontation to take off will be discussed in this article. We will talk about all pairs of opponents, dwelling on each of them in detail. After all, each of these teams, with a different degree of probability, can come to Russia, and by the will of the lot, can become a rival of our team. So, as they say, you need to know the “enemy” in person.

General information about the qualifying tournament of the 2018 World Cup

Qualifying tournament for the World Championship 2018 has started March 12, 2015 years in the Asian region. It will end November 16, 2017 of the year with the second legs of the Intercontinental Playoffs. In total, 206 teams took part in the qualifying round, although 208 national teams applied for participation. Recall that FIFA decided to disqualify the national teams of Zimbabwe and Indonesia. Not without debutants in the qualifying round. Thus, Gibraltar, South Sudan, Bhutan and Kosovo took part in the qualifying matches for the World Cup for the first time.

European teams are the largest group of teams represented at the Mundial. Participated in the European selection 54 national teams, which were divided into 9 groups of 6 teams. Nine teams that won victories in their groups entered the World Championship directly. The tenth team was Russia, which, as the host country, does not take part in the qualifying matches.

Eight the best teams, who took second place in their groups, get the opportunity to get to the Mundial through the play-offs of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The ninth team, which also took second place in its group, but among all the second teams has the least number of points scored, is automatically eliminated.

Second Chance European Teams: Croatia, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, Greece, Northern Ireland.

In addition to the play-offs of the European teams, similar confrontations will take place between the teams of South America, North America, Asia and Oceania. Here, the FIFA regulations allocated each confederation an additional half-place, for which the teams that took certain places according to the results of qualification in their confederations will compete.

Second Chance Intercontinental Teams: Peru, Honduras, New Zealand, Australia.

European Qualifier Playoffs

October 17, 2017 FIFA held. In the European qualifying tournament, four pairs of teams were determined, the winners of which will be able to go to the 2018 World Championship in Russia:

• Italy - Sweden.
• Croatia - Greece.
• Switzerland - Northern Ireland.
• Denmark - Ireland.

Now we will try to dwell on each pair in more detail, since, as we said above, there may be rivals of the Russian team here.

Italy - Sweden

"Scuadra Azzurra" in this pair was a slight favorite. In her group, she lost first place to the Spanish team, and with 1958 of the year is a permanent participant of the Mundials. There is no need to say that famous football players play in the national team, since Buffon, Chiellini, De Rossi, Bonucci do not need additional introduction.

The Swedish national team in this selection played without Ibrahimovic. The famous Swede ended his career in the national team. However, the team took second place in their group, skipping ahead of the French team and leaving behind the Netherlands team.

The result of the play-offs in this pair was unexpected. The Italians were left without Mundial. In the first match, Sweden won a minimal victory at home. 1:0 , and the second leg ended goalless, although Italy "San Siro" had an overwhelming advantage, and inflicted more 20 strokes towards the opponent's goal.

Croatia - Greece

In this pair, the Croatian team was a clear favorite. Despite the fact that Croatia was predicted to win in the qualifying group, the national team only last round was able to secure second place by defeating Ukraine in an away match.

Greece, on the contrary, surprised, having managed to get out of a rather difficult group. The Greeks secured a solid lead in the opening matches of the qualifying group stage. In the confrontations with Belgium, which took first place in the group, they also looked good.

Despite the fact that many expected intrigue in this pair of rivals, Croatia removed all questions about the Mundial participant in the first match, crushingly defeating the Greeks with a score of 4;1 . The second match in this pair was a mere formality, it ended without goals.

Switzerland - Northern Ireland

Representatives of the country of watches, cheese and banks were favorites in the play-offs with the national team of Northern Ireland. The Swiss scored the same number of points in the group with Portugal, letting them go ahead only on the difference between goals scored and conceded. In terms of selection of players, Switzerland was head and shoulders above their rivals, being the fair favorite of this pair.

Northern Ireland were able to create a sensation by entering the 2016 European Championship through the play-offs, and there reaching the play-off stage. In the selection for the 2018 World Cup, Northern Ireland let only the German team go ahead, leaving the Czech Republic and Norway out of the Mundial.

The first match between these teams ended with a minimal away victory for the Swiss 1:0 . In the second match, a goalless draw was recorded. And although the coach and the players of Northern Ireland stated that the penalty, and the only goal in this pair was scored from the penalty spot, was appointed by mistake, but history cannot be rewritten, and it is the Swiss who are going to Russia.

Denmark - Ireland

Another pair of rivals, in which the Danish national team has a slight advantage. In the qualifier, the Danes were ahead of Poland, in which Lewandowski scored 16 goals, becoming the top scorer in the qualifiers. Denmark have a pretty strong national team, with several players playing in the top European leagues.

Ireland finished second in the group behind Serbia. Surprisingly, these teams managed to leave the teams of Wales and Austria out of the World Cup.

The first match in this confrontation did not determine the winner, so now on the field of Ireland the chances of the Danish national team to pass have increased significantly, since it is enough for the team to score and not concede more than one goal.

Play-offs: results in tabular form

	Sweden	1:0	Italy		10.11.17
	Italy	0:0	Sweden		13.11.17
	North Ireland.	0:1	Switzerland		09.11.17
	Switzerland	0:0	North Ireland.		12.11.17
	Croatia	4:1	Greece		09.11.17
	Greece	0:0	Croatia		12.11.17
	Denmark	0:0	Ireland		11.11.17
	Ireland	1:5	Denmark		14.11.17

Intercontinental play-offs

Together with the pairs of European teams that will compete for a ticket to the Mundial in the play-offs, the pairs of rivals for the intercontinental play-offs have been determined. They became:

• Peru - New Zealand.
• Australia - Honduras.

Both pairs of opponents have clear favorites, they are Peru and Australia. The level of rivals differs polar, and it will be a sensation if these teams fail to win a ticket to the World Cup. By the way, the first matches in which the hosts were New Zealand and Honduras, respectively, ended without goals scored. So, now the fate of tickets to the Mundial is in the hands of the favorites of the couples, who, in front of their native fans, must ensure their participation in the most prestigious football tournament.

What's next

After the winners of the play-offs become known, a complete “set” of the participating teams of the Mundial will be assembled. Already December 1, 2017 a draw will take place, according to the results of which the teams will recognize their rivals. Will be formed 8 groups of 4 teams in each. And already June 14, 2018 at the World Championship, an opening match will be played, in which the Russian team will play with one of its rivals in the group stage.

It remains only to wish good luck to the teams, who are still resolving their issues in the play-offs. And also wish our team a successful draw. In any case, we hope that the World Cup will turn out to be no less productive and intriguing than the qualifying round and the play-offs.

All couples

Northern Ireland - Switzerland

Croatia - Greece

Denmark - Ireland

Sweden - Italy

Australia - Honduras

Peru - New Zealand

The first play-offs of the intercontinental play-offs will take place on November 6, the return legs on November 14. The European Games will be held from 9 to 14 November.

Will the no-name coach pull out Croatia?

Croatia, with Rakitic and Modric in the squad, planned to qualify for the World Cup without much effort - the group got quite a passing one (Ukraine, Turkey and Iceland are rivals of about the same level). However, on the road, the Croatian car regularly junk - put sticks in the wheels either by the inflexible Icelanders, then by the emotional Turks, or by the hot Finnish guys. As a result, before the decisive match with Ukraine, he was dismissed Main coach Ante Cacic and was replaced by Zlatko Dalic, in track record which only little-known clubs from Croatia, Albania, Saudi Arabia and UAE. Despite the distrust on the part of the public, under his leadership, the "checkers" won the "match of life" and got into the joints. Ahead is not a stellar, but a strong team of Greece, specializing in knocking out favorites in play-offs for a long time.

Will Peru play in the World Cup after a 36-year pause?

The Peru team had a great selection and almost left the Argentina team without the World Cup. Veteran Guerrero replaced another super veteran Claudio Pizarro and personally left the Chilean national team without the World Cup. The "Incas" have every chance to still get into Russia. You only need to deal with the top scorer of the selection of Oceania giant Chris Wood and his partners. If anything, the coach of the Peruvians Ricardo Gareca can call Stanislav Cherchesov, he will tell you the secret of success.

The Panama Canal separated the USA from Russia: how the Americans were left without the World Cup

Fantastic outcome of qualifying in the CONCACAF zone - the goalkeeper's own goal, the phantom goal and the Panamanian miracle: this is simply a must see!

Will Granquist stop the scorer Immobile?

The Krasnodar defender will have a strong guy from Manchester United as partners Victor Lindelöf, but it will still be very difficult to contain the Italian attack. Especially Ciro Immobile, who managed to score 11 goals in the first eight rounds of Serie A. In the national team, the striker's statistics are also in order - 6 goals in 10 games. The Swedes had a very good selection and showed themselves to be a well-coordinated team, ready to bite into desired result, while the Scaudra Azzurra has not frightened the opponent for a long time with its mere presence on the field. Nevertheless, Immobile and his attacking partners are faced with the hardest mission - to cope with the rock-like defenders of Tre Krunur. Leave Buffon without last championship the world is a crime.

8 bright teams that are at risk of not getting into the 2018 World Cup

Is it possible to imagine the World Cup without Argentina, Italy and the Netherlands? There is a risk that none of them will reach Russia.

Will Cahill advertise a travel company in Russia?

Or will our beloved Honduras come to Russia? North Americans coached Jorge Pinto, the one that led the modest Costa Rica to the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup. So do not rush to bury the Honduras team in advance. Let their rivals have the legendary Tim Cahill.

A living symbol of Australian football, by the way, may miss the play-offs. FIFA is now investigating his gesture after goal scored in the game with Syria. Cahill abandoned his usual goal celebration, and instead decided to extend his arms out to the sides, which could be interpreted as a symbol of an airplane, after which he made a "T" sign with his hands. At the end of the game, the Baibon Bay travel company in in social networks mentioned Cahill in her messages, to which the player himself replied with a lot of smiles. Direct advertising with gestures is not prohibited by the rules, but FIFA was interested in the episode. In any case, the skirmish will turn out to be hot. Even if it passes without old Tim.

Will Switzerland finally be lucky?

The Swiss national team went through the selection incredibly confidently - 9 wins in 10 matches, first place in the group for 9 rounds ... and still only getting into the play-offs. AT last game the Swiss lost to Portugal and only because of the difference between goals scored and goals conceded were they in second place. Team Vladimir Petkovich made a solid impression and deserved participation in the World Cup. Only the guys from Northern Ireland have a different opinion on this matter. At Euro 2016, these tough guys, most of whom represent teams from the Championship, proved that at the big international tournaments the difference in class sometimes does not play any role. The Ukrainian team will not let you lie.

All participants of the 2018 World Cup have become known. Four of them - the national teams of Switzerland, Croatia, Sweden and Denmark - have passed through the sieve of the play-offs in Europe. "FC" sums up their results.

/ Gianluigi Buffon did not hold back tears after the failure of the Italians in the confrontation with Sweden, Photo: REUTERS /

NORTHERN IRELAND - SWITZERLAND (0:1, 0:0)

The outcome of the first meeting was decided by one goal. It was scored from a penalty by the guests - the Swiss. At the same time, the legitimacy of the appointment of the 11-meter left big questions for the Northern Irish mentor. It was clear that this refereeing decision could have a big impact on the outcome of the confrontation.
And so it happened. In the second leg, Northern Ireland tried very hard and kept the chances of success to the last. However, she could not print the opponent's gate. Goalless draw brought the Swiss to the World Cup.

"Ultimately, our team suffered from a bad decision by the referee in the first game," said Northern Irish head coach Michael O'Neill. - In the second leg, we acted perfectly and looked better than the opponent, we fought until the very end. Now the players feel empty, but I'm very proud of them."

Undoubtedly, the Northern Ireland team has nothing to be ashamed of. The "Green-White Army" already surprised many by beating the Czech Republic in the group stage. Yes, and in the "junctions", in the battle with such a venerable opponent as Switzerland, she showed herself very worthy.

Well, the Swiss have confirmed the status of one of the leading teams in the world. The upcoming World Cup will be her fourth in a row. In addition, you see, it would be a shame if the team that won nine out of ten matches in the group stage ended up being left out of the World Cup.
There are still no stars in the squad of Vladimir Petkovich, but this does not prevent her from consistently achieving high results. The Swiss have a fairly even selection of players playing in the leading European championships. Incidentally, among them are former football player Moscow CSKA Steven Zuber. Now the 26-year-old midfielder plays for the German Hoffenheim.

Croatia - Greece (4:1, 0:0)

In this duel, almost everything was clear after the first game, which took place in Zagreb. Croatia managed to score an early goal in the 11th minute - the penalty kick was converted by Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric. Milan striker Nikola Kalinic soon doubled the score.

At the end of half an hour, the Greeks won back one goal - Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos scored. It seemed that the “Greeks” had a flash of hope for a favorable result. However, she lived only three minutes. The third goal was scored by Inter's midfielder Ivan Perisic, and immediately after the break Andrej Kramaric from Hoffenheim set a devastating score. As a result, 4:1 - a convincing victory for the team of Zlatko Dalic.

Playing a three-goal head start with the current Croatian national team is a very difficult task. Especially for Greece, not related to the giants of European football. And indeed, in the return match, the “checkers” confidently brought the matter to victorious end. The Hellenes had a territorial advantage, they shot more on goal, but none of these shots turned into goals. And the result 0:0 suits Croatia quite well.

Thus, the Croats rehabilitated themselves in front of their fans for their unconvincing performance in the group stage. Now this stellar team is counting on success in the final part of the World Cup.
As for the Greeks, they need to decide whether Michael Skibbe will continue to work with the team. In general, in the current qualifying tournament, the Hellenes performed well. Especially considering their failure in qualifying for Euro-2016. At the draw group stage By the time of the World Cup, the Greeks had received Belgium as rivals, with which few people in Europe can now compete with in general. With the minimum task - to get ahead of Bosnia - Skibbe's wards coped successfully.

In the "junctions" the lot was also not very favorable to Greece. It was objectively difficult to surpass Croatia. Yes, the Greeks did not jump above their heads. But they did not fall below their level.

SWEDEN - ITALY (1:0, 0:0)

The fact that the Azzurra Squadron will not be at the World Cup in Russia is still unbelievable. It is hard to imagine the World Cup without Holland, without Portugal, even without England. But the World Cup without Italy is unbelievable! After all, the team from the Apennines only once in its history conceded final part world championship. It was more than half a century ago - in 1958.

Interestingly, after the victorious 2006 World Cup at the next two world championships, the Italians could not overcome the group stage barrier. Their fans hoped that this unfortunate streak could be broken next summer. But the "Blue Squadron" could not qualify for the main football tournament of the four years at all ...

The Italian team can only blame itself for the current failure. In two play-offs with the Swedes, Giampiero Ventura's team never managed to hit the opponent's goal. But once missed - in the first away match.

Probably the main reason for the Italian fiasco is the problem with the change of generations. If you do not take into account experienced and reliable defenders, then now in the Italian national team, the guys who have not been fired at the international level for the most part enter the field - Parolo, Florenzi, Giorginho, Gabbiadini, Immobile, El Shaarawy, Belotti, Bernardeschi. Where among them are the replacements for those people who brought Squadra Azzurra victory in the 2006 World Cup - Pirlo, Gattuso, Totti, Del Piero, Inzaghi?

It was expected that the 2018 World Cup would be the last tour in the national team of the legendary Gianluigi Buffon. Now this tour will not take place. After the match, Gigi could not hold back his tears. And with him, I have no doubt, almost the entire football world cried. Because the World Cup without such a player is an inferior holiday.

The farewell tour is canceled not only for Buffon. Following him, other veterans left the team - Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli, Daniele De Rossi. So now only the 30-year-old Leonardo Bonucci remains among the stars of the Azzurra Squadra. Obviously, Italy will have to build a new team.

Sweden has recently had only Zlatan Ibrahimovic among the stars, and last year he also completed his performances for the national team. However, Tre Krunur's squad is stronger than that of the Italians. It is stronger - in character, cohesion, the ability to concentrate. This is exactly what "Scuadre Azzurra" lacked in the "junctions".

“Sweden plays liberated, because after my departure, they don’t expect much from it,” Ibrahimovic said these words on the eve of the fights with the Italians. With all the arrogance of this phrase, perhaps, we can agree with it. Nothing pressured Janne Andersson's team, and in the play-offs she played with a cool head. This was especially noticeable in the return match. While the excited Italians fussed and hurried to score a much-needed goal, the Swedes calmly and collectedly defended themselves. And in the end they were successful.

By the way, it is possible that Ibrahimovic will decide to return to the national team in order to participate in the World Cup. Why not? I think the doors national team for top scorer in its history are always open. And then a lot will be expected from Sweden again.

DENMARK - IRELAND (0:0, 1:5)

The first match went according to a predictable scenario. The hosts pressed, the guests did their best to defend a goalless draw. In the end, the latter succeeded. The Irish character, as it happens in most cases, did not disappoint.

In the second leg in Dublin, few expected spectacular football. In addition, it was chronologically the last, and the three previous return matches of the “joints” ended with a score of 0:0.

After the Irish opened the scoring in the 6th minute, the further nature of the game seemed even more obvious. It seemed that now the wards of Martin O'Neill would go into a dead defense, and the Scandinavians would try to open it. Maybe they'll succeed, maybe they won't.

However, there was a surprise. By the end of half an hour, the Danish team started up in earnest and in the remaining time sent five goals into the opponent's goal! As a result, 1:5 - such a crushing defeat militant team of Ireland suffers very rarely. Especially in your own field. In one game, the “guys in green” conceded almost as much as in all previous qualifying matches.

The main hero of the fight was the leader of the Danes, Christian Eriksen. The Tottenham midfielder scored a “hat-trick” and long before final whistle removed all questions about the winner of the confrontation.

Thus, the British teams failed in the play-offs. Ireland, following Northern Ireland, was left out of the World Cup. And if there were four British teams at Euro-2016, then only one will come to Russia next summer - England.

Well, the Scandinavians, on the contrary, succeeded in the "junctions". Denmark and Sweden will now join Iceland in the World Cup.

Initially, the draw was not "blind" - the teams were divided into two baskets according to the rating. Thus, for example, meetings between Northern Ireland and Ireland were immediately excluded. Both "island" teams were among the unseeded along with Sweden and Greece. Switzerland, Italy, Croatia and Denmark made up the first basket. It is impossible to say that these fours are fundamentally different in terms of their level. And the results of the draw, which was carried out by the legendary former Real Madrid defender Fernando Hierro, turned out to be amazing. Almost all participants recognized it as successful and were delighted. Believing that they have a good chance of success.

Least of all, perhaps, the fans of the Swedish national team are now optimistic. She got objectively the most strong team from the "seeded" basket - Italy. The Scandinavians are generally not very lucky with draws - we recall that in qualifying they fought in group A with France, Holland and Bulgaria. Coming into the joints from such a solid company, it is probably a shame to get the 2006 world champion as a rival. On the other hand, the Italians did not show any outstanding football in the qualifying tournament and looked rather mediocre. So in advance to give the victory to “Scuadre Azzurre” no one will. Skeptics promptly recalled that in last time the Italians failed to qualify for the World Cup in 1958. And that tournament was held ... in Sweden.

As for other pairs, here the chances are more or less equal for everyone. Croatia looks a little better compared to Greece. But here the order of matches can play an important role. The first match will be held in Zagreb, which plays into the hands of the Hellenes. In a two-legged confrontation, it is traditionally more profitable to start on the road in order to have the support of their stands at the decisive moment. In Athens, people always get sick hot, so it is very difficult to predict the outcome of this battle.

The pairs turned out to be so even that almost all the participants of the draw were satisfied

But, perhaps, the results of the draw caused the greatest delight in Ireland - both in its northern part and on the main territory of the island. Even before the start of the procedure, the head coach of the Northern Ireland team, Michael O Neil, said that of the four potential rivals, he personally would prefer someone from the Denmark-Switzerland pair, but not Italy or Croatia. And how he looked into the water. His team will play in the end with the Swiss, and Ireland will fight with the Danes.

There will be an interesting confrontation. Any coach will tell you that in the playoffs, the second leg is best played at home. On the other hand, if it comes to extra time, then this will give an advantage to the guests. In any case, we are now in for a very important period. We won the last two matches to get into the “junctions”, and I really hope that in the coming month my players will not get injured while playing for clubs, - Martin O'Neill, head coach of Ireland, commented on the results of the draw.

His "boys in green" will start the playoffs in Copenhagen, and the second leg will be held in Dublin. Interestingly, the balance of personal meetings in this pair is in favor of the Irish. The national teams met 13 times, and only three matches ended in favor of the Danes.

The most important thing is not to concede in the first match in Belfast. We usually play well at home and have only lost once in four years, thought another Oh Neil named Michael, who heads the Northern Ireland team.

timetable

Northern Ireland - Switzerland

Croatia - Greece

Sweden - Italy

Denmark - Ireland

Switzerland - Northern Ireland

Greece - Croatia

Italy - Sweden