A total of 12 teams were shortlisted for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in the European Zone Play-offs, divided into three groups of A, B and C, with each group of 4 teams, with a semi-final duel between the two winners and a final, and the winner advancing.
Group B semi-finals: Sweden vs Czech Republic, Russia vs Poland
The match between Sweden and the Czech Republic will be played at 3:45 a.m. Beijing time on March 25.
Russia was suspended and Poland went straight to the Group B final, waiting for a single-game tiebreaker with Sweden vs. the Czech Republic on March 29 for a ticket to the 2022 World Cup.
In this regard, the Swedish Football Association believes that Sweden's match with the Czech Republic will continue as usual, if the opponent is eliminated, they will face the physical Poland, which will benefit the Polish team, and for the sake of fairness, FIFA should find a new opponent for Poland to replace Russia, rather than directly letting them qualify.
Sweden has participated in the qualifier play-offs for two consecutive World Cups, and in the 2018 World Preliminary Tournament In the European Zone play-offs, Sweden won the traditional football powerhouse Italy, and finally won the two legs with a total score of 1:0 to advance. This time, the opponents in the same group are not as strong as Italy, but the rules have changed, two games against two different opponents, two consecutive wins to advance, compared to a two-legged die-hard with one opponent, has added variables.
In the group stage, Sweden is in the same group as Spain, Greece, Georgia and Kosovo, and it is certainly impossible to compete with the matadors for the first place in the group, and it is normal for the second place in the group to qualify for the play-offs.
The Czech Republic was in the same group as Belgium, Wales, Estonia and Belarus, and eventually finished third in the group and qualified for the play-offs with the UEFA Nations League.
Sweden is currently ranked 17th in the world by FIFA and 31st by fifa in the Czech Republic.
According to the list released by Sweden, Ibrahimovic, Isaac, Ilanga and others were selected. The 40-year-old veteran Ibrahimovic did not participate in the last World Preliminary Tournament, and this time he was selected, and Sweden coach Anderson said that Ibrahimovic could not play the whole game, but his ability and leadership could help the team. The 22-year-old Isaac, tall, was considered the "new Ibrahimovic" at the beginning of his debut. The 19-year-old Ilanga, who has performed well at Manchester United this season, is seen as a candidate who can succeed Ronaldo in the future.
The biggest player in the Czech squad is undoubtedly Bayer Leverkusen's sikh (20 goals), who is currently second in the Bundesliga top scorer list. According to the "Team News" a few days ago, due to the left calf injury has not fully recovered, this game can not be played. Czech coach Silhavi said that if the Czech Republic can beat Sweden, Then Hick is expected to be able to participate in the match against Poland.
But without Sikh, does the Czech Republic have a chance to play against Poland?
Sweden have won 6, drawn 1 and lost 3 of their last 10 matches in all competitions.
The Czech Republic has won 5, drawn 2 and lost 3 of its last 10 matches in all competitions.
The two sides have met in the last 2 times, sweden 1 win and 1 draw are in the upper hand, but it is a friendly match, and the time is a bit long.
Considering sweden's neat personnel and the doubts about the top scorer of the Czech Republic, this game can be seen as a small victory for Sweden.