Two of the last three World Cup 2022 places in Europe will be decided this midweek as Portugal face North Macedonia and Poland take on Sweden in the play-off finals.
This new play-off format has already delivered some great drama, with North Macedonia shocking the world by knocking out reigning European champions Italy in the semi-finals. And now, they must do it all over again when they face another European goliath in Portugal, who just squeaked past Turkey in the other semi.
And in the other final, Sweden – who needed extra-time to beat the Czech Republic – will square off against a fresh Poland side that was awarded a walkover win over Russia.
Read on below as SBOTOP previews both play-off finals in great detail.
Portugal vs North Macedonia: David vs Goliath Part 2
Portugal are through to the final of Path C of the play-offs as expected. But their opponents are not European champions Italy, as many had anticipated. Instead, it will be minnows, North Macedonia who will take on the Selecao in the final in Porto after stunning the Azzurri 0-1 in Palermo thanks to a late winner from Aleksandar Trajkovski.
North Macedonia were completely battered by Italy, who finished with a 32-4 shot advantage. But a combination of brave defending and lack of clinical finishing by the Italians led to the absolutely remarkable result.
North Macedonia will have key midfielder Eljif Elmas back from suspension, which should give them a bit more quality in attack. But in all likelihood, the final should go much like the semi-final against Italy, with Portugal expected to produce most of the World Cup 2022 highlights.
The Selecao had to work hard to beat Turkey 3-1 in their semi-final. After the hosts took a 2-0 lead in the first half, Turkey fought back in the second half and even had a glorious opportunity to take the tie to extra-time, but Turkey captain Burak Yilmaz missed a late penalty. The Portuguese eventually hung on in the end to book their place in the final.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos made the somewhat surprising decision to start Otavio, and the 27-year-old Porto midfielder repaid that faith by scoring the team’s opener and setting up the second.
Otavio looks set to keep his place in the front three alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Diogo Jota, while the midfield trio of Bruno Fernandes, Joao Moutinho, and Bernardo Silva also looks likely to be unchanged.
But major changes are likely coming in defence, with both Joao Cancelo and Pepe back in contention after missing the semi-finals due to suspension and Covid, respectively. Unfortunately, Cancelo’s City teammate Ruben Dias is still out with an injury.
Cancelo’s amazing passing, which has been crucial to Manchester City’s success this season, should also come in handy as Portugal aim to break down what will likely be a resolute North Macedonian defence.
While North Macedonia did magnificently well to get past Italy, repeating the feat against a Portugal side with even more firepower seems highly unlikely.
Poland vs Sweden: Lewy vs Zlatan
Sweden needed an extra 30 minutes in order to get past the Czech Republic in their semi-final tie. Substitute Robin Quaison came on and scored the decisive goal in the 110th minute to see the Swedes through to the final.
Despite having home advantage and 57 per cent of possession, Sweden and the Czechs finished level on 10 shots, with only two shots on target apiece.
The young duo of Alexander Isak – who has yet to score for his club Real Sociedad this calendar year – and Dejan Kulusevski started up front for Sweden in the semi-final. But Kulusevski is a slight doubt after suffering a facial injury.
Even if Kulusevski is fit to play, though, it will likely be Zlatan Ibrahimovic who will start alongside Isak in attack. The 40-year-old Milan striker, who served out a suspension in the semi-finals, has 62 career goals in 120 caps for his country. But he hasn’t found the net for Sweden in close to seven years, with his last goals coming back in November 2015.
And on the other side, Robert Lewandowski (74 goals in 128 caps) will be ready to lead his Poland side in the Śląski Stadium.
After they were awarded a walkover win in their semi-final against Russia, the Poles took on Scotland in a friendly last week. They needed a stoppage-time Krzysztof Piatek penalty to salvage a 1-1 draw.
Lewandowski was rested for that match, but the Bayern Munich superstar will surely be back in the starting line-up against the Swedes. Arkadiusz Milik, who started as the main striker in place of Lewandowski, is out due to injury, while Leeds midfielder Mateusz Klich will also miss out due to suspension.
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