From which Spain has been spared. The traditional play-off for the World Cups with roundtrip matches has passed away and now UEFA has innovated with a format that does not allow a single mistake as all matches are single-match. The 12 qualified teams will be separated into three groups -with semifinals and final- and the winner of each of them will go to Qatar. The best second group in the qualifying phase have the home court factor in the semifinals, while the host of the final will be made through a draw.
The last two European champions, Italy and Portugal, are fully involved in this tournament that plain and simple is a brown for the favorites when played in a single match. In the catalog of teams that should not be left without a World Cup, in addition to the two teams already mentioned, we find Sweden, Poland or Russia – the fourth-finalist of the last World Cup – combined that will have many things to say in a format that will inevitably leave planetary football stars outside of the Qatar appointment.
He for many future Ballon d’Or Robert Lewandowski it is one of the proper names that might not go to the Emirate next winter. The Bayern forward will have to do the most difficult yet to qualify as he does not have the home court factor in his favor in the semifinals and will have to guide his teammates to try to reissue his classification for Russia 2018.
Not only is good Robert in danger of not showing up for fans, he himself Cristiano Ronaldo -Accompanied by other galacticos such as Bruno Fernandes or Joao Félix- he also has to pass this complicated play-off where they will have the favorable field factor. Be careful because the Portuguese have not missed a World Cup since 1998 and not being there would be a real national drama.
Another who wants to be able to break the record of the oldest non-goalkeeper outfield player to play a World Cup is a Zlatan Ibrahimovic who has taken the blame for Sweden’s two defeats in the last window. The Milan player returned to the national team worsening the previous results and will have something to say in a play-off where they will also have a court in their favor.
Continuing in the wake of favorites, we cannot ignore a great team like Italy with Federico Chiesa as the visible head of the azzurro team. Their not direct qualification for the World Cup was a full-blown accident that they will have to fix to avoid seeing themselves in the worst streak in their history after not being present at the Russian championship in 2018.
Not seeing Chiesa is a drama for football lovers, but neither is seeing David Alaba it would be a tasteful dish for amateurs. The Real Madrid center-back will try to return Austria to a World Cup for the first time since 1998. The versatile player is another star who is in danger with his teammate Gareth Bale. The Welsh, total lover of your selectionAbove all, he wishes to be at the World Cup and no one doubts that by March his injuries and physical problems will be forgotten for such an interesting company. The repechage is going to leave more than one great game and also many tears along the way.