World Cup 2022 play-offs: Ronaldo, Lewandowski, Zlatan, Bale, others risk missing trip to Qatar

From Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal and Robert Lewandowski's Poland to Gareth Bale's Wales, 11 European nations are still dreaming about earning that crucial spot at the Qatar World Cup 2022, as countries gear up to battle for three spots in the play-offs. The 11 countries have been split into three buckets, with only one nation from each section advancing for the showpiece event.

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A World Cup without legendary striker Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, and four-time winners, Italy is possible this time around. This discussion has been on top among football enthusiasts worldwide, with all eyes on their play-offs set to take place on Thursday night.

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The Azzuri, who beat England in the Euro 2020 final last year, remained unbeaten in their World Cup qualifying group. Still, two draws with Switzerland and a home draw with Bulgaria and a 0-0 in Northern Ireland left Italy second, with Switzerland advancing as group winners.

The play-offs will bring back horrific memories for the Italians as they failed to qualify for the Russia World Cup 2018 after losing 1-0 on aggregate to Sweden. It was the first time Italy failed to qualify at the big-ticket event since 1958, and history could repeat itself this year. Italy faces North Macedonia, and then, if they win, a tricky away game against either Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal or Turkey is in the pipeline. 

Portugal missed out on automatic qualification in the most dramatic manner. Fernando Santos's men needed a draw at home in their final match against Serbia, but Portugal conceded an injury-time goal to lose 1-2. Ronaldo has played in four World Cups, helping Portugal finish fourth in 2006. However, at the age of 37, this could well be the legendary striker's last chance to appear on the biggest stage and win the ultimate prize.

The team, which has several other Premier League stars like Manchester City's Bernardo Silva, Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, and Liverpool's Diogo Jota, face a must-win situation against Turkey at home. The winner will take on either Italy or North Macedonia.

Following FIFA's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the play-off situation is slightly different from when the draw was made in November 2021. Russia, who were due to face Poland, have been booted out of the competition, while Ukraine's path A semi-final against Scotland has been pushed until June.

Poland hopes to play at their ninth World Cup and have Bayern Munich star striker Robert Lewandowski, who was named the Best Fifa Men's Player of 2021, in their team. The Polish team finished six points behind England in qualifying but did manage to score 30 goals in 10 matches, with Lewandowski netting eight of them. They are scheduled to face Sweden or Czech Republic on March 29 for a place in the finals in Qatar.

Sweden, which will be missing the services of legendary striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic due to the accumulation of yellow cards, is in danger of missing out in 2022. They take on the Czech Republic at home in the semi-finals but will have to do so without the iconic 41-year-old striker, although he would be eligible to play against Poland in the away final. 

Sweden had been in a good position to qualify with two matches remaining but away losses to Georgia and then in the deciding game against Spain left them second and in the play-offs.

Meanwhile, Austria aims to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1998 and will be Wales' semi-final opponents in Cardiff. Austria, which finished fourth in their World Cup qualifying group, are in the play-offs owing to their Nations League performance. Real Madrid defender David Alaba and ex-West Ham forward Marko Arnautovic are among their major players.

Like Austria, Scotland will also hope to seal their World Cup berth for the first time in 24 years. Steve Clarke's side, who played at Euro 2020, finished second in World Cup qualifying Group F – only losing to group winners Denmark. Scotland beat Denmark 2-0 in the final round of qualifying matches to earn a home semi-final, but they will be away at either Wales or Austria if they beat Ukraine.

Wales only appeared at one World Cup finals in Sweden 64 years ago when they lost 1-0 to eventual winners Brazil in the quarter-finals thanks to a goal from Pele. With Rob Page in charge, Wales, led by Gareth Bale, finished second in qualifying Group E, behind Belgium, who are number one in FIFA's world rankings.

A draw against Belgium at Cardiff in their final qualifying match secured home advantage for the semi-finals. They will play at home in the final against Scotland or Ukraine if they defeat Austria. Captain Bale, 32, will use some of the "hurt" of previous near-misses - such as 2017's loss to the Republic of Ireland - as inspiration for their World Cup play-offs.

The Qatar World Cup 2022 will feature 32 teams in eight groups of four. Four matches will be played each day during the group stage, which will run over 12 days and see winners and runners-up progress to the round of 16. Matches will only be assigned to particular venues after the finals draw, so organisers can choose optimal kick-off times to suit television audiences in different countries and supporters out in Qatar.

The finals draw is scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 3, after the March window for international fixtures. Unlike at Euro 2020, there will be a third-place play-off game on December 17.

Group stage: November 21- December 2
Round of 16: December 3-6
Quarter-finals: December 9/10
Semi-finals: December 13/14
Final: December 18