On Tuesday (19:00) the women’s football team will face Iceland in Pacos de Ferreira. With a 2-1 exit from Belgium, Francisco Neto’s men need another win to bolster their bid to qualify for the 2023 World Cup.
That’s because beating the Scandinavians might not be enough to guarantee a ticket to Australia and New Zealand. UEFA has distributed 11 places, of which nine (Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden won their groups) were allocated, while the other two arrived via playoffs.
However, there are three knockouts in the table, meaning only two European teams will advance after Tuesday’s games. In this case, it was decided that it would be the two with the best results in the group stage.
Among the six teams that are still in contention, Portugal is the second-lowest team. ranging. With 16 points (results against the last classified in the group were subtracted) the national team is behind Switzerland (19), Iceland (18), Rep. Ireland (17th) and Scotland (16th), second only to Wales (16th).
In other words, the only chance for Portugal to qualify directly is to beat Iceland and wait for Wales to surprise Switzerland (Scotland and the Republic of Ireland will face each other, so at least one of them must qualify). If that doesn’t happen, Francisco Neto’s commanders have another way out.
FIFA created the first tournament playoffs which will be held from 17 to 23 February 2023 in New Zealand. It will feature teams from Asia (Chinese Taipei and Thailand), Africa (Cameroon and Senegal), Central America (Haiti and Panama), South America (Chile and Paraguay), Oceania (Papua and New Guinea) and Europe.
Of these 10 teams, the last three will qualify for the 2023 World Cup, and the draw will take place on 14 October.
See all the highlights:
Hosts: Australia and New Zealand;
Asia: China, Japan, South Korea, Philippines and Vietnam;
Africa: Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia;
North and Central America: Canada, Costa Rica, Jamaica and USA;
South America: Argentina, Brazil and Colombia;
Europe: Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden-
