UEFA European World Cup Qualifiers 2022: Preview

The FIFA World Cup Qualifiers are just around the corner and some of the European Giants will be giving their all to find a spot into the biggest stage of the all hoisted by Qatar. A lot of big names who failed to directly make it into the World Cup 2022 will have the last chance to consolidate their place in the tournament, with teams such as Italy, Portugal, Wales, and Poland in contention, the qualifiers are bound to be a must-see affair.

With the qualifiers just on the horizon let’s take a look at how the teams will be faring in one of the toughest European challenges in 2022.

Sweden

Sweden will be gearing up to prove their metal against the Czech Republic in World Cup qualifiers. Star player Zlatan Ibrahimovic returning to the national side after missing out on euros will give them an added boost. While Zlatan will not feature for the entire 90 minutes, he still will be a key figure in the dressing room. 

Dejan Kulusevski, Alexander Isak, and Anthony Elanga are consistently playing well for their respective club and will be expected to perform at the biggest stage to help their team reach the world cup finals.

Wales

Gareth Bale and his men have a tough road ahead of them to make it into the World Cup

After a tough game against Belgium, Gareth Bale’s men are preparing for another tough encounter against Austria in the world cup qualifiers semi-final. With a lot of hopes lying on the shoulder of Bale, it still seems unlikely for Wales to land in Qatar at the biggest stage world football has to offer.

Wales will be playing without Danny Ward, Tyler Roberts, and James Lawrence which is a huge blow to the side, However with Rabi and Tom King back in the squad the nation will fancy their chances.

Fielding Aaron Ramsey could be a boost to the side as well, but he had a pretty limited game time this season and relying on their stars alone could turn out to be the grave for the team.

Portugal

Portugal missed out on direct qualification to the FIFA 2022 World Cup and now is ready to fight for it in the WC Qualifiers Knockouts to make it to yet another major tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo is yet to miss out on a major tournament since making his debut but this time around the current world rank eight-nation is up against the wall as they have to face Turkey in the semi-final and if they go onto win this they will be up against Italy/North Macedonia. 

The absence of Jao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, and Renato Sanches might play a big part and it all might once again come down to their talisman Ronaldo to rescue his team to the biggest stage of them all.

North Macedonia

A Considerable Underdog side with the help of their star man Elif Elmas did pull off a stunner in their latest game against Iceland. This north Macedonian side is oozing with confidence when they prepare to go toe to toe against the European giants Italy. Familiar faces on this side include Stefan Ristovski and Alexander Trajkovski. 

On a great scoring run in the past two games, the Macedonian attack will be trying to keep their massacre afloat, however, the walk seems more difficult as the winner will be facing turkey/Portugal in the semifinals of the world cup Europe qualifiers.

Italy

Bonucci and Chiellini have been the cornerstones for the Italian defensive line

Post their heroics in the Euro 2020 Italy was considered one of the favorites for the 2022 FIFA World Cup but they have failed to qualify for the world cup finals directly. Roberto Mancini men will have to go through a difficult path that involves Portugal to make it to the biggest stage.

Chiesa, one of their heroes of euro 2020 will miss out on the qualifiers which might actually turn out to be a huge blow for the team. Once again a lot will depend on the experienced duo of Chiellini and Bonucci to guide them through the qualifiers. The first step would be to overcome the Macedonian side which seems like an easy affair. However, they still will have to face Portugal/Turkey in the finals which is poised to be a must-watch encounter.

Czech Republic

Under the captaincy of Tomáš Souček, the Czech side has proved their potential and is capable of big turnover against many European teams. With 11 goals in their last 3 games, the national side scoring streak looks promising. 

The Bayern Leverkusen star Patrick Schick with his fast and strong central play could pose a potential threat to the Swedish side, the defense has been rock solid in the last few fixtures and a similar sort of performance is expected from their defensive players.

Austria

The Austrian Football team will be clashing with wales for the final round of world qualifiers Europe, armband resting on Julian Baumgatlinger The team is in much better shape, M.Arnautovic has regained his scoring form and has been putting a show for viewers to watch in their recent games, scoring 5 goals in 5 games in the European qualification.

Turkey

The balanced Turkish side with its experienced central defender duo Meriah Demiral and Caglar Söyüncü has kept all the danger on the other side of the half. Burak Yilmaz will be anchoring the attack of the side. The Turkish side heavily depends on their use of possession as their midfield easily dictates matches as shown in recent games.

Turkey will be playing Portugal in their world cup qualifying game a tough game for both sides although Portugal will have an upper hand. This was followed up by the fixture between the winners of Italy vs North Macedonia, which sure isn’t a cakewalk for the Turkish side to reach the world cup in Qatar.