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Italy out of the World Cup and Macedonia, Portugal, Wales and Sweden in the playoff final
This Thursday the semifinal matches of the playoffs for the European qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup were held. Teams from the level of Italy, Portugal and Wales met today for a place in the final, which in turn will qualify for the World Cup.
Each match was played at 3:45 pm (Venezuela time), being Italy vs. Macedonia one of the most anticipated to define the pass, from the Italians to the next qualifying round.
It was a formality for those led by Roberto Mancini, but the result produced a real blow for world football: Italy is out of Qatar and this is the second time in a row (third time in history), since for Russia 2018 it was also eliminated in the playoff against Sweden.
The match took place at the Renzo Barbera stadium in the city of Palermo, the capital of the island of Sicily, and the 'Squadra Azzurra' was preparing to face a modest Macedonia, but the locals quickly began to corner their rivals. At minute 3 the first action would come through Emerson with a shot from the edge of the box that went wide.
The control of the game was the Italian team that created chances at every moment, however, the goalkeeper Dimitrievski would be a figure by being decisive and not letting any ball enter his goal. Another clear chance for the Italians came in the 32nd minute when Insigne fired from mid-range, but the Macedonian goalkeeper saved it safely down low.
The only clear chance for the Macedonians in the first half came at 45+1' when Trajkovski shot from the edge of the box, but he lacked strength and Donnarumma saved without problems. That way they would go to rest with a goalless scoreboard. Mancini would begin to worry about his team's lack of effectiveness.
In the second half the domain of the Italians would continue and Macedonia fell back defending itself as best it could. In the 53rd minute, Dimitrievski saved a shot again, this time from Berardi who shot from the edge of the area and the Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper saved it in two periods.
Berardi himself, a minute later, would shoot from the angle of the area, but the ball went close, grazing the right post. In the 64th minute, Berardi also shot inside the area and the ball hit a defender and went for a corner. At 68' Batoni finishes off with a header, but the visiting goalkeeper stops again.
In total, Italy shot 32 times, of which only five went on goal which Dimitrievski clearly defended, while the Macedonians shot four times and only two went on goal.
The game lasted five minutes and at 90+3' Trajkovski took a cross shot from the edge of the box towards the left post and Donnarumma couldn't stop it. Final 0-1.
With this result, the Italian team is left out of the Qatar 2022 World Cup and Macedonia qualifies for the play-off final where it will face Portugal, which also won, to try to get its first qualification for a World Cup.
Portugal gets into the final
The match took place at the Do Dragao stadium where the Portuguese faced the Turkish team. The locals imposed their game and from the first minute Cristiano Ronaldo warned in the opposite goal, an action that he would repeat in the 9th minute.
However, the first goal would come at 15 'when Bernardo Silva took a shot that hit the left post and the rebound was very well used by Otavio who took a shot that the Turkish goalkeeper tried to stop, but that also went into the goal. the net to convert the partial 1-0.
From that moment on, the Turkish team went on the attack and had up to five shots into the area defended by Diogo Costa, but none achieved a draw. They were 15 intense minutes in the Portuguese area, until those led by Fernando Manuel Costa regained control of the ball.
At minute 42 'the locals would extend their advantage through a play that started from a center by Otavio from the right sector outside the area, the ball fell to Diogo Jota unmarked and he headed next to the bottom left post and the goalkeeper Cakir did not could stop. 2-0 partial and thus they would go to rest.
In the second half, Portugal continued to generate clear chances in the rival area and several of them were completed by Diogo Jota, but At minute 65, Do Dragao would be silenced thanks to Yilmaz's goal, who invented a wall with Ünder and the number '17' went hand in hand with the goalkeeper and defined with a shot near the left post. 2-1 and the hope of a tie grew.
The Turks dedicated themselves to the attack from that moment on and after a play inside the area at minute 82, José Fonte fouled Enes Ünal and the referee, after reviewing the VAR, sentenced the maximum penalty. Yilmaz was in charge of charging from the eleven steps, but he threw it out, slightly over the crossbar.
The locals would sentence the match at minute 90+4', after a quick counterattack that ended in a deep pass from Rafael Leão and Matheus Nunes defined from the center of the area towards the right post to convert the final 3-1 and from that Thus , Portugal qualifies for the playoff final to face Macedonia next Tuesday, March 29.
Bale gave victory to Wales
At the same time, the match between Wales and Austria took place at the Cardiff City Stadium and the locals ended up eliminating Alaba's team with two goals from Gareth Bale, also a Real Madrid player.
The Welshman did not play in the classic between Real Madrid vs. Barcelona with a sore back and on top of that, he hasn't counted for coach Carlo Ancelotti for some time. However, representing his country, the story is different. Bale at a press conference said: “I've been preparing for this match for months. I'm ready to play the 120 minutes."
And in this way he showed that he has football left and can qualify his country for the World Cup after 68 years without being able to participate in the highest competition for football teams, after Switzerland 1954.
The game began with a power struggle where each team tried to impose their game and it became a two-way match in the first minutes. At minute 5, Austria gave the warning with a shot by Baumgartner, but the ball hit the crossbar.
However, the visiting defense commits a foul in the right sector of the area and Bale is in charge of collecting it with a left footed shot that slips into the right corner of the goal defended by Lindner. Nothing to do for the goalkeeper and the criticized Madrid player unleashed hope in Cardiff. 1-0 partial. With that marker the first half would end.
The second half would start with Wales' second goal and the second on Gareth's personal account. The play was in the 51st minute after a corner taken short and a cross from below fell at Bale's feet and he, inside the area, again took a left-footed shot, which, deflected by a defender, slipped into the back of the net to score the partial 2-0.
The Austrian team discounted at minute 64, through Sabitzer who took a shot that was deflected by the Welsh defender, Ben Davies and placed the partial 2-1. The Welsh would suffer in the last minutes after the attacks of an Austrian team that would not be enough for the tie and thus would be left out of the World Cup.
Wales would face the winner between Scotland vs. Ukraine, which will be played in June. It should be noted that the match between Poland vs. Russia was suspended by sanctions for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Poland qualified directly for the final and will face Sweden, who this Thursday also beat the Czech Republic in extra time. Final 1-0.
