26th November, 2021
Either Italy or Portugal will miss out on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after the two teams were drawn in the same play-off path in March 2022.
Italy will first meet minnows North Macedonia in a semi-final, while Portugal will face Turkey.
Should they progress, Portugal will have home advantage in the Path C final to determine which team progresses to Qatar.
While Cristiano Ronaldo could well be fighting to play in his final World Cup, the Azzurri will be aiming to avoid missing out on the tournament for a second successive time.
Path A threw up the possibility of Wales going up against Scotland for a place in the finals, should they overcome Austria and Ukraine.
In Path B, Russia will host Poland and Sweden will play the Czech Republic.
The winner of Russia v Poland will host the Path B final.
Play-offs draw in full
Path A
SF1 – Scotland v Ukraine
SF2 – Wales v Austria
F1 – Winner SF2 v Winner SF1
Path B
SF3 – Russia v Poland
SF4 – Sweden v Czech Republic
F2 – Winner SF3 v Winner SF4
Path C
SF5 – Italy v North Macedonia
SF6 – Portugal v Turkey
F3 – Winner SF6 v Winner SF5