Italy, Portugal to fight for a World Cup berth

LONDON: Reigning European champions Italy and 2016 European champions Portugal could lock horns for a 2022 World Cup spot as they were drawn into the same path in the play-off on Friday.

The 12 teams from UEFA were drawn into three paths with the winner of each path to reach the Qatar World Cup finals.

Italy will face North Macedonia first in Path C while Portugal will play against Turkey. The winners will meet in one of the three play-off finals held on March 29.

In Path A, Scotland will host Ukraine while Austria will visit Wales. The semifinals in Path B are Russia vs Poland and Sweden vs Czech Republic.

Ten teams have already qualified for the World Cup finals after finishing top in each group in the European qualifiers. They are Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Serbia, Spain and Switzerland.