WARSAW, Poland. November 16 (PSN) – The FIFA 2022 World Cup group stage qualifiers for UEFA have come to an end. The Poland national team will play in the World Cup play-offs in March next year, but they will not be seeded in the upcoming draw.
While the Polish team took second place in their group, they then lost the chance of having an easier play-offs run as a seeded team at their own request after having lost 1:2 to Hungary’s B team on Monday.
So what does going into the draw as an unseeded team mean for Paulo Sousa’s side? Well, the Poles firstly will not be able to count on having the home advantage as hosts in the World Cup play-off semi-final stage – which itself is a major loss for the PZPN financially wise. There are also other important sports ramifications in this. As in the first match, the Bialo-czerwoni can play against such strong opponents as Portugal or Italy. Thus making qualification to Qatar that much more difficult than it normally would had been if Poland were seeded.
Unfortunately, Poland have no one to blame but themselves here. They had the simple task of playing a very weakened Hungary squad, which winning that or even getting a draw would had guaranteed seeding. However, due to some surprise experimentation by Paulo Sousa – such as purposefully benching star player Robert Lewandowski, the defeat in Warsaw has now severely hurt Poland’s chances at making it to Qatar.
The play-off draw will be commenced on November 26, with the matches scheduled for the spring of next year. The play-off semi-finals will be played on March 24 and 25, while the finals will be held on March 28 and 29.
Direct promotion to the World Cup
Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Croatia, England, Germany
Playoffs
Teams seeded
Portugal, Scotland, Italy, Russia, Sweden, Wales
Teams not seeded
Poland, Turkey, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Austria, Czech Republic
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