With qualifying for the 2022 World Cup now concluded we round up the final game week and who has made it to the finals.
This week the group stage of the European World Cup Qualifiers ended, with some groups going right down to the wire. Here is a round-up of every group, with who is heading to Qatar next year.
Group A
We start with group A, where going into the last matchday Serbia and Portugal were level on points. Portugal only needed a draw against Serbia to book their place at the world cup, but an 89th minute winner from Aleksandar Mitrovic means that Serbia gains automatic qualification. However, the 2016 European champions will still have a chance to qualify through the playoffs. Elsewhere in the group, the Republic of Ireland turned around their disappointing start to the group stage to finish third in the group, although they now cannot make it to Qatar.
Group B
Similarly to group A, group B had two teams who were playing against each other on the last matchday who could take top spot in the group. Sweden needed to beat Spain in order to qualify, but they will have to make do with the playoffs as they lost 1-0 in Seville. Euro 2004 winners Greece could only manage third in the group and will not be going to the world cup.
Group C
European champions Italy could only grab second in group C after costly draws to Northern Ireland, Switzerland and Bulgaria, meaning that they will have to go through the playoffs to qualify for Qatar 2022. Switzerland managed to top the group after an impressive qualifying campaign which saw them go unbeaten, with Northern Ireland also punching above their weight with a third-place finish.
Group D
Reigning World Cup champions France mopped the floor with group D, going unbeaten over the eight games and securing their spot in Qatar. Finland narrowly missed out on a playoff place to Ukraine by one point following their 2-0 loss to France and Ukraine’s 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on the final matchday.
Group E
The world’s number one ranked team Belgium is off to Qatar following a sound qualifying campaign, with the only blips being draws to Wales and the Czech Republic. Wales pipped the Czech Republic to second in the group thanks to their 1-1 draw with Belgium, meaning that they still have a chance to qualify for the World Cup via the playoffs. The Czech Republic will be disappointed to not qualify for the World Cup after an impressive European Championships.
Group F
Denmark continued their fine run of form by routing group F with 27 points and qualifying for the World Cup. Scotland will be in the playoffs after finishing an impressive second and being the only team to beat Denmark. Steve Clark’s men are in with a good chance of qualifying for their first World Cup since 1986. Elsewhere in the group, Austria will be disappointed with a fourth-place finish, below both Scotland and Israel.
Group G
The Netherlands was desperate to qualify for the World Cup after missing out on Russia 2018, but they almost missed out after a 2-2 draw to Montenegro on matchday nine. However, a 2-0 win over Norway saw them take first in the group and condemned Norway to third with no possibility of Erling
Haaland making the World Cup. Turkey managed to make it through an inconsistent campaign to finish second and qualify for the playoffs.
Group H
In group H, Russia and Croatia played each other on the final matchday with the winner taking top spot in the group. The game was 0-0 until the 80th minute, but a Russian own goal saw them drop to second in the group and into the playoffs. 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia will have a chance to go a step further in Qatar, with many people seeing this as their last chance as their ‘golden generation’ ages.
Group I
England will be heading to Qatar next year after an unbeaten qualifying campaign which saw them score the most goals out of any team in Europe with 39, although minnows San Marino were on the receiving end of 15 of them. Robert Lewandowski’s Poland qualified second in the group and will have a chance to qualify for the World Cup through the playoffs. Hungary, who impressed in Euro 2020, only managed a disappointing fourth-place finish.
Group J
Finally, in a group full of underdogs Germany managed to qualify first despite a shaky loss to North Macedonia, who carry their momentum from a shock Euro 2020 qualification to finish second in the group. Despite making a fantastic start to the group, minnows Armenia could only manage to finish fourth, and Liechtenstein actually managed to pick up a point with a draw against Armenia.