FIFA: the national teams of Russia and Ukraine will not play with each other in the playoffs of the qualification of the 2022 World Cup
The Russian national football team will not meet with Ukraine in the playoffs of the qualification of the 2022 World Cup. This is reported by TASS with reference to the International Football Federation (FIFA).
According to the decision of the executive committee of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the teams will initially be split into different semi-final pairs during the draw. They will also not be able to play against each other in the decisive match of qualifying.
In the playoffs of the World Cup qualification, 12 teams will be divided into three grids. Each of them will feature two semi-finals and a final, the winners of which will receive tickets to the world championship.
The Russian national team, having finished second in the qualifying group, guaranteed itself a place in the playoffs. The Ukrainians are in third place in their group for a round before the end of the qualification. They can take second place if they beat Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last match, and Finland loses to France. The team of Alexander Petrakov, subject to their own victory, may be enough and a draw in a parallel match, but then the fate of the ticket will depend on the goal difference.