PARIS – Ukraine’s 2022 World Cup play-off with Scotland, rearranged following the Russian invasion, will take place on June 1, world governing body FIFA announced yesterday.
The winners of the match at Hampden Park in Glasgow will play Wales on June 5 in Cardiff for a spot at this year’s finals in Qatar.
FIFA had postponed the original match date of March 24 at the request of Ukraine with the support of Wales, Scotland and Austria, whom the Welsh eventually beat in their play-off.
That same day FIFA also announced that Poland, who were due to face Russia in their play-off, had received a bye and would face the winner of Sweden v Czech Republic on March 29.
Poland ultimately qualified for the November 21-December 18 World Cup finals in Qatar after beating Sweden.
Russia had been expelled from the World Cup after being suspended from all international competitions “until further notice” by FIFA and UEFA.
“The rescheduled fixtures have resulted in the UEFA Nations League calendar being adjusted for some of the games in order to accommodate the postponed play-off matches,” FIFA said in a statement.
“FIFA would like to thank all of the parties involved for the strong spirit of solidarity and cooperation that has led to this unanimous decision.”
Ukraine, Scotland and Wales are playing to become the 13th European country to qualify for Qatar.
The winner of the play-off will go into Group B alongside England, the United States and Iran, with a first match scheduled against the Americans on November 21 at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al-Rayyan.
The Ukrainian league did not resume after the winter break and has been put on hold indefinitely following the invasion by Russia on February 24.
FIFA last month relaxed its rules to allow home-based Ukrainian players to move to foreign clubs without having to wait for the next transfer window.
This follows the move by FIFA to allow foreign footballers and coaches working in Ukraine and Russia to suspend their contracts temporarily and move elsewhere. – AFP, April 15, 2022
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