World Cup qualifying: Wales and Scotland find playoff opponents
Wales will play host to Bosnia-Herzegovina for the World Cup playoff semi-finals, while Scotland will play at home against Austria.
Wales, as well as Scotland, must both win their one-legged match, which takes place on October 6th, to make it to their respective finals.
A Wales victory could earn the Welsh a place to play Switzerland at one of the three Playoff Finals.
If Scotland defeats Austria and wins, they'll be home for a final with Ireland. The Republic of Ireland.
Playoffs determine two automatic qualifiers for 2023's World Cup, plus one country that will participate in inter-confederation playoffs.
Wales placed second within their Group by securing second place in their Group with Tuesday's draw 0-0 in the group stage against Slovenia, which could have two wins to their first World Cup finals.
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Scotland was runners-up to Spain in Group B.
They were ready for Playoffs by securing a 6-1 thrashing of their opponents in the Faroe Islands in their final qualifying match.
Two UK countries are joined by seven other teams who finished second in the European playoffs.
The top three, Iceland, Republic of Ireland, and Switzerland, will go directly into the playoff finals, which will begin on October 11th.
Portugal is hosting Belgium for the semi-finals in their third round, with the winners playing home Iceland to play Iceland in the finale.
The two top-ranked finalists - according to their performances in their qualifying groups as well as the playoff finals – will go towards the World Cup, with the third-placed team going into the inter-confederation playoffs that will be held in February next year on the island of New Zealand.
The playoffs will include ten teams, divided into three routes, and 3 World Cup spots on offer.
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Third-placed European player-off champion will face one or more from Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Cameroon, Senegal, Haiti, Panama, Chile, Paraguay, and Papua New Guinea in a one-off final.
Scotland made it to their very first World Cup finals in 2019 but was unable to participate in the Summer's European Championship after finishing behind Finland and Portugal in their qualifying Group.
Based on Fifa's world ranking, Iceland, in 14th, is the top team taking part in this year's European Playoffs. They are ahead of Belgium, which is 19th.
Austria is ranked 20th, while Switzerland is 21st, with Scotland 23rd and next. It is the Republic of Ireland. It is ranked 26th, followed by Portugal being 27th, Wales at 30th, and Bosnia & Herzegovina at 63rd.
World Cup playoffs - how are they conducted?
- Nine teams that finished second within their groups of qualifying get the opportunity to play off for a spot in the playoff.
- The playoffs are comprised of a semi-final as well as a final, both tied by single legs.
- These matches are scheduled to take place on October 6th, Thursday, and Tuesday, November 11th.
- Based on their performance in qualifying, the top three teams that have been seeded, that are Iceland, Republic of Ireland, and Switzerland, have been allowed to skip the final. The remaining six teams are included in the draw for the semi-finals.
- The three semi-finalists that have been crowned winners will be playing either Iceland, the Republic of Ireland, or Switzerland in the final.
- In addition to the three winners who have been crowned, The two top-seeded teams will get a place in the tournament in 2023. Women's World Cup.
- A third-seeded team will be entered in an Inter-Confederation Playoff, which will be held within New Zealand in February 2023.
