World Cup draw live as play off opponents decided for Scotland and Wales

Here are the teams taking part in the play-off semi-finals, in order of world ranking (highest to lowest):

Italy - 6th

Portugal - 8th

Sweden - 18th

Wales - 19th

Ukraine - 25th

Poland - 27th

Austria - 30th

Czech Republic - 31st

Russia - 34th

Turkey - 37th

Scotland - 38th

Macedonia - 67th

And here’s Wales coach Robert Page on his team’s semi-final against Austria...

“We’ve given ourselves a great opportunity.

“We’ve worked ever so hard to finish second [in qualifying] and get that home draw.

“We’ve got everything to play for.”

More from Clarke, on whether or not the possibility of a final against Wales will play on his mind and those of the Scotland players...

“We certainly won’t be distracted by it. We always treat our immediate opponents with the utmost respect. So that’s what Ukraine will get: They will get all our respect.

“We will approach the game with a bit of humility and we’ll do as well as we can.

“Over the winter months we will obviously have to prepare for either Wales or Austria and we’ll make sure we are well prepared for that if we manage to get through the first game.”

Here’s what Scotland coach Steve Clarke had to say about his side’s semi-final, which pits them against Ukraine...

“It will be a tough game. I don’t think it matters who we were going to get in the semi-final draw, it was always going to be tough.

“We will go away and do our homework on Ukraine and try and come up with a winning formula.”

So, in summary, Indy Sport predicts that Wales, Poland and Italy will be the teams to secure safe passage to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, with Scotland, Sweden and Portugal suffering play-off final heartbreak in March.

Here’s how we think the play-offs could play out...

Path A – semi-finals

Scotland to edge past Ukraine, making the most of home advantage.

Wales to overcome Austria, so long as they have a fit Gareth Bale among their ranks.

Path B – semi-finals

Russia to bow out against Poland, courtesy of a Robert Lewandowski wonder goal.

Sweden to secure a narrow win against Czech Republic in the most evenly-matched tie.

Path C – semi-finals

Italy to see off North Macedonia comfortably.

Portugal to get past Turkey, but not without trouble.

Path A – final

Wales to edge past Scotland and qualify for the World Cup, with home fans roaring them on.

Path B – final

Poland to eliminate Sweden, again with Lewandowski playing a key role.

Path C – final

Italy to win a second tense final in a year, ousting Portugal despite the latter’s home advantage.

The main takeaway from today’s draw, alongside the fact that Italy or Portugal will not be at next year’s World Cup:

A fair point?

Same question – for the neutrals – regarding Scotland and Wales...

Who would you rather see at the World Cup?

Let us know by commenting at the bottom of the article.

Who would you rather see at the World Cup: Portugal or Italy?

Let us know by commenting at the bottom of the article.