It’s Ronaldo vs Ibra for Brazil spot
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Continental giants Portugal and Sweden were drawn together in the pick of the World Cup qualifying playoffs in Europe made by football’s governing body FIFA in Zurich yesterday.
Former champion France was given a favorable pairing as it travels to Ukraine for the first leg on November 15 while Greece will host Romania and Croatia plays its first leg in Iceland.
Former World Cup semifinalists Portugal and Sweden were the first two countries pulled out of the hat as Cristiano Ronaldo will defy Zlatan Ibrahimovic in what will be a battle of star-studded line-ups.
Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic were consigned to the playoffs after their teams finished second in their qualifying groups behind Russia and Germany, respectively.
Portugal also had to advance to the 2010 World Cup through a playoff, after twice drawing 0-0 with Sweden in the group.
Didier Deschamps’ French side, which was narrowly beaten to top spot in its pool by defending champion Spain, travels to the Euro 2012 co-host where it beat Ukraine 2-0 in group play.
“We were not seeded and could have played Portugal or Croatia who have a long history, but Ukraine is not a simple draw either,” Deschamps told Eurosport tv. “They are on a run of seven matches without defeat and they concede very few goals as well as a long trip over there.
“We have to have a lot of confidence and respect the opposition,” added the 1998 World Cup winning captain.
The return leg will be played on November 19.
Ukraine’s key player Artem Fedetsky of Dnepropetrovsk believes in his side’s chances despite a tough draw.
“We’ve already been buried after the poor start in the qualifying campaign. However, we managed to come back and reach the playoff stage.
“Now we have serious experience of playing the most important matches. We are a cohesive team now and, I believe, we have a fair chance to go through,” he added.
Romania is bidding to return to the final stages for the first time since 1998 and will fancy its chances against goal-shy Greece, which was beaten to top spot in its pool by Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Finally, Iceland, the lowest ranked of the eight teams at No. 46 in the world, looks to qualify for the first time in its history against a Croatia side coming off back to back defeats against Scotland and in the midst of a managerial change.
Iceland coach Lars Lagerback is aiming for his fourth straight World Cup with three different teams. He coached his native Sweden at the 2002 and 2006 editions, and Nigeria in 2010.
The four winners will qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil from June 12 to July 13.
The draw for the eight groups of four that will feature in the first round of the tournament will take place on December 6 in Bahia, Brazil.
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