Italy and England can qualify for the 2022 World Cup by Monday but Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal will have to wait until next year.
Portugal crashed to a 2-1 loss to Serbia on Sunday that sent the winners through to the finals in Qatar and forced Portugal into the playoffs in March as the second-placed team in Group A.Gareth Southgate’s England have the simplest task on Monday as they will book their ticket if they avoid defeat away to minnows San Marino.
Roberto Mancini’s side now take on the already-eliminated Northern Ireland in Belfast knowing they need to match Switzerland’s result against Bulgaria, assuming the Swiss do not win with a clear enough margin to overturn the two-goal gap separating the two teams.Ronaldo’s hopes of playing in a record-equalling fifth World Cup hang in the balance after Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a vital goal just before stoppage time to give Serbia a 2-1 victory that guaranteed them a place in Qatar.
Instead the crucial goal came from Mitrovic, who a year ago was the only Serbian player to fail to score in a penalty shootout against Scotland that led to his nation missing out on Euro 2020. Portugal must now navigate two tricky one-off playoff matches in March to maintain their record of qualifying for every major tournament since the 1998 World Cup.
Spain made sure of their place as Alvaro Morata’s goal four minutes from time ended Sweden’s resistance in Seville.
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