Repechajes: entre alegrías y llantos por un boleto mundialista (esp/eng)

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Repechages: between joys and tears for a World Cup ticket

Since the new qualification system for the 2026 World Cup was established, the playoffs have gained more strength for the least favored teams to qualify directly for the biggest event in world football and today FIFA announced the playoffs to be held in the month of March to complete the World Cup process.

The first playoff and the most controversial due to the way of classification is the European. In the Old Continent, the 12 second places from each elimination group advanced to this stage, plus the 4 winners of the Nations League who did not finish among the first two places in their respective groups. The draw determined the fate of the 16 competing teams, where they will be divided into 4 brackets with 4 teams each and the winners of each will qualify for the World Cup next summer.

• Key A will be one of the most affordable for a sleeping giant of recent years in World Cups: Italy. Those from the country of the Boot, this time led by Genaro Gattuso, will attempt to qualify for the World Cup in their third consecutive play-off, after the failures towards the 2018 and 2022 World Cups respectively. The Italians will have a path that is not so difficult but not easy either against the rocky Northern Ireland, one of the winners of the Nations League and if they advance they would be discussing the World Cup ticket against the winner of the other semifinal between Wales and Bosnia-Herzegovina in another very spicy duel between two teams that are experiencing a good football moment

Favorite to advance: Italy

• Section B is one of the most even in the entire European play-off with more than interesting matches between the Ukraine of Tsygankov, Artem Dovbyk, Mykola Matvienko and company against a Sweden that has more than a couple of names of interest in the attack such as Alexander Isak, Roony Bardghji, Dejan Kulusevski and the fashion forward Viktor Gyokeres. The Scandinavian country qualified thanks to the quota granted by the Nations League because despite having a good offensive arsenal, they were relegated to the last position in their group with only one point and without having won a single game. In the other confrontation, not as high-profile as this one but between teams that always fight in Europe, the surprising Albania and Robert Lewandowski's Poland will face each other.

Favorite to advance: Sweden

• Key C is another of the most affordable for the revelation cast of the World Cup qualifiers: Türkiye. The Ottomans led by Vicenzo Montella are seeking to return to a World Cup since 2002 where they obtained a meritorious bronze medal and to do so they have in their ranks a cluster of players with great talent in all lines but especially from the midfield forward led by their star Hakan Calhanoglu although we cannot fail to mention other talented players such as Ugurcan Cakir, Caglar Soyuncu, Arda Güler, Burak Yilmaz, Kenan Yildiz among others. The Turks will play their ticket in a semi-final that will be of high quality against a great team like Razvan Marín's Romania and if they qualify they will face the winner of the other semi-final between the surprising Slovakia and Kosovo

Favorite to advance: Türkiye

• The last key of this European play-off also has an affordable path reserved for one of the most promising teams of recent cycles: Denmark. The team led by Christian Eriksen will have as rivals in search of the World Cup ticket the teams of North Macedonia, the Czech Republic and the surprising Ireland, who ousted Hungary in their group in the last minute of the match between the two.

Favorite to advance: Denmark

The other playoff to get a ticket to North American lands, the Intercontinental, will also take place on the FIFA date in March where 6 teams will fight for two tickets to the world football event. The system of this playoff in the cities of Guadalajara and Monterrey will be two semifinals between the four teams but located in the FIFA Ranking who will then settle the final clash against Iraq and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the two teams best placed by FIFA

▶️ Semifinals

🇳🇨 New Caledonia 🆚 Jamaica 🇯🇲

🇧🇴 Bolivia 🆚 Suriname 🇸🇷

🎟END

🇨🇩 DR Congo 🆚 🇳🇨 or 🇯🇲

🇮🇶 Iraq 🆚 🇧🇴 or 🇸🇷

Favorites to advance: Jamaica and Bolivia

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