Football (also called soccer in some countries) is one of the world’s favorite sports for players, fans and bettors alike. It’s possibly safe to say that it’s the number one sport when it comes to worldwide popularity. For a few months now, different countries have been competing to see who’ll advance to the FIFA 2022 World Cup at the end of the year, and the Ukrainian National team looked ready.
Everybody is excited that the sporting world is opening up again after the pandemic. Teams are back training their hearts out; fans are gearing up to travel and support their favorite teams; even the online sports betting world is buzzing. If you’re only getting involved now, that’s ok; we’ll update you on what’s been going on.
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About the FIFA World Cup in 2022
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is the international men’s football championship played every four years and contested by the senior national teams of FIFA member countries. It’s set to be held in Qatar and will be the 22nd Edition this year. The tournament will be the last to feature 32 teams, with a 48-team expansion planned for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Due to the high summer temperatures in Qatar, this World Cup will be held from November to December, making it the first tournament not to be staged in May, June, or July. The first match will be at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha between Senegal and the Netherlands.
The World Cup Final is scheduled for December 18th, 2022. France is the defending World Cup champion and was placed in group D along with Ukraine.
UEFA Group D Qualification
Qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the UEFA Group D was one of 10 UEFA groups in the World Cup qualification process, determining which countries would compete in Qatar’s 2022 FIFA World Cup finals. Group D included five teams we have listed in order of their final standings: France, Ukraine, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kazakhstan.
In a round-robin style, the teams faced off against each other at home and away. France moved straight to the World Cup finals as the group winner, while Ukraine proceeded to the second-round qualification playoffs.
UEFA Playoffs
The UEFA playoffs (also known as the UEFA Second Round) for the 2022 FIFA World Cup were contested by 12 teams from the UEFA qualifying segment. The playoffs included the ten runners-up from the UEFA first-round groups and the two group winners from the 2020–2021 UEFA Nations League. The playoffs determined the last European teams to compete in the World Cup with the group winners in Qatar.
The 12 teams were split into three groups of four, with two semi-finals and one final (both single-leg) on each group path. The matches were held between March and June of 2022. The 10 UEFA first-round losers proceeded to the playoffs. The six best-ranked teams were seeded in the semi-final draw based on the results of the qualifying group stage, while the lowest four were unseeded.
Did Ukraine Qualify?
Ukraine failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar after its national squad was defeated by Wales in a single-elimination tournament. Ukraine defeated Scotland in Glasgow and went to the playoff final against Wales on June 5th, 2022. They were playing for entry into Group B, but an own goal by the captain derailed their attempts and ended their fight for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Trophy.
