Sweden hosts Czech Republic in the World Cup qualification promotion semifinals. The match will be played on Thursday, March 24th at Friends Arena (Solna)
Sweden qualified for the playoffs after finishing second in Group B with 15 points. Janne Andersson's team had a great chance to get a direct ticket to Qatar, but the Blue-Yellows stumbled in an away game with Georgia (0-2) in November and did not cope with the Spaniards (0-1) in the final round. The Swedes will play in the World Cup playoffs for the third time in a row. In the qualification for the 2014 World Cup, the Scandinavians lost to Portugal (0-1 and 2-3), but after four years they created a sensation and left Italy out of the tournament (1:0, 0:0).
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Czech Republic finished third in Group E with 14 points. Jaroslav Sihavy’s team lagged behind Belgium and Wales. The quarterfinalists of the recent Euro ended the last qualification unsuccessfully. However, along with the Austrians, the Czechs were among the two winners of the Nations League groups and received vacant places in the 2022 World Cup playoffs. The Czech national team has not played at the World Cup since 2006. Since then, the Red-Blues have participated in the World Cup qualifiers four times, but each time they finished in third place and did not even get into the playoffs.
The Swedes and the Czechs played three friendly matches. The advantage is on the side of the Scandinavians, who gained one victory and two draws. The last head-to-head match took place in March 2016 in Solna, and then the teams tied 1-1. Markus Berg scored for the Swedes, and Matej Vydra leveled the score. The Swedes are the favorites of the upcoming game. They will play at home, where they defeated all opponents in the last qualification, including the powerful Spanish team (2-1). The away stats of the Czechs are as follows: they beat only Estonia (2-6) and Belarus (0-2), limply losing to Wales (1-0) and Belgium (3-0). Another circumstance against the Czech team is problems with the roster. The Red-Blues have a good midfield led by Tomas Soucek, but numerous injuries of defenders will affect the team's teamwork. The Swedes can take advantage of the absence of Coufal and the company and resolve the issue of advancing to the next round in regulation time.
Prediction for the match: Sweden to win
