Twelve teams heard music in just three days. One team for the first time in quite a while. All of these teams are going to the World Cup, and there are still some slots open.
Germany, Denmark, France, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland, and the Netherlands are the UEFA teams going to Qatar.
The Union of European Football Association (UEFA), is the governing body of all of the European teams, and their domestic leagues. There are 55 teams competing in the qualifiers. Ten groups of five or six teams, with the group winners going to the World Cup, and the runner-ups going to the playoffs.
The UEFA conference had a stunning international break. In Group A, it came down to the last game, but Mitrović prevailed in the 90 minute for Serbia, sending them to the World Cup and Portugal to the playoffs.
Many people predicted that Spain would win Group B, but it was very close! Sweden was ahead until the 9th matchday, when a devastating loss to Georgia had them going to the playoffs.
After winning the EURO, you would think Italy would come atop Group C, but Switzerland did. With a 4-0 win against Bulgaria, all of Bern was going crazy. The World Cup winners are back with a 9-0 win against Kazakhstan.
France dominated Group D by six points. Hazard and Lukaku did amazing in Group E for Belgium. With no losses in the group, this team is heading somewhere.
Denmark is in the World Cup again! You might not believe it but it’s happening. Not only were they atop Group F, but they had the most points in the Qualifiers!
By no surprise, the Netherlands won Group G with teams like Turkey, Montenegro and Latvia. This is their first time back since 2014, and they’ve got some competition.
Group H came down to ten minutes to decide the winner. Russia scored an own goal to put Croatia in the World Cup. This is the best the Russian team has ever been, and it will be interesting to see if they can qualify for another World Cup.
England danced on Group I, being six points ahead of Poland, the second place team. The team needs to improve if they want to be World Cup winners, but they have all the parts! Germany has qualified, again. They are a strong title contender, but there are other teams making a mark.
It’s easy to say that this might be one of the best World Cups in the century, but it’s too early to tell. There are 19 spots left, and maybe one of them is taking it all home.