While all of the European participants in the World Cup were supposed to be finalized prior to the draw in Qatar a few weeks ago, there is still one UEFA playoff (Path A) set to be completed over the summer. Due to the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the playoff between Scotland and Ukraine had to be postponed. One the other side of that bracket, Wales, led by Gareth Bale, defeated Austria to reach the playoff final on March 24 as they await the winner of Scotland and Ukraine.
On Thursday, it was announced that the Scotland-Ukraine semifinal match will go on as scheduled on June 1 before the winner faces Wales in Cardiff on June 5. Whichever team comes out on top of that playoff will be slotted into Group B for the Qatar World Cup in November where it will join England, Iran and the United States.
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This is especially important for USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter as his Americans will learn their opponent and begin preparations for their opening match of the World Cup on Nov. 21 in Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan. It’s also worth noting that the UEFA Nations League calendar will be adjusted to accommodate these matches.
Scotland could be without Kieran Tierney as he suffered an injury in training that has led to him undergoing knee surgery. Due to his injury history and possible length of recovery, it could be tough for him to feature and log meaningful minutes during these critical matches. But for the United States, they’ll know their entire group in under a few short months as they begin World Cup prep with Nations League matches between El Salvador and Grenada with a possible friendly being added with Uruguay. Knowing who the final European team will be will also be helpful when it comes to scheduling these friendlies.
