By Islam Sabulino
Cristiano Ronaldo`s wishe of avoiding France in the World Cup qualifier play offs has been fulfilled as Portugal meet Sweden to decide who makes it to Brazil next year.
The play offs draw pitted Portugal against Sweden, while France will face Ukraine, elsewhere Greece fight Romania, with the surprise package Iceland battling against Croatia.
The Portuguese played Sweden 15 times and the Scandinavians won six times, drawing six and lost thrice.
Didier Deschamps’ troops fought the Ukranians seven times, with les Bleus being victorious on four occasions and drawing three times.
However, Deschamps is cautious ahead of their encounter against the Eastern Europeans.
“Portugal and Croatia are nations with experience, but it will not be easy against a team who are undefeated in their last seven matches and concede very few goals,” he said.
Having the second leg at home is a good thing for us. These four days will decide our future. We need a lot of confidence but also a lot of respect for the Ukranian team.”
The first legs are scheduled for November 15, while the returns will be staged four days later.
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