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Today at 21:45 Lithuanian time, four World Cup qualification semi-final matches will begin. According to the plan, four such matches were scheduled to take place today, but the Russian aggression in Ukraine changed the game. The Russian national team was disqualified from FIFA and UEFA tournaments, and Ukraine's semi-final match with Scotland was rescheduled. Sweden - Czech Republic at 21:45. The winner of this pair in the qualification final will meet the winner of the Ukraine-Scotland pair. The Czech national team last played in the World Cup in 2006. This was the first Czech participation in this tournament after the split of Czechoslovakia. Sweden's national team reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 2018, finishing 7th. In total, the Swedes have participated three times more than the Czechs in the biggest football tournament in the world (12 compared to 9). Sweden's national team coach Janne Anderson commented before the match: "The Czechs defeated the Netherlands national team in the summer and left the tournament only after losing to Denmark. They played a great European Championship and are a strong football nation." "It will be a tough match, but I don't consider it a harder or easier match compared to other national teams," said the Swedish specialist. Wales - Austria at 21:45. Wales has a chance to participate in the World Cup for only the second time in its history (the first was in 1958). Before the match, the team's leader and all-time best player Gareth Bale spoke at a press conference. "When I started my career in the Welsh national team, the main goal was to qualify for the major tournament. We achieved that, and now, reaching the World Cup would mark the final achievement." "This is very important to us - it is something all our players dream about," said the captain of the Welsh national team. Meanwhile, Austria's opponents, the Northern Macedonian national team, participated in the World Cup 7 times, but the last time was in 1998. In this match two Real Madrid players will face off, the captains of both national teams - David Alaba against Gareth Bale. The winner of this pair will await Poland in the qualification final, led by Robert Lewandowski. The Poles were given the right to advance after the Russian national team was disqualified. Italy - North Macedonia at 21:45. North Macedonia opened a new chapter in the country's football history in the summer, participating for the first time in a major tournament - the European Championship, where their opponents today, the Italians, triumphed. The Macedonians' appetite is growing, and now they want to open the doors to the World Cup. However, their task will be very difficult. North Macedonia coach Blagoja Milevski commented: "Italy are the current European champions. They play a different style of football and it is a difficult task for all their opponents. Now we also need to adapt to this challenge." Italy risks missing out on the World Cup for the second time in a row, which would be almost a tragedy for this football nation. If North Macedonia is a relatively easily beatable opponent on paper, one of Portugal-Turkey will await in the qualification final. Portugal - Turkey at 21:45. It can be said that both national teams did not fulfill their potential at the European Championship in the summer. Although Turkey's qualification for the European Championship is not a bad result, the team performed quite shamefully in the group stage. In the championship, the Turks finished in the last, 24th place, and then had to change the team's coach. The decision of the Turkish federation to appoint a specialist from Germany, Stefan Kuntz, to lead the team was accepted. In his time, S. Kuntz was a solid striker, who played a key role in Germany's national team victory in the 1996 European Championship. Before the match, S. Kuntz said: "The road to the championship is the most difficult. However, the growth of the team, staff members, and federation since my arrival gives me hope. Our main desire is to play the final match (qualification final) at home in Turkey and see what we can achieve there." Portugal was hit hard in this qualification tournament. The team will have to play without injured Joao Cancelo and Renato Sanches, who is also plagued by injury. Pepe was diagnosed with COVID-19, and he will be replaced in the defense by one of Thiago Djalo, Goncalo Inacio, or alongside another veteran, Conte. Meanwhile, Ruben Neves and Dias, who play in the Premier League, will not help the former European champions in this qualification tournament due to injuries. The good news is that Joao Cancelo will be available for the qualification final if Portugal makes it. This will be valuable for a team that has suffered multiple injuries. The three qualification finals will be played on March 29, on Tuesday.
