Berlin (dpa) – The three possible World Cup playoff opponents in Russia are categorically refusing to play in the playoffs at the end of March. After the Polish and Swedish, the Czech Football Association also announced that it “under no circumstances” wants to play against Russia.
This puts the world governing body FIFA under even more pressure to come up with a solution for the playoff games on March 24th and 29th. According to the original plan, Poland was to play in Russia first, with the winner five days later playing the winner of the game from Sweden and the Czech Republic at home.
According to the Czech association’s statement, contact should now be made with FIFA and also with the European Football Union UEFA. A total of three tickets will be awarded in the European playoffs for the World Cup finals in Qatar (21 November to 18 December).