Replies to post #5052 on World Cup Soccer 2022 Qatar

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Socceroos snuck past UAE in what has been described as an iffy effort. Peru will be much harder .. June 27, 2018 .. ITS all over.
The Socceroos are out of the World Cup after a 2-0 loss to Peru in their final group game.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/socceroos/player-ratings-socceroos-v-peru/news-story/7d6eae20b628ba20e9ec42d123248b38

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Spectacular Ajdin Hrustic volley secures the Socceroos victory over the United Arab Emirates
The Socceroos are one win away from qualifying for this year’s World Cup after beating the UAE in Doha.
Marco Monteverde @marcothejourno
June 8, 2022 - 6:25AM NCA NewsWire
https://www.news.com.au/sport/football/spectacular-ajdin-hrustic-volley-secures-the-socceroos-victory-over-the-united-arab-emirates/news-story/5c34c50bdcb8859b18051fb698480deb

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Socceroos drop in FIFA ranking as World Cup pots point to who Australia could face if they qualify for Qatar

Joshua Thomas 01-04-2022

Two costly losses in March have seen the Socceroos miss out on automatic qualification for the 2022 World Cup and suffer a drop in their FIFA ranking.

Australia have gone from 37th to 42nd in the latest world rankings released on Friday.

Graham Arnold's side now find themselves behind Norway but ahead of Turkey and are the fourth-best ranked AFC nation.

Should the Socceroos qualify for the 2022 World Cup, they will enter as one of the lowest-ranked nations with only Qatar, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia and Ghana currently placed lower in the rankings.

If New Zealand made it to Qatar [ .. June 14, https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/new-zealand-face-costa-rica-world-cup-playoff-june-14-2022-04-20/ ..] by beating Costa Rica in their intercontinental play-off in June, the Kiwis would be the lowest-ranked nation by some margin based on their current position of 101st.

Australia reached 32nd in the world just last year but were as low as 102nd in 2014.

Elsewhere in the rankings, Brazil have replaced Belgium as the world No.1 and Mexico have risen three places to jump inside the top 10.

Socceroos World Cup group draw: Who could Australia face in Qatar if they qualify?

On the back of the updated FIFA rankings, the pots for the World Cup draw have been finalised.

While Australia still need to beat the UAE and Peru in play-off matches to secure their place in Qatar, the Socceroos will soon learn who they could face at the tournament if they qualify.

With three spots still up for grabs, three placeholder balls have been placed in Pot 4 for the upcoming World Cup draw.

Australia have a three-way hold on one of those positions alongside the UAE and Peru.

Current FIFA rules don't allow teams from the same confederation, aside from Europe, to be drawn in the same World Cup group.

Because Australia and Peru are vying for the same spot, the group draw should in theory see them avoid being placed alongside any Asian or South American nation.

Sporting News have attempted to predict the best possible World Cup draw for the tournament as a whole and it would result in the following for Australia.

Team ... FIFA Rank ... Pot
Spain .... 7 ... 1
Denmark ... 10 ... 2
Tunisia ... 35 ... 3
Australia/UAE/Peru 42/68/22 4

The Socceroos faced Denmark in the 2018 World Cup group stages and claimed a 1-1 draw. While their 2014 World Cup group game against Spain ended in a 3-0 loss.

More - https://www.sportingnews.com/au/football/news/socceroos-drop-fifa-ranking-world-cup-pots-point-who-australia-could-face-if-they-qualify-qatar/yjjq5hxbffj7cbrghrg6idd1

So Socceroos rank 42. Peru 22.