Deprived of their star strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic, suspended, and Patrick Schick, injured, the two nations are fighting for a place to find the Poles, qualified directly for the decisive match on March 29 after the ousting of the Russians.

In a standoff hailed for its firmness after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the three countries had all threatened three weeks ago to boycott a possible meeting against the Russian selection, even if it meant giving up the Qatari World Cup.

"Football can seem pretty paltry in this context, but I think it's important to do what we can to make things go in the right direction," said Swedish coach Janne Andersson.

After having for a time mentioned a match on neutral ground for the Russians, Fifa had finally excluded the Russian selection from the qualification race, as a sanction for the invasion of Ukraine.

With this political victory in hand, it is now a question of refocusing on the sporting field, even when the mind has had a hard time getting rid of images of war, observes Andersson.

"A difficult game"

"It's everyone's duty to keep joy intact. It can be heavy, but you have to try. If you give up and drown in sorrow, you increase the misery of the world", philosopher-t -he.

At home in the Friends Arena in Solna in the suburbs of Stockholm, "it's going to be a difficult match and we're going to do everything to win it".

If Sweden has - weakly - protested against the fact that Poland does not inherit a new opponent to guarantee the fairness of the play-offs, the Czech Republic sees the specifications unchanged: two matches to win, and a World Cup in end.

"Nothing has changed for us. We have been preparing for Sweden for several months and we have also analyzed the Polish game," said Czech coach Jaroslav Silhavy.

Czech football player Vladimir Coufal gives his jersey to a spectator after the match between his West Ham team and Norwich in the English football championship in London on January 12, 2022. Adrian DENNIS AFP

"We want to be ready as best we can and fight for the place at the World Cup".

Sweden had a direct qualification for the World Cup at their fingertips last fall but burned their cartridges by losing first in Georgia (2-0) then three days later in Spain (1-0).

Guilty of a shoulder blow at the last minute of the match against Spain, Ibrahimovic had received a yellow card, synonymous with suspension for the first match of the play-offs.

Goodbye Zlatan?

Will we still see "Ibra" in "blågul" (blue and yellow, the colors of Sweden)?

Thursday at a press conference, the 40-year-old veteran, who had made his long-awaited return to the selection last year, swore that he would continue "to the end".

Italy and Portugal play big in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Qatar on Thursday as they take on North Macedonia and Turkey respectively, any result other than a win knocking them out of the finals.

Finally forfeited through injury for the Euro shortly after his return, his absence from the World Cup, no offense to his impressive longevity, is likely to see the chances of seeing him in a major international competition vanish.

The striker with 120 caps and 62 goals also warned that he could not play 90 minutes against Poland, because of his "old guy" physique.

Swedish soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimovic during a press conference in Solna, Sweden on March 22, 2022 ahead of the qualifying play-off match against the Czech Republic for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Sweden will face Czech Republic in a FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 play-off qualifying soccer match on March 24, 2022. Jonas EKSTROMER TT News Agency/AFP

The Czech Republic, she dreams of finding a World Cup she played for the last time in 2006, after a promising quarter-final at the Euro last summer.

Qualified for the play-offs via the League of Nations, the team remains on two victories in chickens and is undefeated in the last five meetings.

In addition to its star Schick - 17 achievements in 33 selections, co-top scorer of the last Euro with five achievements - the Czech Republic will also be deprived of several important players, including Vladimir Coufal (West Ham) and Tomas Kalas (Bristol).

The Czechs, who were to embark on Tuesday for Sweden, also had to postpone their departure for a day due to damage to their plane.

© 2022 AFP