Portugal gets Swedish test while France faces Ukraine

Continental giants Portugal and Sweden were drawn together in the pick of the World Cup qualifying playoffs in Europe made by soccer's governing body, FIFA, on Monday.

Former World Cup champion France was given a favorable pairing as it travels to Ukraine for the first leg on Nov 15, while Greece will host Romania and Croatia plays its first leg in Iceland.

The second round of the two-legged ties will be played on Nov 19.

Former World Cup semifinalists Portugal and Sweden were the first two countries pulled out of the hat as Cristiano Ronaldo will attempt to outplay Zlatan Ibrahimovic in what will be a battle of star-studded lineups.

"We have drawn a team against whom we will be playing two complicated matches, two relatively balanced matches," said Portugal coach Paulo Bento.

"Besides having one of the best strikers in the world (Ibrahimovic), the quality of their team (Sweden) is their collective spirit.

"They finished second in a group that had one of the best European teams and potential winners Germany.

"Regardless of the opponent, we will be playing these two matches with the aim of playing at the World Cup."

Ibrahimovic believes Sweden is the underdog.

"Portugal is the favorite, but they are going to be two fantastic matches," said the Paris Saint Germain star.

"We're playing against a good team with many good players. Playoff matches are like two finals, it's completely different from group matches.

"I think we have to reduce our errors and the team that makes the most mistakes will miss the World Cup."

Didier Deschamps' French side, which was narrowly beaten to top spot in its pool by defending champion Spain, travels to the Euro 2012 co-host, where it defeated Ukraine 2-0 in group play.

"We were not seeded and could have played Portugal or Croatia who have a long history, but Ukraine is not a simple draw either," Deschamps said.

"They are on a run of seven matches without defeat and concede very few goals as well as a long trip over there," he said.

"It's good to have the return leg at home, but one team will qualify and the other will be staying home for the World Cup." said the 1998 World Cup winning captain.

Ukraine's key player, Artem Fedetsky of Dnepropetrovsk, believes in his side's chances despite a tough draw.

"We've already been buried after the poor start in the qualifying campaign," said Dnepropetrovsk.

"However, we managed to come back and reach the play-off stage. After that, every single match for us was like the final, like a do-or-die mission.

"Now we have serious experience of playing the most important matches. We are a cohesive team now and, I believe, we have a fair chance to go through."

The four winners will qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil from June 12-July 13.

Nine teams have already qualified from Europe: Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, England, Russia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

(China Daily 10/23/2013 page23)