ZURICH: Ukraine’s delayed World Cup qualification playoff semi-final against Scotland has been rearranged for June 1, with the winners facing Wales four days later for a place at this year’s tournament, FIFA and UEFA said in a statement on Thursday.

The match was due to be played at Hampden Park in Glasgow on March 24 but Ukraine’s Football Association asked FIFA to postpone the qualifier following Russia’s invasion, which Moscow calls a “special operation”.

Wales beat Austria 2-1 in their semi-final and will host the playoff final at the Cardiff City Stadium on June 5. The winners will join England, Iran and the United States in Group ‘B’ at the World Cup, which takes place from Nov 21-Dec 18 in Qatar.

Russia were scheduled to take part in the playoffs but have been suspended from international football by UEFA and FIFA. Poland, who were due to face Russia in their play-off, received a bye and ultimately qualified for the finals beating Sweden.

“It will be great to be able to welcome Ukraine to Hampden Park in June,” Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell said. “Postponing the original tie was the right and only thing to do.

“While, understandably, there will be two sets of competitive players who are committed to taking another step closer to World Cup qualification, we also understand and appreciate the wider context in which the match will take place.”

To accommodate the postponed playoff ties, UEFA has rescheduled Nations League fixtures involving Scotland, Wales and Ukraine in June and September, with venues and kickoff times to be confirmed later.

“The rescheduled fixtures have resulted in the UEFA Nations League calendar being adjusted for some of the games in order to accommodate the postponed play-off matches,” FIFA said in a statement. “FIFA would like to thank all of the parties involved for the strong spirit of solidarity and cooperation that has led to this unanimous decision.”

Ukraine, Scotland and Wales are playing to become the 13th European country to qualify for Qatar.

The winner of the playoff will begin with a match scheduled against the Americans on November 21 at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al-Rayyan.

Ukraine defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina in November to qualify for the European playoff but haven’t played since.

The Ukrainian league did not resume after the winter break and has been put on hold indefinitely following the invasion by Russia on February 24.

FIFA last month relaxed its rules to allow home-based Ukrainian players to move to foreign clubs without having to wait for the next transfer window.

This follows the move by FIFA to allow foreign footballers and coaches working in Ukraine and Russia to suspend their contracts temporarily and move elsewhere.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2022