Ukraine’s March World Cup Qualifying Playoff vs. Scotland Postponed to June

FIFA has announced that the upcoming World Cup qualifier between Scotland vs. Ukraine has been postponed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Scotland was set to host Ukraine on March 24 in a World Cup qualifying playoff semifinal with the victor facing the winner of Wales vs. Austria. The qualifier will now take place during the following international window in June while Wales-Austria will still take place March 24. 

Last week, Ukraine appealed to FIFA to postpone the fixture due to the current crisis. Ukraine and Scotland are also slated to meet June 7 in the UEFA Nations League as part of four games Ukraine has scheduled that month. 

The World Cup draw is scheduled to take place April 1 in Doha, Qatar, but two national teams already won’t have their spot secured until the intercontinental playoffs in June. 

Ukraine has only qualified for the World Cup once in its history as an independent nation recognized by FIFA. That was in 2006, when it lost to eventual champion Italy in the quarterfinals. 

According to ESPN, most of the Ukrainian team has remained in the country during the war, while more than half of its most recent squad plays for domestic clubs in Ukraine. 

Last week, FIFA and UEFA banned Russia and Russian-based clubs from their respective competitions. However, Russia is currently appealing the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).  

Russia was set to play Poland in another of UEFA’s three four-team qualifying playoff brackets, but FIFA announced that Poland has been given a bye to the final against either Sweden or Czech Republic, pending CAS’s decision.