Italy to play Sweden in World Cup playoff
Italy have been drawn against Sweden in the European playoffs for the 2018 World Cup, while Republic of Ireland will meet Denmark.
Elsewhere in the draw for next summer's tournament in Russia, Northern Ireland will face Switzerland and Croatia will play Greece.
Italy finished second in their qualifying group behind Spain to reach the playoffs, with their opponents Sweden narrowly beating Netherlands to a place in the draw, with France topping their pool.
Italy had been the seeded team going into the draw as the 15th-placed team in the FIFA World Ranking, with Sweden 25th.
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— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) October 17, 2017
Republic of Ireland, ranked 26th, claimed their place in the playoffs in dramatic fashion, beating Wales in their final group game to leapfrog them into second spot behind Serbia. Denmark, who sit 19th in the ranking, finished second in their group to Poland.
Switzerland were unlucky not to reach the finals as winners of their group, ending the campaign with nine wins from their 10 qualifiers, but lost to Portugal in the final game of the group to finish behind the European champions. They are the highest-ranked nation in the playoffs, sitting 11th in the ranking.
Northern Ireland, 23rd in the ranking, lost to Germany and Norway in their final two qualifiers but still finished four points clear of Czech Republic to seal their place in the playoffs.
Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill said: "It was going to be tough whoever we got but we're capable of going through to the finals in Russia.
"The most important thing is not to concede in the first as away goals can prove to be vital."
Meanwhile, 18th-ranked Croatia finished ahead of Ukraine for a spot in the draw and their opponents, 47th-ranked Greece, edged out Bosnia and Herzegovina in their group.
The first legs for each tie will take place from Nov. 9-11 with the second legs on Nov. 12-14.
World Cup playoff draw:
Northern Ireland vs. Switzerland
Croatia vs. Greece
Denmark vs. Republic of Ireland
Sweden vs. Italy
Information from the Press Association was used in this report.
Source: espn.co.uk
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