ZURICH (AP) - Switzerland is the highest-ranked team in Europe’s World Cup playoffs after losing to Portugal in their qualifying duel Tuesday.
The Swiss were joined by Sweden and Greece in the eight-team playoff lineup.
FIFA draws the pairings in Zurich next Tuesday, one day after confirming seeding according to its monthly rankings.
Though Switzerland’s winning streak ended with a 2-0 loss in Lisbon, it was assured of the best record among nine group runners-up.
Slovakia misses out as the runner-up with the worst record. Results against last-place teams were excluded from the tiebreaker.
First-leg games are played Nov. 9-11. Return games are Nov. 12-14.
The World Cup tournament draw is made Dec. 1 in Moscow.
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European playoffs:
Seeded teams: Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Denmark.
Unseeded teams: Northern Ireland, Sweden, Ireland, Greece.
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