Italy or Portugal will miss out on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after the two most recent European champions were drawn in the same play-off path.

Roberto Mancini led Italy to a Euro 2020 triumph earlier this year, yet the Azzurri failed to qualify automatically for next year's World Cup, with Switzerland progressing instead.

Portugal, Euro 2016 winners, also fell short, finishing three points behind Serbia in Group A.

And now one of the heavyweights will fail to appear in Qatar, with both teams drawn together in Path C of the play-offs, which will take place in March.

Italy were drawn in a semi-final against minnows North Macedonia, who are aiming to make their first appearance at a World Cup, while Portugal will face Turkey.

Should they progress, Portugal will have home advantage in the Path C final to determine which team progresses to Qatar. While Cristiano Ronaldo could well be fighting to play in his final World Cup, the Azzurri will be aiming to avoid missing out on the tournament for a second successive time.

Path A threw up the possibility of Wales going up against Scotland for a place in the finals, should they overcome Austria and Ukraine, who went unbeaten in a qualifying group that also included reigning world champions France, respectively.

In Path B, Russia will host Poland and Sweden will play the Czech Republic. 

The winner of Russia v Poland will host the Path B final.

Play-offs draw in full

Path A

SF1 – Scotland v Ukraine

SF2 – Wales v Austria

F1 – Winner SF2 v Winner SF1

Path B

SF3 – Russia v Poland

SF4 – Sweden v Czech Republic

F2 – Winner SF3 v Winner SF4

Path C

SF5 – Italy v North Macedonia

SF6 – Portugal v Turkey

F3 – Winner SF6 v Winner SF5

Pakistan ended the Super 12s phase of the T20 World Cup with an unblemished record as Shoaib Malik inspired a comprehensive win by 72 runs against Scotland on Sunday.

While Pakistan were already assured of a spot in the semi-finals, where they will face Australia, they maintained their impressive momentum in dominant fashion against a Scotland side that never looked likely to reach the 190 target set by their opponents.

Granted, it took them a little while to really find their groove, with Mohammad Rizwan (15) and Fakhar Zaman (8) falling as Pakistan found themselves with a fairly unimpressive score of 59-2 in the 10th over.

But captain Babar Azam (66) kept things ticking along nicely, while Mohammad Hafeez (31) enjoyed a solid showing as well until he was caught leg-before by Safyaan Sharif (1-41).

It was Malik who stole the show and took Pakistan to another level, however. His unbeaten 54 came from just 18 balls and included seven boundaries including six sixes – it was the quickest half-century in Pakistan's T20 history and the third-fastest ever in the T20 World Cup.

That elevated Pakistan's innings from reasonable to unassailable, with Scotland surely realising they had little hope.

Richie Berrington (54 not out) could at least leave with his head held high, but no one else got more than 17 for the Scots.

While Scotland managed to see out the full 20 overs, they just could not get enough runs on the board against a miserly Pakistan attack.

Malik is the star

A particularly curious aspect of Pakistan's tournament is the fact Malik was a fifth different man of the match from five games, highlighting the spread of quality in the side. But even then, no one would have predicted just how devastating he was going to be here – not that he was getting carried away.

Speaking afterwards, he said: "Yes, I'm in good form but I want to see myself more consistent to help the team." If he produces innings like that on a regular basis, the outcome will be frightening.

Berrington plays with pride

Were it not for Malik's brilliance, Berrington probably would have been man of the match himself. His 54 came from 37 balls and he was Scotland's only hope, with no team-mate managing a strike rate of over 100.

Scotland held off Australia to claim a narrow 15-13 win in their first November Test at Murrayfield, ending the Wallabies' five-match winning run.

Sunday's hosts had beaten Australia in the sides' previous two meetings, but Dave Rennie's men came into the clash in their best spell of form since a sequence of seven straight victories across September and October 2015.

Finn Russell's penalty 12 minutes from time ultimately proved the difference, prompting Hamish Watson to tell Amazon Prime: "Something special is building here."

Watson had opened the scoring in a tense back-and-forth encounter, powering over in the 22nd minute following a lineout.

Michael Hooper thought he had replied before the break, but the TMO intervened to rule out his try – Allan Alaalatoa sent to the sin bin for catching Matt Fagerson in the face – and James O'Connor's penalty instead provided Australia's only first-half points.

The Wallabies' 14 men had their first lead early in the second half through Rob Leota's score, only for debutant Ewan Ashman to squeeze the ball down in the corner for Scotland.

Another O'Connor penalty put Australia back in front heading into the closing stages, but the game was decided from Scotland's tee and the boot of Russell.

Virat Kohli lauded India's performance in an eight-wicket win over Scotland, though they will need luck on their side to reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.

India skittled Scotland for 85 in Dubai before KL Rahul (50) and Rohit Sharma (30) set them well on their way to a resounding, but crucial, victory.

Kohli, playing on his 33rd birthday, nosed two singles, with Suryakumar Yadav hitting the winning six as India sealed the triumph in 6.3 overs.

India moved up to third in Group 2 and have a superior net run rate when compared to second-placed New Zealand, who are two points to the good.

It means India need a favour from Afghanistan, who take on New Zealand in their last outing, while also having to get the job done themselves against Namibia.

While Kohli regrets the mistakes that have put India in such a perilous position – his side having lost to Pakistan and New Zealand in their opening two games – he was thrilled with the display on Friday.

"A dominating performance. It was something we were striving to do again," he said at the post-match presentation.

"I don't want to say too much about today because we know how we can play. These little things in T20 cricket... the toss, conditions matter, and we're glad to be back in our mojo. We spoke about [limiting Scotland to] 100, 120 maximum, but we restricted them to a total that allowed us to leapfrog everyone else.

"We spoke about finishing in the eight to 10 over bracket. You don't want to go in with six-and-a-half or a seven-and-a-half run [per over] mark because then you're doing too much.

"If you look at our practice games as well, the guys have been batting like that. Two overs of cricket like that [earlier in the competition] and the momentum of the tournament could have been completely different."

Kohli's counterpart Kyle Coetzer reflected on his side having learned a stern lesson.

"A tough day in the office, we were outclassed in every department," the Scotland captain said.

"But the only way we'll improve is going through games like that and seeing it head on."

While India are battling for the last four, Scotland remain winless and sit bottom of Group 2, with Pakistan to come in their final game.

India kept their hopes of progressing to the T20 World Cup semi-finals alive with an eight-wicket win over Scotland in Dubai.

Virat Kohli turned 33 on Friday, and his team handed the captain a birthday gift with a brilliant display against the minnows.

With New Zealand having beaten Namibia to move onto six points in Group 2, India needed a big win to maintain their slim semi-final hopes.

Kohli won the toss and chose to field, and though George Munsey – who hit a six off the first over – started brightly, his knock of 24 from 19 deliveries was the highest score any Scotland batsman managed.

Scotland were skittled out for just 85, Mohammed Shami finishing with figures of 3-15, identical to those of Ravindra Jadeja, while Jasprit Bumrah took 2-10. Shami began the 17th over with wickets from the first three balls, including a run out.

The bowling performance paved the way for a swift India success, led by the magnificent KL Rahul, who hit 50 from 19 balls before looping a shot down the ground to Calum MacLeod from Mark Watt's enticing delivery.

Rahul's fellow opener Rohit Sharma – aiming to become just the third player to reach 3,000 T20I runs – reached 30 before succumbing lbw to Brad Wheal.

Kohli ticked over two singles before a huge six from Suryakumar Yadav sealed India's success after just 6.3 overs.

Rahul and Rohit sparkle

India's openers raced to the fastest team 50 in the tournament, taking just 23 balls to reach that mark.

Rohit is now just 18 runs short of joining team-mate Kohli and New Zealand's Martin Guptill in the 3,000-runs club, though he may well only have one more shot at that this tournament. His partner Rahul dazzled, hitting three sixes and a further six boundaries in a sensational show of quality.

India need a New Zealand slip-up

There is real jeopardy in Group 2, and a big team will miss out on going any further. Pakistan top the standings with eight points from their four games, so are assured of their place in the semi-finals.

India, who round off their Super 12 campaign against Namibia, are now on four points, two behind New Zealand, but they have a much better run rate of 1.62 compared to 1.28 for the Black Caps, who face Afghanistan (another side on fourth points) in their last game. It is all to play for.

A stunning 93 off 56 deliveries from Martin Guptill helped New Zealand to a 16-run victory over Scotland in the T20 World Cup Super 12 stage.

The Black Caps' quest for the semi-finals got off to a strong start as they set a target of 172 in Dubai.

Although they lost Daryl Mitchell (13) and captain Kane Williamson for a duck in the fifth over, Guptill steadied the ship with a supreme display of batting that included six fours and seven sixes.

Glenn Phillips managed 33 off 37 balls before he was caught off a good ball from Brad Wheal (2-40). Guptill fell at the next ball, a tired launch to long on comfortably caught by Calum MacLeod.

Scotland put up a spirited chase after Kyle Coetzer (17) was caught by Tim Southee. George Munsey (22) and Matthew Cross (27) spearheaded a brave batting display, the latter smashing five consecutive fours in the sixth over to put his side at 48-1.

When Munsey was caught superbly by Southee after hammering a full toss from Ish Sodhi (2-42), Scotland's resistance seemed to falter, Southee skittling Cross in the 11th over.

Michael Leask led a late charge with a brilliant 42 from 20 balls, but they could not stop New Zealand moving onto four points in the group.

Guptill greatness

Guptill's ruthless knock saw him become just the second batsman to reach 3,000 runs in T20 internationals after Virat Kohli.

Only four men have hit more sixes in the entire tournament this year than the 35-year-old managed in these innings alone.

Scotland show heart

Scotland have now gone three defeats in a row in this format for the first time since they lost four on the spin from January 2017 to June 2018.

Yet this was a spirited performance that should give them confidence ahead of Friday's showdown with India.

Namibia made a winning start to their T20 World Cup Super 12 campaign with a four-wicket victory over Scotland at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Scotland were bowled out for just 60 in their heavy loss to Afghanistan in their first Group 2 match but they at least got over the 100 mark on this occasion as they set Namibia a target of 110.

After losing George Munsey to the very first ball, Calum MacLeod and Richie Berrington followed soon after to the bowling of Ruben Trumpelmann without adding any runs to Scotland's tally.

With wickets falling fast, Michael Leask at least gave Scotland something to bat for with 44 runs off 27 balls as they reached 109-8.

Michael van Lingen made a positive start to Namibia's innings with 18 runs before being bowled out by Safyaan Sharif – making his 50th T20I appearance for Scotland – and Zane Green (9) was not far behind.

Craig Williams (23) and David Wiese (16) piled on further scores and, while Scotland did manage to take the game to the final over, JJ Smit (32 not out) got Namibia over the line with five balls to spare.

Namibia play their trump card

The writing was on the wall for Scotland when they lost three wickets for two runs in the first over, with player of the match Trumpelmann responsible for each of those.

He finished with 3-17 and watched on as his team-mates batted to victory with four wickets left to play with.

A new Leask of life

Scotland had just a glimmer of hope as a couple of Namibia wickets fell towards the end, but even that glimpse of a win would never have been possible if not for the earlier batting of Leask.

His stint was ended by Smit, who perhaps appropriately went on to seal the victory for Namibia with a six over point as the African minnows reached 115-6.

Afghanistan started their T20 World Cup Super 12 campaign in style with a 130-run rout of Scotland.

Having stunned Bangladesh en route to topping Group B to qualify for the Super 12, Scotland will have had hope of causing an upset in Sharjah.

However, any prospect of them doing so quickly diminished as Afghanistan dominated with bat and ball.

Hazratullah Zazai (44), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (46) and Najibullah Zadran (59) propelled Afghanistan to a total of 190-4 that always looked well beyond Scotland, who quickly wilted in the face of a mammoth chase.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman took career-best figures of 5-20 and Rashid Khan claimed 4-9 to bowl Scotland out for just 60.

The victory sees Afghanistan surge to the top of Group 2 at this early stage.

Afghanistan reach new heights

Scotland were swiftly on the back foot as Afghanistan piled on 55 runs for the loss of just one wicket in the powerplay and Mohammad Nabi's side did not let up.

Zazai and Zadran each cleared the rope three times and Gurbaz hit four sixes, the stand of 87 between the latter duo pivotal in Afghanistan posting their highest T20 World Cup score.

Scotland in a spin

Scotland's highest successful chase is 181 but they saw a promising early start fade badly as Afghanistan's spinners took hold.

George Munsey (25), captain Kyle Coetzer (10) and Chris Greaves (12) were the only players to reach double figures as Mujeeb and Rashid ripped through the line-up. A meeting with Namibia is Scotland's most realistic chance of a Super 12 win.

Jamaica Rugby League head coach Romeo Monteith was full of praise for the Reggae Warriors after their sensational rally to draw 30-30 with Scotland in their international match at the Millennium Stadium in Featherstone on Sunday.

The Reggae Warriors, trailing by 20 points, scored six tries to five and came back from 30-10 down two minutes into the second half, superbly led by Ashton Golding - starting at loose forward for the first time - and Izaac Farrell on debut.

“Today we created history again, everyone should be proud of this team. We showed great character to come back from 20 points down and get a result against the ninth-ranked team in the world,” Monteith told Sportsmax. TV.

“It was a game of two halves; the last 40 we really showed the toughness and resilience we are made of. We will continue to build towards the World Cup in 2022, and this was the perfect boost for the programme.”

Scotland was excellently served by St Helens-bound James Bell, Barrow’s Charlie Emslie posting a try double for them on his international bow.

Jamaica raced into a 10-0 lead with tries from Jymel Coleman and an 85-metre pick up by Ben Jones-Bishop after Sam Luckley had lost the ball, the Bravehearts then holding out Golding and Izaac Farrell and preventing Mo Agoro crossing in the corner with some outstanding goal-line defence.

Keenan Tomlinson was sin-binned in the 25th minute as Jamaica’s discipline let them down and Scotland hit back with Emslie’s first – from a fine pass by Bell – and further tries from Ross Oakes on the overlap, Ben Hellewell diving on a loose ball and Dale Ferguson, all converted by Lachlan Walmsley on his first international start – to lead 24-10 at the break.

Emslie’s second from a spilt high kick seemed to have the Scots firmly in charge, but Jones-Bishop grabbed his brace, Joe Brown went in on the hour and Jordan Andrade crashed to the posts with 15 minutes to go.

Ferguson was sent to the bin with five to go for a high tackle and, switching play on the last, Jamaica’s Alex Brown powered into the corner to level, Izzac Farrell’s conversion attempt just falling short.

In the final minute, Ryan Brierley’s drop goal attempt for the Scots was touched in flight and the Reggae Warriors held on from the resulting dropout.

“It was a tough game, Scotland played really well. The momentum shifted in the middle of the game when we had Keenen Tomlinson sent off. We started fantastic and stuck to what we wanted to do early on, but our kick finishes were a bit poor,” said Reggae Warriors coach Jermaine Coleman.

“We came out in the second half and showed commitment and togetherness that will be the main thing to get us through the World Cup. Our talk at halftime-e focused on what can control such as our tackles, our finished and our energy. Ultimately that showed in the second game and on the back of that we nearly won the game, we certainly can take a moral victory from the draw.”

Monteith said the team had to overcome a lot and the victory was a positive catalyst heading into 2022. “The result does a lot for our confidence, it reinforces our belief that we are on the right track despite the many challenges we face. We had two of our staff members quit just before we played these games, we had 8 players unavailable due to one thing or another, we couldn’t get domestic players or staff to England due to Covid, so to face all these challenges, and end the year with a tie against Scotland, we can build on this moment,” he said.

The Reggae Warriors are currently ranked 20th in the world and defeated Canada and USA in 2018 to become the first Caribbean nation to qualify for a Rugby League World Cup. The postponed 2021 Rugby League World Cup takes in 2022 from October 15 to November 19.

Scotland are heading to the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup after swatting aside Oman to earn a crushing eight-wicket win in their final Group B game.

After limiting Oman to 122 all out, Scotland coasted to victory with three overs to spare. Captain Kyle Coetzer hit three sixes in a 28-ball innings of 41, with Matthew Cross (26no) and Richie Berrington (31no) seeing Scotland home at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground in Oman, denying their hosts a chance to compete at the highest level.

Berrington clubbed Khawar Ali for a pair of sixes in the 14th over to ease Scotland's nerves and take them into three figures, and the same batsman lashed a four and another maximum off consecutive balls from Mohammad Nadeem to seal a resounding success.

Bangladesh earlier also made sure of their place in the Super 12 round as they thrashed Papua New Guinea by 84 runs, making 181-7 before bowling out their opponents for 97.

Mahmudullah made 50 for Bangladesh, while Shakib Al Hasan weighed in with 46 before taking 4-9 with the ball. Papua New Guinea were reduced at one stage to 29-7, making a Bangladesh victory a formality.

Scotland go through as group winners with a 100 per cent record, having beaten Bangladesh earlier in the campaign, and will tackle India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan and either Sri Lanka, Ireland or Namibia in Group Two as the elite sides enter the competition. Bangladesh must face Australia, England, South Africa, West Indies and the Group A winners, who are almost certain to be Sri Lanka.

The Super 12 group action gets under way on Saturday as Australia face South Africa in Abu Dhabi.

Jamaica director of rugby/head coach Romeo Monteith and lead coach Jermaine Coleman have named their 19-man squad for Sunday’s Test match with Scotland, at the Millennium Stadium in Featherstone.

The Reggae Warriors are looking to bounce back from last Friday’s defeat at the hands of England Knights, with international ranking points up for grabs against the Bravehearts as both nations look to measure their progress 12 months out from the Rugby League World Cup.

 Super League stars Ashton Golding and Michael Lawrence are once more included, whilst Sheffield Eagle Izaac Farrell and Bradford Bulls’ David Foggin-Johnston are also named and could possibly debut, although Jordan Turner is not available.

 “We are excited to face Scotland for the first time, they are ninth-ranked in the world, a strong team with a host of Super League players and should give us another stern test. We expect an exciting brand of open rugby from both teams which should be a treat for the fans. We picked up a few knocks in our game against England Knights, but these two weeks with consecutive matches against strong nations is exactly what we need to give us an idea of what it will be like in the World Cup,” said Monteith.

“These games are also important in introducing the team to more fans in the UK with the invitation for them to adopt us as their second favourite side for the tournament. It’s not lost on us either that we are inspiring young Jamaicans and West Indians in the UK to have a go at the sport, and this can only help to build our profile and possibilities for the future.”

 JAMAICA SQUAD:

 Greg Johnson (Batley Bulldogs), David Foggin-Johnston (Bradford), Jon Magrin, Keenen Tomlinson (Dewsbury Rams), Danny Bravo, Ross Peltier, (Doncaster), James Woodburn-Hall (Halifax Panthers) Ashton Golding, Michael Lawrence (Huddersfield Giants), Aaron Jones-Bishop, Alex Brown, Jordan Andrade, Jy-mel Coleman (Hunslet), Mo Agoro, (Keighley Cougars), Jacob Ogden (London Broncos) Izaac Farrell, Joel Farrell (Sheffield Eagles), Joe Brown (Workington Town), Ben Jones-Bishop (York City Knights)

Bangladesh avoided an early exit after their shock opening-day defeat by Scotland, beating Oman by 26 runs despite a late wobble.

The team ranked sixth in the world were bowled out by Oman for 153 from the final ball of their innings, recording just eight wickets for 52 runs in the last seven overs.

Bangladesh had started well, with Mohammad Naim managing 64 runs from 50 balls and Shakib Al Hasan registering 42 from 29, but the team crumbled after the latter's exit.

Oman were unable to capitalise, however, collapsing late on themselves with five wickets from five overs and ending on 127-9, having been 81-2.

The day's early game saw Scotland survive a scare of their own to earn their second victory of the tournament and move within one win of qualifying for the Super 12s stage.

Scotland beat Papua New Guinea by 17 runs, making 165-9 as Richie Berrington hit a half-century that included three sixes – one being the longest of the tournament at 97metres – as well as six fours.

However, the 14th-ranked side in the world fell apart after he and Callum McLeod exited in the 19th over, seeing three wickets fall from the final three balls.

Papua New Guinea were bowled out for 148 in the last over, though, falling to their second defeat of the competition after losing to Oman in their opening match.

Chris Greaves produced an instrumental performance to help Scotland deal an early dent to Bangladesh's hopes of progressing to the T20 World Cup Super 12 with a shock win.

A Scotland victory appeared extremely unlikely when they were reduced to 53-6 having been put into bat in Muscat.

However, Greaves' 28-ball 45 helped Scotland rebuild their innings, as they reached 140-9, in an innings that saw Shakib Al Hasan become the leading wicket-taker in T20 internationals, with two dismissals taking him to 108.

And Greaves was similarly key with ball in hand, his 2-19 comprising the key wickets of Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim.

Greaves broke up that duo's 47-run third-wicket partnership by removing Shakib for 20 and then benefited as Mushfiqur misjudged a scoop on 38 and lost his leg stump.

Brad Wheal (3-24) took a starring role from there, dismissing Nural Hasan (2) and Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah (23) in the space of four 19th-over deliveries.

Bangladesh were left needing 24 off the last over and that proved too steep a challenge as Scotland prevailed by six runs.

The day's earlier Group B game saw Oman cruise to a 10-wicket win over Papua New Guinea thanks in part to Jatinder Singh's 73.

With the 2021 Rugby League World Cup being postponed until late next year, Jamaica’s Reggae Warriors are set to play two internationals next month as the Jamaica Rugby League (JRL) intends to make the extra year count.

Patrik Schick's sensational long-range strike for the Czech Republic against Scotland has been voted Euro 2020's Goal of the Tournament.

The Bayer Leverkusen forward scored twice in the 2-0 win at Hampden Park on matchday one in the group stage, the second of those goals from just inside the Scotland half.

The goal was measured at 49.7 yards, making it the furthest distance a goal has been scored at the European Championship since such data was first recorded in 1980.

Schick spotted opposition goalkeeper David Marshall off his line and left the back-pedalling Scotsman red faced to overtake Torsten Frings' previous record of 38.6 yards for Germany against the Netherlands at Euro 2004.

Speaking after the match on June 14, Schick confirmed he had spotted Marshall off his line earlier in the contest and decided to have a go from range.

"I knew he liked to stay very high, so when the ball came, I quickly checked where he was standing, and it was a nice goal," he told BBC Sport. 

"I saw the keeper off his line. I checked already in the first half and thought maybe this situation will come."

The goal was voted the best from a shortlist of 10 compiled by UEFA's Technical Observer team, with nearly 800,000 votes being cast by the public.

Schick finished level with Cristiano Ronaldo as Euro 2020's top scorer with five goals in five games, but the Portugal superstar was awarded the Golden Boot as he also had one assist.

The 25-year-old's return of 81 minutes per goal was the third best of any player to have scored more than once in the tournament, behind Denmark's Kasper Dolberg (75.33) and Ronaldo (72).