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Who’s in? Who’s out? How every European nation made the World Cup finals

Source: ESPN

The group stage of European World Cup qualifying is complete, with only the playoffs left to decide the final three places at Qatar 2022.

QUALIFIED: GermanyDenmark, BelgiumFrance, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, EnglandSwitzerland, Netherlands

PLAYOFFS: Scotland, Wales, Czech Republic, Austria, RussiaNorth MacedoniaSweden, Portugal, PolandItaly, UkraineTurkey

– UEFA World Cup playoff system explained
– World Cup 2022 qualifying: How it works around the world

Here’s how the 10 groups played out.

GROUP A

Group A

GPWDLGDPTS
1 – Serbia8620+920
2 – Portugal8511+1117
1st qualifies, 2nd into playoffs

A stunning turnaround in Lisbon as Portugal threw away an early lead and a direct place at the World Cup finals.

Renato Sanches netted on two minutes, only for Dusan Tadic to equalise just after the half hour. And the real drama came in the 90th minute, as Aleksandar Mitrovic scored the goal to win the group.

Portugal are seeded in the playoff draw.

GROUP B

Group B

GPWDLGDPTS
1 – Spain8511+1019
2 – Sweden8503+615
1st qualifies, 2nd into playoffs

Spain had a worrying time against Sweden, needing a point to advance to the finals, before Alvaro Morata calmed the nerves with what proved to be an 86th-minute winner.

Spain go direct the the World Cup finals, while Sweden enter the playoffs.

Sweden are seeded in the playoff draw.

– UEFA WC qualifiers on ESPN+: Stream games, replays (U.S. only)
– Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access

GROUP C

Group C

GPWDLGDPTS
1 – Switzerland8530+1318
2 – Italy8440+1116
1st qualifies, 2nd into playoffs

Switzerland scored three second-half goals at home Bulgaria to get the 3-0 win they needed to put pressure on Italy.

The European champions couldn’t respond, held to a goalless draw away to Northern Ireland.

It means Switzerland qualify for the World Cup and, just like in qualifying for the 2018 edition, Italy must go through the playoffs. Roberto Mancini’s team will be seeded in those playoffs.

GROUP D

Group D

GPWDLGDPTS
1 – France8530+1518
2 – Ukraine8260+312
1st qualifies, 2nd into playoffs

France had sealed their place in the finals on Saturday, so on the last day it was all about the runners-up spot.

Finland had it in their own hands, but they fell to a 2-0 loss at home to France.

That opened the door for Ukraine, who won 2-0 away to Bosnia and Herzegovina to steal into second place. They will be unseeded in the playoffs.

GROUP E

Group E

GPWDLGDPTS
1 – Belgium8620+1920
2 – Wales8431+515
1st qualifies, 2nd into playoffs

Belgium qualified for the World Cup with their 3-1 win at home to Estonia at the weekend.

Wales and Czech Republic were already assured of a playoff place via the UEFA Nations League so the last day was about finishing second and hopefully being seeded in that draw.

Wales were losing at home to Belgium, but Kieffer Moore earned the 1-1 draw which confirmed the Welsh would be one of the best runners-up.

Although the Czechs beat Estonia 2-0, they will be unseeded in the playoffs.

– UEFA World Cup playoff system explained

GROUP F

Group F

GPWDLGDPTS
1 – Denmark10901+2727
2 – Scotland10721+1023
1st qualifies, 2nd into playoffs

Denmark qualified but missed out on finishing with a 100% record after defeat to Scotland in their last game.

That victory was crucial for Scotland, and it means they will be seeded in the playoff draw.

Austria didn’t finish inside the top two, but are guaranteed of being unseeded in the playoffs as a UEFA Nations League group winner.

GROUP G

Group G

GPWDLGDPTS
1 – Netherlands10721+2523
2 – Turkey10631+1121
1st qualifies, 2nd into playoffs

Netherlands finally booked their place in the World Cup finals, but it took two late goals to be absolutely sure.

The Dutch would have been knocked out had Norway scored in Eindhoven, but goals from Steven Bergwijn and Memphis Depay in the last six minutes sealed safe passage.

Turkey held on to second place ahead of Norway with a 2-1 win in Montenegro, but they will be unseeded in the playoffs.

GROUP H

Group H

GPWDLGDPTS
1 – Croatia10621+1623
2 – Russia10612+1322
1st qualifies, 2nd into playoffs

Croatia got the win they needed against Russia in split to climb above their visitors and top the group.

Fedor Kudryashov scored an own goal in the 81st minute to give Croatia and 1-0 win.

Russia will have to go through the playoffs, where they will be seeded.

GROUP I

Group I

GPWDLGDPTS
1 – England10820+3626
2 – Poland10622+1920
1st qualifies, 2nd into playoffs

England cruised to the World Cup on the final day, winning 10-0 away to San Marino.

But it wasn’t such good news for Poland, who had already qualified for the playoffs but lost their final match 2-1 at home to Hungary.

That defeat meant Poland would be unseeded in the playoffs.

GROUP J

Group J

GPWDLGDPTS
1 – Germany10901+3227
2 – N Macedonia10532+1218
1st qualifies, 2nd into playoffs

Germany had already secured their place in October, leaving the playoff place up for grabs this month.

North Macedonia were in danger of throwing it away, drawing 1-1 at home to Iceland, before two goals from Eljif Elmas gave them victory and a place in the playoffs.

However, North Macedonia will be unseeded in the playoff draw so face an away semifinal.

HOW THE PLAYOFFS WORK

The 10 runners-up from the groups are joined by the best two UEFA Nations League group winners not to have finished in the top two of their qualifying group.

EDITOR’S PICKS

  • Southgate unleashes attacking talent, but England fall short of expectations35dJames Olley
  • Chile hope England-born Ben Brereton Diaz can salvage World Cup hopes35dTim Vickery
  • Neymar, Messi close in on what could be their last World Cup37dTim Vickery

We now know that Austria and whoever misses out on the top two from Group E between Czech Republic and Wales will qualify via the Nations League.

The playoffs, to be played in March 2022, will be seeded by qualifying points, with the two UEFA Nations League teams unseeded. The draw takes place on Friday, Nov. 26.

– Portugal could face Italy in World Cup playoffs

Seeded teams will be drawn at home against unseeded teams, to play one-legged semifinals.

SEEDED: Portugal, Scotland, Italy, Russia, Sweden, Wales
UNSEEDED: Turkey, Poland, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Austria, Czech Republic

The finals will see the winners of SF1 play SF2, SF3 vs. SF4 and SF5 vs. SF6. There will be a draw, also on Nov. 26, to determine the home team in each final path.

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The competition of simulation in motorsport development

Salman Safdar, subject matter expert at Ansible Motion

The automotive and motorsport industries have long been driven by the relentless pursuit of performance, efficiency and innovation and as these sectors evolve, so do the tools and technologies that support them.

Among these, Driver-in-the-Loop (DIL) simulation stands out as a transformative force, offering unprecedented opportunities for development, testing and optimisation. From motorsport through to broader automotive OEM applications, the integration of advanced simulation tools is undoubtedly accelerating progress and redefining the boundaries of what’s possible.

At the heart of all effective simulation is the interaction between humans and technology. High-fidelity simulators provide drivers with realistic feedback that closely matches what they would experience in the real world – an approach that’s vital for optimising performance and gaining that all-important competitive edge.

The ability to simulate multiple racing cars and series underscores the versatility of modern simulators. By allowing extensive and varied test programs to be conducted in a controlled environment, teams can make quick setup changes, explore various chassis configurations, and understand track conditions without the expense and time constraints of on-track testing. This not only strengthens the collaboration between drivers and engineers but also enhances the overall development process.

Only recently, topflight motorsport teams Penske Autosport and Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC) announced their respective investments in DIL simulation – with HRC upgrading its simulator in time for this year’s Indianapolis 500.

Capable of replicating the current Dallara-Honda Indy car, Acura ARX-06 hybrid GTP machine and a variety of Honda and Acura concept racing vehicles, Ben Schmitt, head of the Vehicle Performance Group at HRC US explains in the firm’s official press release: “The new simulator is superior in every way to our original DIL simulator. The vehicle physics models have continued to evolve from the original simulator, including the tyre models, and our data acquisition capabilities are exponentially higher than previously. The new motion platform, cockpit and vision systems create a vehicle dynamics experience for the drivers that is our closest recreation yet of real-world conditions.”

Realism is also key for those competing in the FIA ABB Formula E Championship – providing a data-rich environment where drivers can learn track layouts, optimise energy management strategies, and experiment with different race scenarios.

When it comes to gaining a competitive edge – on and off the track – engineers and drivers are looking for tools they can trust, and DIL offers the ability to replay and analyse multiple scenarios repeatedly, via a truly immersive experience that mirrors real-world conditions. However, engineers also need the capability to connect with a vehicle’s onboard powertrain ECUs via Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) and Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) systems – integration which facilitates the validation of critical components such as torque maps and electro-mechanical driver controls, ensuring that both the hardware and software are finely tuned before hitting the track.

One of the standout features of contemporary simulation environments is their ability to integrate with other advanced tools such as engineering-grade visual simulation environments – crucial for teams that need to adapt quickly to changing conditions. For example, there’s no need to wait for a real rainstorm because weather variations can be conjured up with the touch of a button; multiple tyres can be driven in rapid succession; a virtual racetrack can even be set up to loop one particularly critical track segment continuously.

While motorsport often leads in adopting cutting-edge technologies, the benefits of simulation extend well beyond the circuit. Automotive manufacturers are increasingly leveraging simulation to enhance vehicle development processes, reduce costs, shorten development cycles and reduce the environmental impacts inherent in the traditional build-and-test approach.

As the automotive and motorsport industries continue to evolve, the role of simulation will only become more critical thanks to its ability to provide a controlled, repeatable, and data-rich testing environment that is flexible as well as sustainable.

Whether it’s mastering the intricacies of a demanding street circuit or refining the dynamics of a new road car, simulation offers unparalleled opportunities to innovate and excel. As we look to the future, the seamless integration of these tools will undoubtedly expedite progress and set new standards for excellence in both motorsport and automotive development.

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Sports

Intelligent Automation and Football: How Lessons from the Pitch can Enhance Automation Initiatives

Neil Murphy, CSO, ABBYY 

Football is the most watched sport in the world, with an international passion for the game resulting in some unexpected intersections of culture and commerce. Ted Lasso follows an American football coach’s journey to leading an English Premier League team. Although Ted’s endearing quips and southern drawl might have been mere comedic caricature, the trope of westerners meddling in European football is no longer just fiction.

American actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds bought English football club Wrexham AFC in November of 2020 for £2m, funding the club’s return to the English Football League for the first time since their relegation over a decade prior. More recently in May of 2023, professional American athletes J.J. and Kealia Watt became minority owners of Burnley Football Club in England.

Now, ABBYY is partnering with Arsenal Women’s Football Club, elevating the trend of western investment from just wealthy individuals to notable technology enterprises.

As enthusiasm for football continues to grow worldwide, these intersections become inevitable, but they’re much more than household celebrity names or mere sponsorship deals. On the surface, using advanced AI within automation solutions might seem like a concept far removed from the sport of football – but this technology has much more in common with what occurs on the pitch than you might think.

Strategy and intent – moving with a purpose

Football is all about control. Without a proper strategy in mind, the ball could easily be taken by a defender, or fall into the hands of the goalkeeper, turning the tide of the game against you in an instant.

Similarly, implementing automation without a clear objective or understanding of your organisation’s current processes will not always yield desirable results. Without proper visibility, you could unintentionally make a bottleneck more visible to the customer, dampening their experience without any gains in efficiency. This isn’t uncommon – 70% of automation attempts fail due to unclear goals.

Understanding your scoring strategy from end to end is crucial to maintain control over your processes, which requires deep familiarity with both your team dynamics and individual traits. Process intelligence, or the practice of driving process improvement through use of advanced data analytics,enables this visibility by combining process mining and task mining into a unified, AI-enhanced platform. While task mining examines individuals’ workflows like clicks and keystrokes, process mining scrutinises the larger holistic process. Much like understanding individual football players’ mechanical skill such as footwork, positioning, and ball control as well as how each player interacts with one another is key to devising an informed strategy, combining insights from task and process mining yields the most contextually accurate model of how a process or workflow can be improved.

Proving it on the pitch

Football fans’ expectations for their respective clubs can reach astronomical heights in the off season, often fueled by the acquisition of up-and-coming talent. While new promises of success can be exciting, not every team will perform as well as we expect them to.

The intelligent automation market experiences a similar trend. The constant upcropping of startup vendors trying to capitalise on the hype train of AI can be overwhelming, with each of them boasting unprecedented potential for efficiency gains without ever having experienced the real pressures of operating a modern enterprise. On the other hand, massive tech-giants will try to leverage their brand recognition and resources to win you over, despite their unfamiliarity and overall detachment from your specific business needs.

It’s unadvisable to jump the gun and sign the rising star that promises to transform your operations without any gametime experience, just as it’s unwise to shell out cash to the household name with an illustrious legacy that’s becoming weak in the knees and slow to keep up. When selecting a provider of intelligent automation solutions, you need to prioritise both innovation and experience, and most importantly, an understanding of and commitment to your organisation’s needs. Haphazardly filling your tech stack with every new tool that promises to yield the best value from AI will create a cacophony of platforms, inhibiting efficiency – take care in selecting your solutions and choose those that have proven their worth in the context of the modern enterprise.

Improving outcomes and predictability through training

There’s no denying that “practice makes perfect.” Dribbling, passing, corner-kicks; even professional players practice the basics every day to stay sharp and dependable on the pitch.

Intelligent document processing (IDP), or the application of AI and machine learningto understand, process, and extract insights from business-critical documents like a human, works similarly. By processing volumes of documents, it hones its accuracy in extracting key information over time. This improves its straight-through processing rate, or the rate at which it can process a document with 100% accuracy without any manual intervention. Leveraging IDP allows professionals to spend less time on repetitive, monotonous manual data entry, empowering them to focus on more fulfilling or customer-facing tasks.

But what if there are more advanced or specific skills you’d like to cultivate within your team, such as bicycle kicks or intricate passing maneuvers? The answer is simple – drill those specific skills, giving your team even more versatility.

With IDP, you can augment your platform with pre-trained document skills that are developed to handle a multitude of specific documents that might be crucial to the full scope of your business. From hyper-specific government forms in Japan that vary per district to US tax forms with seemingly countless variables, IDP can be trained to extract actionable data with staggering accuracy.

Weaving a strong fabric

In sport and business, teamwork is everything. Just as Ted Lasso worked tirelessly to fix Richmond’s tumultuous team culture to bring out the best in his players and weave a strong fabric from their strengths, intelligent automation solutions help drive progress forward at a unified pace.

Adopting a unified suite of automation technology ensures that no facet of your operations will fall behind. It’s impossible to fully benefit from the visibility and insight enabled by process intelligence if you don’t have the technological capability to improve cumbersome document-centric processes. On the other hand, it’s difficult and unadvisable to leverage IDP haphazardly without evaluating where it is most needed.

Bringing the victory home

Intelligent automation and the sport of football couldn’t be any more different on paper, but those with a keen eye for strategy, teamwork, and culture will see the value in applying these to innovation. Implementing intelligent automation doesn’t have to be dauntingly ambiguous – with the right coach at the helm and the right players on the metaphorical pitch, you can assure victory for your organisation.

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Lifestyle

Exploring the psychological impacts of a two-month, solo Antarctic expedition

Next month, British explorer Sam Cox will spend two months, completely alone, trekking across one of the Earth’s last true wildernesses – Antarctica.

While travelling 2,000km across snow and ice requires a huge amount of physical endurance, the mental impacts of this journey are perhaps, even more significant.

Alexandra de Carvalho from the Austrian Space Forum will be working closely with Sam pre- and post-expedition, to understand the psychological impacts of the journey.

 “The first thing to consider is the sheer isolation of this challenge. Two months with extremely minimal human contact is not something to be underestimated,” she said.

“Our work is mainly concerned with space, and people usually think that space is more distant than Antarctica, but actually it’s not true. It’s much easier sometimes to come back from space, to come back to Earth if there’s an emergency.

“More people have gone into space than trekked to the South Pole.

“To come back to the mainland from Antarctica can be extremely difficult, which exacerbates that feeling of distance. You cannot just be evacuated if you want.”

The only link Sam will have to the outside world is a beacon plotting his incremental location in case of emergency, and very limited communications via satphone.

Alexandra added: “Separated from family and friends, this kind of study will help to really understand more about the psychology of people.

“In fact, this is the main reason we were so keen to work with Sam. He’s in a very special situation, being alone with nobody to share his feelings with, nobody to share his thoughts with.

“It’s rare that scientists can study subjects that are completely isolated for this amount of time, let alone in conditions as extreme as those in Antarctica.

“We really want to get an idea how a person emotionally regulates in this kind of scenario.”

Sam will be taking daily voice recordings of the experiences and emotions he’s feeling during this period of extreme isolation.

Alexandra said: “For this research to be useful, it’s really important that we hear frequent and specific audio diary entries from Sam.

“It’s common for people to look back on an experience like this and say – it was stressful, but it was nice – which is not precise enough for us.

“We’re using audio equipment to make this as accessible for Sam as possible – writing could be a challenge in extremely low temperatures.

“In similar studies, we’ve asked participants to keep written diaries as the fear of being overheard by other participants might stunt their honestly, but that’s not going to be an issue with Sam, since he’ll be completely alone.”

There will be other psychological challenges for Sam, as well as isolation.

Sam said: “An important thing to consider is the 24-hour daylight, and how my body will adapt to that.

“Because I’m travelling during Antarctica’s summer months, the sun will never actually set, meaning my circadian rhythm is likely to get pretty confused.

“A lack of sleep could be detrimental to my physical and mental well-being, so it’s something I’m having to prepare for.”

Alexandra said: “Sensory deprivation could also be a challenge. It’s an interesting environment, but it’s very monotonous, so it depends on the person and how they perceive it.

“For example, Sam might find it interesting to have the colour green. While other people would be fascinated by the sky and the sea, he might be like wow – I really miss the forest and more complex environments.”

Alexandra continued: “This research is not only helping us understand the emotional impact of extreme environments, but it’s helping us understand the type of person that’s suitable for working in these remote places.

“We want to know how people feel in these environments, which emotions are more dominant? How do these people deal with that?

“When people are stationed in distant locations, either from Earth or in polar expeditions, they have to be really trained to deal with their feelings autonomously.

“But we can only do that by understanding when happens within a person and what they’re likely to feel so we can prepare them beforehand. You can prepare, but you cannot run away from your emotions.”

Sam leaves the UK for Antarctica on 24th October, with plans to complete the expedition by mid-January.

He has been supported by Team Forces and Resilient Nutrition to embark on this epic adventure.

For more information, follow Sam on www.frozendagger.co.uk

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