Bosnia, Czechia win shootouts as octet reach play-off finals
Denmark, Italy, Kosovo, Poland, Sweden and Türkiye also won their European play-off semi-finals to move one step away from FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification.
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Czechia rallied to win dramatic shootouts and move one step away from FIFA World Cup 2026™ qualification. Both trailed in normal time and on penalties against Wales and Republic of Ireland respectively.
Bosnia and Herzegovina will play Italy, who sunk Northern Ireland, in Zenica for a ticket to North America, while Czechia will welcome rampant Denmark to Prague.
Elsewhere, Viktor Gyokeres hit a hat-trick as Sweden saw off Ukraine in their Path B semi-final. They will now host Poland, who came from behind to see off Albania. Kosovo and Türkiye, for their part, will collide in Pristina in the Path C decider.
Path A
Wales 1-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina (2-4 PSO)
Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff
Wales goal: James (51)
Bosnia and Herzegovina goal: Dzeko (86)
Kerim Alajbegovic netted the decisive penalty as Bosnia and Herzegovina advanced to the final.
Harry Wilson enjoyed the only chance of the first half, with his curling effort crashing back off the post. The game exploded into life after the break, though, as Daniel James powered in between two Bosnian defenders and thundered a 30-yard drive beyond Nikola Vasilj. He could have had a second shortly after, but saw his close-range effort hit the bar.
Down the other end, Bosnia almost levelled when Ermedin Demirovic was denied by a stunning one-handed save by Karl Darlow. The equaliser wasn't far away, however, as Edin Dzeko headed home his 73rd international goal from a Alajbegovic corner.
Penalties decided the contest. After both sides had failed to convert one apiece, Neco Williams was denied by Vasilj, allowing Alajbegovic to slot home the winner. Sergej Barbarez’s men will advance to the final with Italy. The winner of that tie will contest Group B at the World Cup with Canada, Switzerland and Qatar.
Italy 2-0 Northern Ireland
Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia, Bergamo
Italy goals: Tonali (56), Kean (80)
Italy saw off a spirited Northern Ireland side to secure a final spot. The Azzurri dominated possession from the outset but struggled to carve out regular goalscoring opportunities in the first half. The closest they came was when Federico Dimarco’s drive was beaten away by goalkeeper Pierce Charles.
Gennaro Gattuso’s men upped the ante after the interval and, after a spell of sustained pressure, Sandro Tonali made the breakthrough. The Newcastle United midfielder seized on a loose ball and lashed in from the edge of the area to send the home fans into raptures. Kean’s precision left-footed finish then put the result beyond doubt.
Italy, who have failed to qualify for the past two World Cups, are now just one victory away from returning to the greatest show on earth. If they win their play-off final against Bosnia and Herzegovina, they will join Group B with Canada, Switzerland and Qatar.
“We had a bit of a replay of the Estonia match here in Bergamo. The first half was a bit different because we created a bit less today, but we were up against a very physical team that played on second balls, on loose balls. We’d struggled with that lately, so we still did well to make the most of our chances.”
Sandro Tonali, Italy midfielder
Path B
Poland 2-1 Albania
PGE Narodowy, Warsaw
Albania goal: Hoxha (42)
Poland goals: Lewandowski (63), Zielinski (73)
Poland rallied from behind to set up a Sweden showdown. Arber Hoxha put Albania ahead against the run of play, and Juljan Shehu spurned a gilt-edged chance to make it two, firing over when sent through.
It was the wake-up call Jan Urban’s team required. After a spell of pressure, Robert Lewandowski equalised with his 89th international goal. Piotr Zielinski then struck a superb winner from 25 yards. The final whistle was greeted with rapturous applause by the Polish fans.
They are now one step away from reaching a third World Cup in succession. The prize for the Sweden-Poland victors will be the company of Japan, the Netherlands and Tunisia in Group F.
Ukraine 1-3 Sweden
Estadi Ciutat de Valencia, Valencia
Ukraine goal: Ponomarenko (90)
Sweden goal: Gyokeres (6, 51 & pen 73)
Viktor Gyokeres scored a stunning hat-trick as Sweden took a major step towards a World Cup return and dashed Ukraine’s play-off dreams once again.
The Scandinavians took the lead after just six minutes when Gyokeres converted from close range after a clever through-ball from Benjamin Nygren. After Gabriel Gudmundsson clipped the outside of the post, Gyokeres doubled Sweden’s lead early in the second half when he latched on to a deep, bouncing pass from goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt, who was making his first international appearance in five years, and found the net in style.
The Arsenal frontman was then brought down by Ukraine goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin for a penalty, which he hammered home for a terrific treble. Matvii Ponomarenko pulled a goal back for Ukraine in stoppage time, but it was a mere consolation.
Graham Potter’s men will now have home advantage against Poland, with the winners joining Group F at the global finals alongside Japan, the Netherlands and Tunisia.
“Gyokeres was great and made the difference tonight. He showed his quality, why he plays for Arsenal and why he is one of the best strikers in Europe.”
Serhiy Rebrov, Ukraine coach
Path C
Slovakia 3-4 Kosovo
Narodny Futbalovy Stadion, Bratislava
Slovakia goal: Valjent (6), Haraslin (45), Strelec (90+4)
Kosovo goal: Hodza (21), Asllani (47), Muslija (60), Hajrizi (72)
Kosovo moved one step closer to a maiden World Cup appearance with a stunning semi-final win over Slovakia. The home side made a dream start when Lukas Haraslin’s cross was met by Martin Valjent, who headed in his first international goal. Kosovo responded impressively and hit back through Veldin Hodza’s fine bending effort. Slovakia forged again on the stroke of half-time, though, with Haraslin’s free-kick evading everyone in the box and curling into the net.
Kosovo came out flying after the break and levelled through a superb Fisnik Asllani header, before Florent Muslija’s well-placed free-kick made it 3-2. Kreshnik Hajrizi’s emphatic close-range finish gave the visitors a two-goal cushion and, while David Strelec gave Slovakia hope with a stoppage-time strike, Kosovo held out to secure victory.
Kosovo will host Türkiye in their play-off final on Tuesday, with the winners of that match joining USA, Paraguay and Australia in World Cup Group C.
Türkiye 1-0 Romania
Vodafone Park, Istanbul
Türkiye goal: Kadioglu (53)
Ferdi Kadioglu was the hero as Türkiye edged a resolute Romania in their Path C semi-final. After a relatively even first half, a moment of brilliance proved the difference in the second. Arda Guler collected the ball on the right and floated an inch-perfect pass into the onrushing Kadioglu, who took a touch and tucked it through the legs of Ionut Radu.
Kenan Yildiz came close to doubling the lead, but his shot from the left clipped the crossbar. It was Romania’s turn to hit the woodwork with ten minutes left on the clock, as Nicolae Stanciu‘s side-footed effort cannoned off the inside of the left-hand post.
The Crescent Stars will face Kosovo away in the play-off final. The winner of that tie will join Group D at the World Cup, alongside Australia, Paraguay and USA.
“I’m happy with the performance. I knew it wouldn’t be easy. We knew that against such tight-knit opponents, we knew we’d have to be dynamic and make runs. I’m very happy with Ferdi’s run and the goal we scored thanks to Arda’s excellent pass.”
Vincenzo Montella, Turkiye coach
Path D
Czechia 2-2 Republic of Ireland (4-3 PSO)
Sinobo Stadium, Prague
Czechia goal: Schick pen (27), Krejci (86)
Republic of Ireland goals: Parrott pen (19), Kovar OG (23)
Czechia will face off against Denmark for a World Cup spot after edging Republic of Ireland on penalties at the end of a thrilling end-to-end contest in Prague.
The Irish drew first blood when Nathan Collins, who had earlier rattled the crossbar, earned a penalty from which Troy Parrot – the team’s goalscoring hero in qualifying – fired home decisively.
Things went from bad to worse for the hosts four minutes later when a poorly defender corner ended with goalkeeper Matej Kovar scoring a calamitous own goal. But Patrik Schick halved the deficit soon after with another coolly dispatched spot kick, and Ladislav Krejci headed an 86th-minute equaliser to force extra time.
Penalties were required to settle the outcome, and after Kovar earned redemption by saving from Finn Azaz and Alan Browne, Jan Kliment sparked Prague delirium with an outstanding winning kick.
Denmark 4-0 North Macedonia
Parken Stadium, Copenhagen
Denmark goals: Damsgaard (49), Isaksen (58 & 59), Eriksen (75)
Denmark ran riot following the restart to cruise into the decider. Brian Riemer’s charges dominated the first half, but failed to find a way past Stole Dimitrievski.
The goals, however, rained down thereafter. Mikkel Damsgaard fired home a loose ball to break the deadlock, before setting up Gustav Isaksen for the second. The latter was on target again 92 seconds later following a purposeful burst from Victor Froholdt.
The Danes continued to press for more, with Damsgaard at the heart of everything, and added a fourth through Christian Eriksen. They will now encounter Czechia, against whom they have not lost in seven games and 22 years.