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Bosnia and Herzegovina v Italy: World Cup playoff goes to penalties – live | World Cup 2026 qualifiers
Key events
PENALTIES: Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-1 Italy. Bajraktarević aims for the bottom right … and though Donnarumma guesses correctly, and gets a hand to it, the ball squirts in! Bosnia and Herzegovina are going to the 2026 World Cup!
PENALTIES: Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-1 Italy. Now it’s Cristante for Italy. Another must-score. But he clatters a rising shot down the middle off the underside of the bar, and back out! Italy on the brink! Yet again!
PENALTIES: Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-1 Italy. Alajbegović, 18, steps up. Bottom left. Donnarumma the wrong way. Cool as. He’s 18!
PENALTIES: Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-1 Italy. Tonali whistles a fine spot kick into the bottom left. How Italy needed that.
PENALTIES: Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 Italy. Tabaković, whose equaliser took us all here, is up next for the hosts. One step, two steps, and a sweep into the top right. Donnarumma went the right way, but had no chance!
PENALTIES: Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0 Italy. Esposito first for the Azzurri. He does the tippy-toes … then skies it. Advantage Bosnia and Herzegovina!
PENALTIES: Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0 Italy. Tahirović up first. He whips a perfect penalty into the bottom left, having sent Donnarumma the wrong way.
Sergej Barbarez and Gennaro Gattuso embrace. That’s nice to see, ahead of certain heartbreak for one of them. Fireworks explode in the background, a constant rhythm as both teams prepare to meet their fate. Bosnia and Herzegovina to go first.
Bosnia and Herzegovina aren’t happy about the referee whistling before one last free kick could be launched into the Italian box. But there were only about two seconds remaining anyway. However, that’s the least of their concerns, because Dzeko landed awkwardly after that Frattesi challenge, and he’s really hurt his shoulder. He stays down for some time, before finally getting back up. But he’s holding it gingerly. An ice pack on it now. An unwelcome extra twist for the hosts.
FULL TIME, EXTRA TIME: Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-1 Italy
Nope! The whistle goes before the free kick can be taken. Penalties it is!
ET 30 min +1: A long ball into the Italian half. Donnarumma comes miles out of his box to kick clear. Dzeko dribbles back into Italian territory. Frattesi unceremoniously takes him out. Yellow card. Time for one last free kick, launched into the Italian mixer?
ET 30 min: Sixty seconds between Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, and penalties.
ET 29 min: … the ball’s worked back to Tahirović, on the edge of the D. He threads a shot inches wide of the right-hand post. Not sure Donnarumma was getting to that! That’s Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 30th attempt on goal. Italy have taken nine.
ET 28 min: Esposito clears the corner. But the hosts come straight back at Italy, Burnić released into acres down the left. His low cross is hooked out by Mancini. That had to happen, because Dzeko was waiting in the middle, six yards out. Then from the corner …
ET 27 min: Burnić crosses poorly from the left. Cristante’s clearance is no good, and Burnić gets another go. His low cross this time forces Mancini into the concession of a corner.
ET 25 min: Demirović is replaced by Hadžiahmetović, a defensive move by the hosts. Nobody wants to fall at the final hurdle now.
ET 24 min: Tonali zips down the left flank and is crudely flipped into the air by Katic’s sliding challenge. That’s cynical, late, and worthy of the booking Katic receives.
ET 23 min: Frattesi eventually gets back up. Then there’s some nonsense before the corner. Then after it’s finally taken, and half-cleared, Alajbegović dribbles a poor shot straight at Donnarumma, and the pressure on Italy is released. For a moment.
ET 21 min: Alajbegović batters a shot into Frattesi’s back. Then Burnic deflects the ball off the same white shirt. It goes out for a corner. Before it can be taken, Frattesi goes down to catch a breath.
ET 19 min: Bajraktarević whips a vicious cross in from the right. Dzeko, under surveillance from Mancini, can’t get to the ball at the far stick. Goal kick. The tension is almost unbearable. Goodness knows what it feels like if you support one of these sides.
ET 17 min: Dedic crosses from the right. Bajraktarević attempts a scissor kick that goes wide. Italy counter, and Esposito spins into space on the edge of the box. His low shot is deflected wide right by Muharemović. Nothing comes of the corner.
ET 16 min: Alajbegović sends a couple of Italians off to the shops for a copy of La Gazzetta dello Sport with a cheeky drop of a shoulder. The cross isn’t all that, though.
Bosnia and Herzegovina get the second half of extra time going. Penalties loom in the middle distance.
“The really, really gutting thing is; Wales could absolutely have beaten this Italy,” sighs Matt Dony. “Ah well. Always next time. Again.”
HALF TIME, EXTRA TIME: Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-1 Italy
Italy still fuming over the lack of a red card for Muharemović. Donnarumma spoiling for an argument, and maybe even a fight, with someone in the Bosnia and Herzegovina camp. He’s dragged away before he can make things worse for Italy.
ET 15 min +2: … and nothing comes of the resulting corner. That’s as dangerous as Italy have looked all night.
ET 15 min +1: … sends a low drive witlessly into the wall. But Italy recover the rebound. Palestra skedaddles down the right and crosses long. Esposito rises at the far stick and heads goalwards from a tight angle. But Vasilj parries at point-blank range! What a save!
ET 15 min: The free kick, then, to the right of the D. Tonali stands over it. And …
ET 14 min: Not that the Italian bench is letting it lie quite yet. Performative discussions continue.
ET 13 min: Nope. Muharemović is spared. Just a yellow, due to Burnic being right next to the incident. Italy aren’t happy, as you can imagine. But that decision is going to stand.
ET 12 min: Tonali goes long. A sweet pass down the middle. Palestra gets in between, and ahead of, both Muharemović and Burnic. Muharemović extends a leg and clips his man. A free kick … and a sending off?
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World Cup 2026 playoffs: Sweden v Poland, Czech Republic v Denmark, Kosovo v Turkey – live | World Cup 2026 qualifiers
Key events
Sweden 0-0 Poland: Denmark have the ball in the box but Lewandowski cannot get a good strike on the ball after an awkward tackle from Starfelt, who has hurt himself in the process.
Kári gets in touch:
It was only one match, but on Thursday it really felt like Sweden are back to being Sweden again under Potter. At their best, they combine imagination and flair with the kind of solid ruggedness that saps the will of their opponents. Sportswriter Charles Boehm once called Sweden “the walking manifestation of that sinking feeling that it’s not going to be your day”, which can’t be improved on.
I could never quite measure up to Boehm – quite the wordsmith – if we are being frank. Maybe he would compare me to Sweden right now, who have not offered much but are trying their best in front of their home crowd.
Kosovo 0-0 Turkey: The visitors are a whisker away from opening the scoring but two good blocks are made after Calhanoglu’s shot. Turkey have to settle for a corner but Kosovo deal with the danger.
Czech Republic 1-0 Denmark: So far, this is the game to watch. Hojlund blazes forward and has a go from a tight angle on the left but Kovar makes the low save.
GOAL! Czech Republic 1-0 Denmark (Sulc 3)
The hosts light a fuse in Prague!! The hosts win their second corner in the third minute. Coufal delivers and it is cleared to Sulc, who isn’t picked up at the edge of the box. He takes his chance to strike it beautifully first time and it sails into the top corner! Dream start for Czech Republic!
Kick-offs: Here we go! Winners of each of these games will book their spot at the 2026 World Cup in Canada, the United States and Mexico.
The teams are out and the national anthems are being sung … Kick-off in less than five minutes across the grounds. Great atmospheres across the board in Pristina, Solna and Prague.
Bosnia and Herzegovina v Italy: Reminder, you can follow along the fourth European playoff final with Scott Murray below.
Kosovo v Turkey: The hosts nation only became Fifa members in 2016 and a win today would secure their first-ever World Cup finals place and complete a qualification campaign that has become a rallying cry for national pride.
“It gets emotional thinking about the conditions we faced,” Samir Ujkani says. Kosovo would often train on a rutted pitch at the crumbling Kek stadium outside Pristina, directly beneath the belching Obiliq power plants that have been listed among the most polluting in Europe. On other occasions they would make a three-hour round trip to Mitrovica, where the Haiti game took place, for a single session. “We didn’t care, we did it all and nobody complained. And I’m so proud of what the team are achieving now.”
This is a country where public matches were banned by Serbian authorities in the 1990s after the breakup of Yugoslavia. It is a place where football became the most luxurious of afterthoughts as a brutal, appalling war wrought unimaginable trauma at the end of that decade. When Kosovo rose and stood alone, sport became more important than ever in its capacity to project a fresh, serious, accomplished face to the world.
Read the full features from Nick Ames and Jack Snape below.
Kosovo v Turkey: Dreaming of a World Cup debut, Kosovo showed great nerve to beat Slovakia 4-3 in their play-off semi-final – twice levelling before taking a 4-2 lead. They will no doubt take great confidence from the victory, but coach Franco Foda warns that they must not get carried away. “We are in euphoria right now but we need to play the last game with calm,” he said.
Arda Güler’s awe-inspiring assist and Ferdi Kadioglu’s expert finish were the difference as Turkey overcame Romania in the semi-finals. Turkey have lost only once in seven competitive away fixtures since Euro 2024, continuing to score on the road despite not having a pure No 9.
Czech Republic v Denmark: “It’s been 20 years since our last World Cup appearance, and we’ll do everything we can to get there,” said the Czech Republic midfielder Tomáš Souček after his side’s penalty success against the Republic of Ireland. However, the Czech Republic have not beaten the Danes in seven games since a 3-0 win in the quarter-finals of Euro 2004.
Brian Riemer’s Denmark booked their final spot with a confident 4-0 victory over North Macedonia. “It is important to look forward to big matches, even though there is also a lot of pressure,” Riemer said. “It is a huge match, and it is probably one of the biggest matches I have been involved with in my career so far. We are completely well prepared and ready.”
Sweden v Poland: “Viktor Gyökeres was incredible,” said the Sweden manager, Graham Potter, after the Arsenal striker scored a hat-trick in his side’s 3-1 semi-final against Ukraine. He will certainly be the one to watch for Poland as they hope to register a win in Sweden for the first time since 1930.
These two teams met in the final of the 2022 World Cup playoffs, where Poland beat the Swedes 2-0 in Chorzow with goals from Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zielinski – both are in Poland’s XI for today’s match. Nicola Zalewski returns after being suspended for the semi-final and Jan Urban is unbeaten after seven games as Poland coach.
Teams: Kosovo v Turkey
Kosovi XI (4-4-2): Muric; Dellova, Hajrizi, Hajdari, Gallapeni; Vojvoda, Hodza, Rexhbecaj, Muslija; Asllani, Muriqi.
Subs: Bekaj, Saipi, Hadergjonaj, Aliti, I Krasniqi, Rashica, Rrahmani, Zhegrova, Berisha, E Krasniqi, Emerllahu, Zabergja.
Turkey XI (4-2-3-1): Cakir; Celik, Kadioglu, Bardakci, Kabak; Yuksek, Calhanoglu; Kokcu, Guler, Yildiz; Akturkoglu.
Subs: Günok, Bayindir, Elmali, Akaydin, Ozcan, Yılmaz, Gul, Kahveci, Muldur, Karazor, Akgun, Ayhan.
Referee: Michael Oliver (England)
Teams: Sweden v Poland
Sweden XI (3-4-2-1): Nordfeldt; Lagerbielke, Starfelt, Lindelof; Svensson, Ayari, Karlstrom, Gudmundsson; Elanga, Nygren; Gyokeres.
Subs: Törnqvist, Ellborg, Eriksson, Swedberg, Bergvall, Nilsson, Stroud, Lundgren, Svanberg, Larsson, Ali, Zeneli.
Poland XI (3-5-2): Grabara; Bednarek, Wisniewski, Kiwior; Cash, Zalawski, Zielinski, Szymanski, Kaminski; Swiderski, Lewandowski.
Subs: Kochalski, Dragowski, Kedziora, Slisz, Moder, Grosicki, Pietuszewski, Ziolkowski, Rozga, Bereszynski, Skoras, Piatek.
Referee: Slavko Vincic (Slovenia)
Teams: Czech Republic v Denmark
Czech Republic XI (3-5-2): Kovar; Chaloupek, Hranac, Krejci; Coufal, Provod, Soucek, Darida, Zeleny; Schick, Sulc.
Subs: Hornicek, Jedlicka, Holes, Vitik, Karabec, Kliment, Cerv, Chytil, Jurasek, Sadilek, Chory, Visinsky.
Denmark XI (4-3-3): Hermansen; Bah, Andersen, Nelsson, Maehle; Hojbjrg, Hjulmand, Froholdt; Isaksen, Hojlund, Damsgaard.
Subs: Jungdal, Ronnow, Hogsberg, Nartey, Jensen, Eriksen, Osula, Provstgaard, Nørgaard, Hogh, Nartey, Dreyer.
Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy)
Preamble
Hello and welcome to a crucial World Cup qualification day. Eight European countries, four spots up for grabs at this summer’s marquee event in Canada, the United States and Mexico, with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Kosovo, Poland, Sweden and Turkey all one win away from qualifying.
The Czech Republic, who edged out the Republic of Ireland on penalties take on Denmark. The winner will join Group A alongside Mexico, South Africa and South Korea.
Turkey will take on minnows Kosovo, who have never qualified for a World Cup. The winners will join Group D with the United States, Paraguay and Australia.
Sweden, who are through after Viktor Gyökeres’ hat-trick against Ukraine, will face Poland, with the winner slotting into Group F alongside the Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia.
Italy, who are under heaps of pressure after missing the last two World Cups, managed a win against Northern Ireland on Thursday to set up a World Cup playoff final against Bosnia and Herzegovina, who beat Wales on penalties after Edin Dzeko’s lifeline goal. The winner will join Canada, Qatar and Switzerland in Group B at the World Cup. Scott Murray will be live blogging that match separately here.
The four fixtures will kick-off simultaneously at 7.45pm BST.
As always, if you have any thoughts, predictions, questions, or favourite World Cup playoff moments you would like to share, then send me an email. Team news coming up!
Speaking about his donation, Rokos said: “I was fortunate to be given the opportunity of an education which transformed my life, and I would like to give something back to Britain. My hope is that, in time, the influence of the Rokos School of Government across the world becomes an important element of that soft power which has been a great asset to the UK.”
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Bosnia and Herzegovina v Italy: World Cup playoff goes to penalties – live | World Cup 2026 qualifiers
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