Europe’s World Cup playoffs set
The final four European play-off ties for World Cup 2026 are confirmed — Republic of Ireland scraped into the playoffs with a last‑gasp spot and will compete for one of the remaining European slots alongside teams like Czechia and Poland. The final six World Cup places (four via Europe, two via intercontinental playoffs) will be decided in the next few days as the playoff phase reaches its climax. (uefa.com) (olympics.com)
UEFA confirmed the Path A–D final ties: Bosnia and Herzegovina v Italy in Zenica, Sweden v Poland in Solna, Kosovo v Türkiye in Pristina and Czechia v Denmark in Prague — all finals are scheduled for Tuesday 31 March with 20:45 CET kickoffs. (uefa.com)) Italy reached the Path A final with a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland in Bergamo, while Bosnia advanced from Cardiff after a 1-1 draw with Wales and a 4-2 victory in the penalty shootout. (espn.co.uk)) Sweden booked the Path B decider by beating Ukraine 3-1 as Viktor Gyökeres scored a hat‑trick, and Poland recovered from a first‑half deficit to win 2-1 over Albania with second‑half strikes from Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zieliński. (skysports.com)) Path C will pit Kosovo against Türkiye after Kosovo stunned Slovakia 4-3 in a seven‑goal semi and Türkiye edged Romania 1-0 in Istanbul courtesy of a second‑half winner. (espn.com)) Czechia reached the Path D final by drawing 2-2 with the Republic of Ireland and winning the shootout 4-3, with goalkeeper Matěj Kovář saving two penalties; Ireland had earned a play‑off berth via Troy Parrott’s stoppage‑time hat‑trick in a 3-2 win over Hungary on 16 November 2025. (fai.ie)) Denmark set up the Prague decider by thrashing North Macedonia 4-0 at Parken — Gustav Isaksen scored twice and Mikkel Damsgaard and Christian Nørgaard also found the net. (thestar.com.my)) UEFA noted that twelve European teams had already qualified for the 48‑team World Cup (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain and Switzerland), leaving four winners from these March finals to join the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States from 11 June to 19 July 2026. (uefa.com))
