Italy to play Bosnia in 2026 World Cup playoff final, Kosovo face Turkiye

Italy beat Northern Ireland 2-0 to boost their bid to reach a men’s World Cup for the first time since 2014, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, Poland, Turkiye, Kosovo, the Czech Republic and Denmark also won their European playoff semifinals. Four-time champions Italy, who lost out in the playoffs for the 2018 and 2022 editions, travel to Bosnia on Tuesday for the final, knowing a win will send them to June and July’s tournament in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Sandro Tonali blasted in superbly from the edge of the box in the second half of a nervous one-off semifinal in Bergamo on Thursday before Moise Kean made the game safe.

“We made life a bit difficult for ourselves, but in the second half we found our rhythm,” Italy coach and 2006 champion Gennaro Gattuso said. “Now we’re going to play this final. We know it’s difficult.

The tension we feel will be felt by our opponents, too. ” Bosnia overcame Wales on penalties in Cardiff following a 1-1 draw after extra time. Daniel James used his pace to score early in the second period for the hosts, and Karl Darlow then made a wonder save from an Ermedin Demirovic header.

Edin Dzeko, 40, levelled late on in normal time. Darlow saved again from Demirovic in the shootout, but Brennan Johnson and Neco Williams both missed. Kosovo have never reached a World Cup, but are through to Tuesday’s playoff final at home to Turkiye after winning a wild game in Slovakia 4-3.