World Cup Qualifying: Italy, Türkiye Take Big Steps; Ireland Ousted

By next Tuesday, all 48 spots in the 2026 World Cup – the largest edition in tournament history – will be filled. Until then, there’s a lot of important soccer happening around the world.  In UEFA (Europe’s soccer confederation), four World Cup spots are still up for grabs. After Thursday’s round of action, we’ll now know who will take those spots next Tuesday: – Bosnia & Herzegovina vs. Italy – Sweden vs. Poland- Kosovo vs. Türkiye- Czechia vs. Denmark Elsewhere, six nations from across different soccer confederations are vying for two spots in separate three-team tournaments being held in Mexico. Two teams will emerge on Tuesday and book spots for the World Cup. That bracket is: Bolivia vs. IraqNew Caledonia/Jamaica vs. DR Congo Before we get set for those games on Tuesday, we’re recapping all of Thursday’s action: JUMP TO: UEFA Path A | UEFA Path B | UEFA Path C | UEFA Path D | Intercontinental Playoff UEFA Path A: Italy On Cusp of World Cup Spot It’s inexplicable that a country with such a rich soccer heritage and which has won four World Cup titles has not reached soccer’s biggest stage since 2014. Surely Italy won’t miss yet another tournament, right? Well, the Azzurri took a step in the right direction by beating Northern Ireland in Bergamo. Sandro Tonali broke the deadlock with a half-volley early in the second half for Italy at home in Bergamo and then set up another goal for Moise Kean. They will now have to travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina (who outlasted Wales on penalties) for a spot in the World Cup – where they’ll join Group B (co-hosts Canada, Qatar, Switzerland). The winner’s games will be played in Toronto (vs. Canada), Los Angeles (vs. Switzerland) and Seattle (vs. Qatar). “After taking the lead, we cleared our minds,” Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso said. “We put in a good performance. This should be a confidence boost for Tuesday. … We have to win. We have no other choice.” Bosnia advanced after 40-year-old Edin Dzeko leveled the score and 18-year-old Kerim Alajbegovic converted the winning spot-kick in a 4-2 penalty shootout win over Wales following a 1-1 draw. Path B: Sweden’s Gyökeres Hits Hat Trick – Next Up? Poland A hat trick by Viktor Gyökeres saw Sweden handle Ukraine and take another step closer towards the World Cup. The Swedes will next face Poland, who defeated Albania. The winner between Sweden and Poland will join the Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia in Group F. Those games will be played in Monterrey, Mexico (vs. Tunisia), Houston (vs. the Netherlands) and Arlington, Tex. (vs. Japan). Gyökeres took center stage as the Arsenal playmaker shined despite having not scored for his country since 2024. Ukraine, who had a consolation goal by Matviy Ponomarenko. Poland had to rally past the Albanians, who took an initial lead by Arber Hoxha in the first half. But Poland equalized after 37-year-old Robert Lewandowski scored a crucial header, followed by Piotr Zielinski’s goal that put Poland in front. The win also kept Lewandowski’s (who plays at Barcelona) hopes of playing in a third World Cup. UEFA Path C: Türkiye, Kosovo Advance; Winner Joins USA’s Group We’re closer to getting the full picture of who will join the USA’s World Cup group. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler set up Ferdi Kadioglu’s goal as Türkiye took down Romania to give them another step toward advancing to the World Cup. Türkiye will next take on Kosovo, who outlasted Slovakia in a seven-goal thriller. The winner of the Türkiye-Kosovo match on Tuesday will join the USA, Paraguay and Australia in Group D. Those matches will be played in Vancouver (vs. Australia), Santa Clara, Calif. (vs. Paraguay) and Los Angeles (vs. the USA). Romania’s elimination means that 80-year-old Mircea Lucescu won’t get a chance to coach at the World Cup for the first time. Lucescu captained Romania at the 1970 World Cup. He previously coached Türkiye. Nicolae Stanciu hit the post in the second half in Istanbul, but Romania couldn’t muster the equalizer. “We knew it would be a tough match. Lucescu knows us well and prepared accordingly,” Türkiye captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu said. “In the first half, we could have made better runs in behind. In the second half, Ferdi scored with a ball in behind and it became 1-0. From then, it was ours.” As for Kosovo, the team is one game away from its first-ever World Cup after twice recovering from a goal down to upset Slovakia 4-3. – Countdown of the Top 100 Moments in World Cup History- 2026 World Cup Groups: Full Results From Draw Path D: Denmark Throttles North Macedonia; Ireland Heartbreak Denmark had no trouble with North Macedonia as Gustav Isaksen scored twice in two minutes in Denmark’s 4-0 win. The Danes will now take on Czechia, who needed penalties to oust Ireland. The winner of the Denmark-Czechia match will join co-hosts Mexico, South Africa and South Korea in Group A at the World Cup. Those games will be played in Guadalajara (vs. South Korea), Atlanta (vs. South Africa) and Mexico City (vs. Mexico). It’s a heartbreaking loss for the Irish, who had reached this stage thanks to some late-game heroics from Troy Parrott during the previous qualifying phase. Instead, it is the Czechs who are moving on. Ireland gave up an early 2-0 lead in the game, and was also leading the shootout before failing to convert either of its last two attempts. Intercontinental Playoff Games Outside of Europe, a mini-tournament between six nations is being held in Mexico to decide two World Cup spots. Bolivia took care of Suriname to advance to Tuesday’s match against Iraq. The winner of that game will join France, Senegal and Norway in Group I. Those matches will be played in Foxborough, Mass. (vs. Norway), Philadelphia (vs. France) and Toronto (vs. Senegal). In the other bracket, the winner of the DR Congo vs. New Caledonia/Jamaica match will join Portugal, Uzbekistan and Colombia in Group K. Matches will be played in Houston (vs. Portugal), Guadalajara (vs. Colombia) and Atlanta (vs. Uzbekistan.)