World Cup Qualifying: Italy Denied Again; Sweden, Czechia, Türkiye, DR Congo Advance

The 2026 World Cup hasn’t officially kicked off yet, but Tuesday’s final qualifying matches brought us plenty of excitement and drama that made the day feel like a World Cup day. All four UEFA playoff matches were either decided by a goal or in penalty kicks. Four-time World Cup champion Italy was among the eight European nations looking to secure its bid for the 2026 World Cup, but the Azzurri fell short of qualifying for a third straight tournament with its loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday. Elsewhere, Turkiye, Sweden and Czechia each punched their tickets into the 2026 World Cup in thrilling fashion. DR Congo also advanced, defeating Jamaica in one of the intercontinental playoff matchups. Iraq will face Bolivia later in the other intercontinental playoff matchup. Here’s a closer look at the final six matches of qualification for the 2026 World Cup. Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 (4), Italy 1 (1) Italy’s curse continues. In dramatic fashion, Bosnia and Herzegovina advanced in penalties, 1-1 (4-1 on PKs), to secure the final spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group B. The result ensured that Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row. Italy missed its first and third penalty kicks during the shootout, which left the door open for American-born Esmir Barjaktarevic to step up and nail the deciding kick and send Bosnia and Herzegovina to Group B, where it will face co-host Canada, Qatar and Switzerland. The opening goal began with a poorly placed pass from Bosnian goalie Nikola Vasilj, which was intercepted by Nicolo Barella, who dished it toward a sprinting Moise Kean, who placed his right-footed shot in the top far corner to make it 1-0 in the 14th minute of the match. Right as it appeared the Azzurri would make its return to the World Cup, the match took a dramatic turn before the break. Alessandro Bastoni was sent off with a direct red card in the 42nd minute after taking down Amar Memic without making a clear attempt at the ball, which meant Italy had to finish the match with 10 men. Italy held on to its lead for most of the second half, before Bosnian captain Edin Dzeko flipped the match on its head as he headed in the equalizer in the 79th. Amar Dedic sent a cross into the area, applying the same strategy Bosnia and Herzegovina had applied following the red card as Dzeko received the cross in the perfect spot to get his header past Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Bosnia and Herzegovina will be making its second appearance at the World Cup, the first coming in 2014, which saw the nation exit in the group stage. Türkiye 1, Kosovo 0 Türkiye is back in the World Cup! Türkiye ended its 24-year World Cup absence, defeating Kosovo, 1-0, to advance to qualify for the World Cup. Türkiye’s win now solidifies Group D alongside Australia, Paraguay and tournament co-host USA. While the United States was looking like the top dog in its group stage next to Paraguay and Australia, adding Türkiye to the mix shifts the competition level. The Turkish lineup, including Juventus’ Kenan Yildiz and Fenerbahce’s Kerem Aktürkoglu, helps make it a formidable opponent in Group D. Kosovo entered the match with the chance to make history, with a first-ever World Cup berth on the line since becoming a FIFA-sanctioned country back in 2016. Türkiye’s heroic 2002 World Cup run with a third-place finish was its most recent appearance. Point being, Tuesday’s match was meaningful for both countries. In a back-and-forth first half with multiple opportunities in the final third for both teams, the Turkish and Kosovo held it to 0-0. Rallying early in the second half, Türkiye put away an early 1-0 lead, which helped seal its win and its World Cup spot. Following his yellow card in the first half, Aktürkoglu found the back of the net in the 53rd minute to take the lead. Scoring early in the half allowed Aktürkoglu and Türkiye to defend their narrow lead and secure their win. Türkiye’s win also marks the first-ever appearance under current manager Vincenzo Montella. The Turkish are now set to face Australia on June 12 in Vancouver to help kick off Group D competition. Sweden 3, Poland 2 It was a thriller! Anthony Elanga drew first blood for Sweden in the 18th minute, powering in a goal just above Polish goalkeeper Kamil Grabara. Later, Nicola Zalewski got Poland even in the 33rd minute, squeaking home the equalizer on the right side of the net. Poland was the aggressor in the first half, getting off six shots on goal, compared to Sweden’s two shots on goal. The problem for Poland? Gustaf Lagerbielke’s goal in the 44th minute gave Sweden a 2-1 lead at halftime. Poland evened up the scoreboard in the 55th minute when Karol Swiderski knocked in a close-up shot following a pair of crisp passes. But heartbreak awaited Poland. Following a flurry of Swedish shot attempts, Viktor Gyokeres sent in a contested shot in the 88th minute, which gave Sweden the lead for good and put it in Group F — and the polarity of emotion ensued for the two sides mere minutes later. Czechia 2 (3), Denmark 2 (1) After two decades away, Czechia is back in the World Cup. Czechia needed penalty kicks, but it took down Denmark on Tuesday to advance to the World Cup. Attacking midfielder Pavel Sulc scored off a corner kick in the 3rd minute to open up an early 1-0 lead for Czechia, hitting where Denmark’s keeper, Mads Hermansen, could not get to it. Czechia put the pressure on again in the first half, nearly scoring on a set piece in the 38th minute, but failed to finish. Denmark would control the ball throughout, but it was even more ineffective at capitalizing on its opportunities to score: Denmark had five attempts on target and 10 total attempts in the opening half, while Czechia’s mere 4 total attempts resulted in a score. Denmark continued to control the ball in the second half — entering the 70th minute, it had possession for 80% of the second half and 75% overall — but again and again was repelled by Czechia’s defenses. The Danes finally broke through with a goal off a free kick in the 72nd minute, with centre-back Joachim Andersen knocking in a header past Czechia keeper Matej Kovar, knotting it up 1-1. Czechia almost immediately attempted a response with its first shot of the half in the 75th minute, but Hermansen fell on that attempt. Denmark threatened again and again, but with less urgency – Czechia would eventually push the ball back the other way and get a corner kick in the 90th minute. Czechia still had the ball at the start of three minutes of stoppage time, but Hermansen intercepted another shot and briefly gave Denmark back possession before Czechia threatened again — the stalemate continued right into extra time. Czechia continued to show the aggressiveness of the late second half, but to no avail despite multiple corners within the first 7 minutes of extra time. In the 100th minute, though, Ladislav Krejci scored from close with a kick that ricocheted off the foot of Denmark right-back Alexander Bah. That wasn’t enough for Czechia to secure its World Cup ticket, though. Denmark scored again in the 111th minute off a header from Kasper Waarst Hogh to even the match at 2-2. The match went to penalties, where Tomas Chory, Tomas Soucek and Michal Sadilek scored to help Czechia move on. Czechia will play in Group A, which features co-host Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. DR Congo 1, Jamaica 0 DR Congo booked its ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup after defeating Jamaica, 1-0, in extra time. In a winner-take-all final for one of the final two spots in this summer’s tournament, both sides battled through 99 scoreless minutes before Congo’s Axel Tuanzebe finished off a corner kick and scored the winner from close range. DR Congo will now join Portugal, Colombia, and Uzbekistan in Group K this summer. DR Congo nearly had the winning goal on two different occasions in regular time, one in the fifth minute and another in the 85th, when Cedric Bakambu and Theo Bongonda were each called offside and overturned, respectively. Moments after Bongonda’s goal was ruled offside, Jamaica’s Andre Blake made a dramatic save to keep his nation’s World Cup dreams alive. The African nation will open group play against Portugal on June 17 in Houston, followed by a match-up with Colombia in Guadalajara and will finish group stage play on June 27 against Uzbekistan in Atlanta.