Türkiye beat Romania to reach World Cup 2026 playoff final

ISTANBUL

Türkiye kept their hopes of a first World Cup appearance since 2002 alive after Ferdi Kadıoğlu’s second-half winner in a 1-0 victory over Romania and ensured a decisive clash against Kosovo in Pristina on March 31.

Brighton left-back Kadıoğlu netted the crucial goal in the 53rd minute and Romania, who last played at the World Cup in 1998, could not find an equalizer in Istanbul despite a late rally.

Vincenzo Montella's Türkiye, quarter-finalists at Euro 2024, are bidding to reach the showpiece tournament for the first time since finishing third in South Korea and Japan 24 years ago.

"We knew it would be a tough match," said Türkiye skipper Hakan Çalhanoğlu.

"In the first half, we could have made better runs in behind. In the second half, Ferdi scored with a ball in behind... From then, it was ours."

The home side dominated the ball early but struggled to break down their hard-working opponents, with a Çalhanoğlu free-kick which flew over the crossbar the closest they came to scoring in the opening 45 minutes.

Romania captain Ianis Hagi had a shot deflected over as his team looked to hit Türkiye on the break.

Türkiye took the lead, though, eight minutes into the second half as Real Madrid midfielder Arda Güler unlocked the Romania defence with a long, raking pass.

Kadıoğlu took an excellent first touch before calmly slotting a side-footed volley past onrushing goalkeeper Ionut Radu.

Türkiye sensed a second goal with the crowd firmly behind them and Juventus winger Kenan Yıldız crashed an excellent strike from outside the box off the top of the bar.

Romania managed to stay in the game, with Radu making a fine diving save to tip away a curling Güler effort.

The visitors almost made Türkiye pay for those missed chances, as substitute Nicolae Stanciu curled a shot which bounced off the inside of the post and rolled agonisingly across the face of goal with 11 minutes left.

But that was the closest Romania came to forcing extra time as Türkiye moved within one match of qualifying for only a second World Cup in 72 years.

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, and he also previously coached Türkiye.

Kosovo, meanwhile, is on the brink of a first appearance at any major tournament following a wild 4-3 win in Slovakia. The hosts twice led in Bratislava through goals from Martin Valjent and Lukas Haraslin, but Kosovo fought back with efforts from Veldin Hodza and Fisnik Asllani.

Only admitted to UEFA and FIFA competitions a decade ago, Kosovo then went in front courtesy of Florent Muslija and got another goal from Kreshnik Hajrizi. David Strelec’s stoppage-time strike wasn’t enough to deny Kosovo.

Also advancing to the playoff finals scheduled for March 31 were Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, Poland, Italy, Denmark and the Czech Republic.

Italy next visits Bosnia and Herzegovina, needing another victory to reach the expanded 48-team finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada and avoid going at least 16 years without even playing a match at football's biggest event.

Viktor Gyökeres hit a hat trick to send Sweden past Ukraine 3-1 despite not having scored for his country since 2024. Sweden will face Poland after 37-year-old Robert Lewandowski scored a crucial header in a 2-1 win over Albania, keeping alive the Barcelona striker’s bid to reach a third World Cup.

Albania took the lead through Arber Hoxha just before halftime after a defensive blunder by Poland. Lewandowski’s header at a corner got his team back into the game before Piotr Zielinski’s goal put Poland in front.

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.

The Czech Republic awaits next for Denmark after beating Ireland 4-3 on penalties. 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.