Four European nations sealed their places at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a dramatic night of playoff finals, with Italy suffering a historic elimination to miss out on a third consecutive tournament.
Joining the list of qualifiers are Sweden, Türkiye, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Czechia, all of whom came through intense playoff battles to book their tickets to North America.
Italy’s shock exit came at the hands of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who held the four-time world champions to a 1-1 draw before triumphing 4-1 on penalties in Zenica. Italy had taken an early lead through Moise Kean, but their momentum collapsed after Alessandro Bastoni was sent off before halftime. Bosnia capitalised late on, equalising through Haris Tabakovic before holding their nerve in the shootout, condemning the Azzurri to an unwanted piece of history.
After Italy failed to make it to both Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022, no prior tournament winner had missed three straight competitions.
Elsewhere, Czechia ended a 20-year absence from the World Cup by edging past Denmark on penalties after a 2-2 draw in Prague. Despite twice surrendering the lead, the hosts stayed composed, with Michal Sadílek converting the decisive spot-kick to send them through.
Sweden also booked their return in dramatic fashion, defeating Poland 3-2 in a thrilling contest. Viktor Gyökeres struck late to seal qualification, while Poland captain Robert Lewandowski announced his retirement from international football after the defeat.
Meanwhile, Türkiye secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Kosovo to end a 24-year wait for a World Cup appearance. The narrow win confirmed their return to the global stage for the first time since their memorable 2002 campaign.
These four nations are now being joined Africa’s DR Congo who qualified via the intercontinental playoffs after a hard-earned victory over Jamaica. Afterwards, the final ticket from the playoffs will be determined via a fixture between Iraq and Bolivia.
