The field is set for the FIFA World Cup as six tickets were punched on Tuesday, and the long-standing question about whether Italy will participate has been answered – it won’t. again.
Italy lost in penalty kicks to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday, failing to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup in the latest disaster for the prestigious national team.
Outside Europe, joining Bosnia were Sweden, Czechia and Turkey, while Congo DR defeated Jamaica in their playoff final while Iraq topped Bolivia.
Here are all the teams that have qualified:
- Algeria
- argentina
- Australia
- austria
- belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- brazil
- Canada (co-host)
- Cape Verde
- Colombia
- croatia
- Curacao
- czech republic
- DR Congo
- Ecuador
- egypt
- England
- France
- Germany
- ghana
- haiti
- iran
- Iraq
- Ivory Coast
- Japan
- Jordan
- Mexico (co-host)
- morocco
- Netherlands
- new zealand
- norway
- panama
- paraguaya
- portugal
- Queue
- saudi arabia
- scotland
- senegal
- South Africa
- south korea
- spain
- sweden
- Switzerland
- tunisia
- turkey
- United States (co-host)
- uruguay
- Uzbekistan
Italy 1, Bosnia & Herzegovina 1 (4-1 in PKs)
Italy hit the crossbar and deflected an effort, putting Bosnia ahead in the shootout.
The match was tense from the start, with the Azzurri struggling to deal with the home team’s constant pressure. The success came after a costly mistake by Bosnia-Herzegovina goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj, who kicked the ball away during the build-up. Italy, led by Gennaro Gattuso, responded quickly and took advantage of the mistake as Moise Kean calmly scored the opening goal, his second in a row after his strike in last week’s semi-final against Northern Ireland in Bergamo.
Despite falling behind, Bosnia and Herzegovina responded with even greater intensity, going in search of an equaliser. However, the momentum changed dramatically just before halftime when Italy’s Alessandro Bastoni was shown a red card for a foul on Memic, leaving the visiting team with ten players for the remainder of the match.
The second half started similarly to the first half, with Italy trying to defend the result, but Bosnia scored in the 78th minute with Haris Tabakovic making the score 1–1. Italy had to rely on at least four important saves from Gianluigi Donnarumma, but had all of Bosnia in the penalties.
Czechia 2, Denmark 2 (3-1 in PKs)
Czechia held a one-goal lead in both regulation and extra time, leading to a shootout, but they performed well enough from the spot to qualify for the World Cup.
Pavel Sulak scored a brilliant opener for Czechia in the third minute, heading a loose ball into the goal on a corner kick, but Joachim Andersen’s 72nd-minute goal leveled things, leading to a tense final 20 minutes and the game going into extra time. Both teams scored in the extra session, but the hosts, returning to the World Cup for the first time since 2006, were far superior.
Sweden 3, Poland 2
Victor Gykeres’ 88th-minute goal sent Sweden into the World Cup after beating Poland 3-2 in a playoff Tuesday. In a back-and-forth game the Polish equalized twice in quick succession, once in each half, but it was the Arsenal striker who made the difference two minutes from time.
Turkey 1, Kosova 0
A goal from Kerem Akturkoglu early in the second half saw Turkey punch their ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, qualifying for the first time in 24 years. The win means the Turks will be in Group D with the U.S. men’s national team, Australia and Paraguay.
Playoff Tournament Final
Congo DR 1, Jamaica 0
Iraq 2, Bolivia 1
