A big step forward was taken on Thursday for many countries to book their tickets to this summer’s World Cup. In the UEFA qualifiers, Turkiye and Italy advanced, while two matches went to penalty shootouts. Now, all eyes turn to Tuesday, which is when the final six spots will be booked. Here are the takeaways: 1. Türkiye takes care of Romania Of all the teams remaining in UEFA qualifying, Türkiye might be the one most other teams will want to avoid in the World Cup. Young playmakers Arda Guler (Real Madrid) and Kenan Yildiz (Juventus) power a young Turkish attack with veteran midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter Milan) pulling the strings. Guler assisted the goal in Türkiye’s 1-0 win, which was scored by left back Ferdi Kadioglu (Brighton). Türkiye went 4-1-1 in UEFA qualifying and finds itself in the playoffs because it was paired with Spain, which won Euro 2024. If it progresses to the World Cup on Tuesday against Slovakia, Türkiye will join Group D at the World Cup with the United States, Australia and Paraguay. The Turks may be favored to win that group. 2. No Isak, no problem for Sweden Sweden qualified for this round because of its performance in the UEFA Nations League, during which it had two elite strikers in Liverpool’s Alexander Isak and Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres. Isak is out because of injury for these matches, so it was Gyokeres’ time to shine – and he did. Gyokeres scored a hat trick against Ukraine, powering Sweden’s 3-0 win in Valencia, Spain. Sweden advanced in Path B of the UEFA playoffs to take on Poland next Tuesday with a trip to the World Cup on the line. It will be a great matchup of strikers with Gyokeres facing off against Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski, who scored for Poland in its 2-1 win over Albania. 3. Italy moves closer to qualification Italy has failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, which is amazing after it won the Euro 2020 championship between two of the tournaments. There was a lot of tension entering these qualifying games, which saw the Italians take on Northern Ireland on Thursday. Manager Gennaro Gattuso’s team won 2-0 thanks to goals from midfielder Sandro Tonali (AC Milan) and striker Moise Kean (Fiorentina). Italy will take Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday. A loss would be devastating for Italy, which will be a heavy favorite to make the World Cup. 4. Extra-time drama in Cardiff and Prague Between Wales and Bosnia and Herzegovina, 40-year-old striker Edin Dzeko scored off a corner to level the score at 1-1 in the 86th minute. Winger Daniel James (Leeds United) had opened the scoring for Wales in the 51st minute. Bosnia and Herzegovina missed its first penalty but converted its next four, while Crystal Palace’s Brennan Johnson and Nottingham Forest’s Neco Williams missed their for Wales. In Prague, Ireland went up 2-0 in the first half. Czechia scored its first goal four minutes later before Czechia captain Ladislav Krejci (Wolves) equalized in the 86th. Ireland was up 3-2 after three attempts, but it missed two straight penalties while Czechia converted its last two attempts to advance.
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