World Cup playoffs: Gyokeres fires Sweden into final; Irish, Welsh heartache

Twenty-two teams entered European and intercontinental playoffs to determine which six nations will clinch the last remaining 2026 World Cup berths. Below, we run through all of Thursday's playoff action.

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European playoffs | Intercontinental playoffs

European playoffs

Sixteen European teams started the day with dreams of reaching this summer's World Cup. That group was trimmed down to eight remaining hopefuls following an impassioned slate of semifinal matches.

Path A

Italy 2, Northern Ireland 0
Wales 1, Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 (Bosnia wins 4-2 on penalties)

It was a nervy 90 minutes in Bergamo, but Sandro Tonali's edge-of-the-box smash and Moise Kean's precise finish kept Italy's hopes of reaching its first World Cup since 2014 alive.

"We had to work hard because it was not easy tonight," manager Gennaro Gattuso told reporters after the tense win over Northern Ireland. "We knew this game would be tough, all we can do now is try to recharge the batteries."

The Azzurri will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the playoff final. Bosnian icon Edin Dzeko's 86th-minute header forced his team's semifinal against Wales into extra time in Cardiff. It eventually went to a shootout, where Brennan Johnson blazed his effort over the bar and Neco Williams' attempt was saved before 18-year-old Kerim Alajbegovic struck Bosnia's winner.

"We're lost for words. We prepared as well as we could have and I thought we played well," Wales captain Ethan Ampadu told the BBC after the crushing result. "We can hold our heads up high because we fought for everything, sometimes in life things don't go your way."

Bosnia will host the Path A final on March 31.

Path B

Ukraine 1, Sweden 3
Poland 2, Albania 1

After going goalless in his last four competitive outings for Sweden, Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres rediscovered his scoring boots at the perfect time, smashing a hat-trick past Ukraine to send his country into the playoff final.

"We fought together, it was great. Gyokeres was incredible," Sweden boss Graham Potter said after the match.

Meanwhile, Robert Lewandowski scored the equalizer and Piotr Zielinski bagged the winner as Poland battled back to beat Albania and set up an intriguing clash with the Swedes that could very well be decided by the two star strikers on display. Gyokeres is yet to play in the World Cup, while the 37-year-old Lewandowski is trying to reach the tournament one final time.

Sweden, which only qualified for the UEFA playoffs thanks to its Nations League performances, will host the Path B final on March 31.

Path C

Turkey 1, Romania 0
Slovakia 3, Kosovo 4

Turkey's win over Romania wasn't awash with quality. Real Madrid's Arda Guler unsurprisingly produced the match's standout moment with a stunning, sweeping pass for Ferdi Kadioglu's decisive goal in front of a raucous crowd.

"We knew it would be a tough match," said Turkey captain Hakan Calhanoglu. "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."

Kosovo is one victory away from its first-ever World Cup appearance after roaring back to engineer a famous win in a seven-goal thriller in Slovakia. The host nation led 2-1 in Bratislava, but second-half goals from Fisnik Asllani, Florent Muslija, and Kreshnik Hajrizi turned the contest around before Kosovo held off Slovakia's late push.

Kosovo, admitted to UEFA and FIFA competitions only a decade ago, will host the Path C final on March 31.

Path D

Denmark 4, North Macedonia 0
Czechia 2, Ireland 2 (Czechia wins 4-3 on penalties)

Denmark moved closer to its third straight appearance at a World Cup - and its fifth out of the last seven editions - by thumping North Macedonia, with Lazio's Gustav Isaksen weighing in with two goals.

Ladislav Krejci nodded home in the 86th minute to send Czechia's clash with Ireland into extra time, and then opened his country's scoring in the penalty shootout. Caoimhin Kelleher saved Mojmir Chytil's effort, but failed attempts from Finn Azaz and Alan Browne meant Ireland's wait to play at a World Cup extends to at least 28 years.

"I just feel pain," said Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson. "I feel pride for the performance of the players, they gave it all. I feel gratitude towards the supporters that showed up and supported us the whole game, even after the loss. I feel pride being a part of that group."

Czechia will host the Path D final on March 31.

Intercontinental playoffs

Six teams from around the globe entered the mix for two World Cup berths via FIFA's intercontinental playoff route.

Bolivia 2, Suriname 1

Bolivia fought back from a goal down against Suriname - positioned 117th in FIFA's men's rankings - to remain on course for its fourth World Cup appearance. Goals from youngsters Moises Paniagua and Miguel Terceros, who have a combined age of just 39, turned the fixture around after Liam van Gelderen gave Suriname a surprise lead in Guadalupe, Mexico.

Bolivia will face Graham Arnold's Iraq next Tuesday to determine which nation competes in North America.

New Caledonia vs. Jamaica (11:00 p.m. ET)

The winner of this semifinal will take on DR Congo on Tuesday. Like Iraq, Sebastien Desabre's DR Congo received a bye to the finals as one of the top-ranked teams involved in the intercontinental playoffs.