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GOAL! Slovakia 3-4 Kosovo (Strelec 90+4)
Another in tonight’s thriller.
Christopher Faherty writes in: “Tough not to say the Czechs deserve it. All we’ve done from the half-hour mark is try and kill the game really.”
Ladislav Krejci, on loan at Wolves, pops up at the near post from a corner to equalise for the hosts. Remember, they were 2-0 down.
GOAL! Czech Republic 2-2 Republic of Ireland (Krejci 86)
And now it’s Ireland who are staring at extra-time.
GOAL! Wales 1-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina (Dzeko 86)
Oh my. It’s the captain, the former Inter and Manchester City man: Edin Dzeko heads in from an inswinging corner and Bosnia-Herzegovina are alive.
Wales 1-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina: With six minutes of normal time left, Dan James leaves the field. He missed on penalties when Wales lost their Euro 2024 playoff against Poland. He could be the hero tonight.
GOAL! Denmark 4-0 North Macedonia (Nørgaard 76)
You can take the man out of Arsenal … Christian Nørgaard is on the end of a corner for Denmark.
GOAL! Poland 2-1 Albania (Zielinski 73)
It’s a piledriver to complete the turnaround! Piotr Zielinski picks the ball up in midfield and lasers an effort from more than 25 yards out, finding the bottom left corner.
GOAL! Ukraine 0-3 Sweden (Gyökeres pen 72)
A spotkick seals a hat-trick for Viktor Gyökeres – Sweden are all set for a final with Poland or Albania.
GOAL! Poland 1-1 Albania (Lewandowski 63)
Robert Lewandowski, 37, is still up for another World Cup – the Barcelona man rises at the far post to head in an inswinging corner.
GOAL! Slovakia 2-4 Kosovo (Hajrizi 72)
Kreshnik Hajrizi is there to smash home a rebound – Kosovo are closing on a meeting with Turkey!
GOAL! Slovakia 2-3 Kosovo (Muslija 60)
Kosovo take the lead for the first time! Florent Muslija’s free-kick gets over the wall and dips in to the bottom left corner. What a momentous night this could be for them, a side who have never been to a major tournament.
Wales 1-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina: Karl Darlow has just made the most outrageous save for Wales, diving to his left to claw a header out from Demirovic.
GOALS! Denmark 3-0 North Macedonia (Iskasen 58 & 59)
All of a sudden, this one’s pretty much done. Gustav Isaksen gets two in two minutes, the second a fine rebound strike.
GOAL! Ukraine 0-2 Sweden (Gyökeres 51)
The striker has his and Sweden’s second: in the left channel, he cuts in and delivers a lovely, precise finish into the bottom right corner.
GOAL! Denmark 1-0 North Macedonia (Damsgaard 49)
Mikkel Damsgaard just has a defender beat with his strike, the keeper out of the picture after a scrappy bit of play in the North Macedonia area.
It’s a an absolute cracker. A wayward kick from the visitors finds James out on the right, he heads the ball down with his first touch but he’s still 25 yards out from a tight angle … he hits the bouncing ball so, so sweetly to beat the keeper. What a hit from the Leeds winger.
GOAL! Wales 1-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina (James 52)
Cardiff erupts!
GOAL! Slovakia 2-2 Kosovo (Asllani 47)
This one keeps on delivering! Hoffenheim’s Fisnik Asllani pulls off a delightful glancing header to find the top right corner for Kosovo.
Wales 0-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina: Harry Wilson came closest for Wales in that half, a left-footed curling effort from the right smacking the post.
Half-time scores
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Czech Republic 1-2 Republic of Ireland
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Denmark 0-0 North Macedonia
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Poland 0-1 Albania
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Slovakia 2-1 Kosovo
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Ukraine 0-1 Sweden
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Wales 0-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina
GOAL! Slovakia 2-1 Kosovo (Haraslin 45)
Slovakia retake the lead before half-time: Lukas Haraslin’s free-kick from the left is teasing ... and it beats everyone, befuddling the keeper to sneak in at the far post.
GOAL! Poland 0-1 Albania (Hoxha 42)
Albania, managed by former Arsenal full-back Sylvinho and yet to reach a World Cup, have the lead. Arber Hoxha capitalises on a mistake at the back to round the keeper and slot in.
Matt Dony writes in:
Wales went through a tricky period of transition. Any team in the world would suffer from the loss of Bale, but Ramsey and Allen have been big losses, too. Bellamy has been tremendous, much better than I expected, and he’s galvanised them into a real ‘team’ again. The 7-1 against North Macedonia in the last game was magnificent, but sadly overshadowed by Scotland turning into prime Brazil on the same night. I honestly don’t think they’ll end up qualifying for the World Cup, which is disappointing, but I think the next few years could be fun.
Well, they’re really going for it at the moment. Harry Wilson, in the 40th minute, tries to catch the keeper out with a free-kick from the right, forcing a decent save at the near post.
GOAL! Slovakia 1-1 Kosovo (Hodza 21)
After all the carnage at the Fortuna Arena, let’s go to Bratislava, where Kosovo have equalised. Velin Hodza, from the edge of the area, curls a first-time shot into the bottom left corner.
It’s a clear tug of the shirt in the area by Manning, a needless foul, and the hosts have a lifeline. Patrik Schick beats Kelleher and we’ve got a proper game.
GOAL! Czech Republic 1-2 Republic of Ireland (Schick pen 27)
Well, this is just wild.
It’s a corner from the right for Ireland, delivered by Manning … O’Shea heads it into the mixer from the back post – Coufal’s defensive header finds the bar and rebounds off the keeper into the net. Pinball goes Ireland’s way. The visiting bench erupts in joy.
GOAL! Czech Republic 0-2 Republic of Ireland (Kovar og 23)
Another one!
A kick on Nathan Collins prompts the referee to head to the monitor. He awards the spotkick and Troy Parrott finds the left despite the keeper guessing the right way.
GOAL! Czech Republic 0-1 Republic of Ireland (Parrott 19 pen)
It’s that man again!
Wales 0-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina: David Brooks bursts through in the area to win a corner … Wilson drives the ball to the far post, Jordan James heads into the mixer but Bosnia-Herzegovina handle the danger.
GOAL! Slovakia 1-0 Kosovo (Valjent 6)
Slovakia, bidding for their first World Cup appearance since 2010, take an early lead through Mallorca’s Martin Valjent. The free-kick comes from the right, and the centre-back rises for a powerful header.
GOAL! Ukraine 0-1 Sweden (Gyökeres 6)
The Arsenal striker taps in! Anthony Elanga slips the ball for Benjamin Nygren inside the area, and his ball across goal is perfect. Gyökeres just needs to get a touch before getting his hands up for that trademark celebration. Graham Potter’s boys have the perfect start.
Wales 0-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina: The hosts have an early free-kick on the right, with Harry Wilson over it … it’s flicked on at the near post but doesn’t pose any problems for Bosnia-Herzegovina. Dan James is looking lively already for Wales.
Peeeep!
We’re up and running across Europe.
Ben Davies, missing for Wales due to injury, is presented with a golden cap to mark his 100 appearances for the national team.
Bob Walnut has sent me his Saipan review on Letterboxd: three and a half stars. “Far more abstract and arty than I was expecting.” It goes on my list.
There’s a light show on at Cardiff City Stadium as we get ready for kick-off. Ethan Ampadu leads Wales out and Edin Dzeko – still going, banging them in for Schalke – is the frontman for Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Troy Parrott has kept firing at club level since his heroics in November, that five-goal spree against Portugal and Hungary to get Ireland here. He’s got 28 club goals for AZ Alkmaar this season, half of them in the Eredivisie.
This is how things are set up for Tuesday:
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Wales/Bosnia-Herzegovina v Italy/Northern Ireland
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Ukraine/Sweden v Poland/Albania
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Slovakia/Kosovo v Turkey
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Czech Republic/Republic of Ireland v Denmark/North Macedonia
As we prepare for Czech Republic against the Republic of Ireland … can anyone tell me whether Saipan is worth a watch?
Wales v Bosnia-Herzegovina teams
Wales: Darlow, Williams, Lawlor, Rodon, Dasilva, Ampadu, Jordan James, Brooks, Wilson, Daniel James, Johnson
Subs: Ward, King, Koumas, Cullen, Cabango, Norrington-Davies, Kpakio, Colwill, Harris, Thomas, Sheehan, Broadhead
Bosnia-Herzegovina: Vasilj, Muharemovic, Katic, Kolasinac, Memic, Tahirovic, Bajraktarevic, Sunjic, Dedic, Dzeko, Demirovic
Subs: Hadzikic, Zlomislic, Mujakic, Celik, Gigovic, Bazdar, Basic, Hadziahmetovic, Burnic, Alajbegovic, Radeljic, Tabakovic
FULL-TIME: Turkey 1-0 Romania
Turkey’s last World Cup appearance? When they finished third in 2002. They’ll face the winner of Slovakia v Kosovo on Tuesday.
Slovakia v Kosovo teams
Slovakia: Dubravka, Valjent, Vavro, Obert, Hancko, Bero, Lobotka, Duda, Sauer, Strelec, Haraslin
Subs: Rodak, Takac, Pekarik, Gyomber, Suslov, Mraz, Benes, Tupta, Hrosovsky, Krcik, Rigo, Kapralik
Kosovo: Muric, Dellova, Hajrizi, Hajdari, Gallapeni, Vojvoda, Hodza, Rexhbecaj, Muslija, Asllani, Muriqi
Subs: Bekaj, Saipi, Hadergjonaj, Aliti, Ilir Krasniqi, Rashica, Rrahmani, Berisha, Ermal Krasniqi, Emerllahu, Zabergja, Zhegrova
Denmark v North Macedonia teams
Denmark: Hermansen, Bah, Nørgaard, Nelsson, Mæhle, Højbjerg, Hjulmand, Froholdt, Isaksen, Højlund, Damsgaard
Subs: Jungdal, Rønnow, Provstgaard, Høgsberg, Nikolas Nartey, Eriksen, Osula, Lindstrøm, Høgh, Noah Nartey, Dreyer, Jensen
North Macedonia: Dimitrievski, Stojchevski, Zajkov, Musliu, Churlinov, Elmas, Atanasov, Bardhi, Herrera, Qamili, Rastoder
Subs: Iliev, Shishkovski, Bejtulai, Serafimov, Trajkovski, Musovski, Velkovski, Nikolov, Doriev, Ristovski, Miovski, Alimi
Czech Republic v Republic of Ireland teams
Czech Republic: Kovar, Holes, Hranac, Krejci, Coufal, Provod, Darida, Jurasek, Schick, Chory, Sulc
Subs: Hornicek, Jedlicka, Chaloupek, Vitik, Karabec, Kliment, Cerv, Chytil, Sadilek, Zeleny, Visinsky, Soucek
Republic of Ireland: Kelleher, O’Brien, Collins, O’Shea, Coleman, Taylor, Molumby, Manning, Azaz, Ogbene, Parrott
Subs: Keeley, Travers, Kenny, Idah, Brady, Dunne, Vale, Egan, Knight, Browne, Abankwah, Szmodics
Ukraine v Sweden teams
Ukraine: Trubin, Tymchyk, Zabarnyi, Bondar, Mykolenko, Kaliuzhnyi, Tsygankov, Yarmoliuk, Sudakov, Zubkov, Vanat
Subs: Neshcheret, Riznyk, Sarapii, Mykhailichenko, Svatok, Voloshyn, Hutsuliak, Pikhalonok, Yaremchuk, Shaparenko, Ponomarenko, Ocheretko
Sweden: Nordfeldt, Lagerbielke, Hien, Lindelöf, Gudmundsson, Johansson, Ayari, Karlström, Nygren, Elanga, Gyökeres
Subs: Törnqvist, Ellborg, Bergvall, Svensson, Nilsson, Smith, Bardghji, Starfelt, Svanberg, Larsson, Ali, Zeneli
Poland v Albania teams
Poland: Grabara, Kedziora, Bednarek, Kiwior, Cash, Szymanski, Zielinski, Skoras, Kaminski, Lewandowski, Rozga
Subs: Pietuszewski, Ziolkowski, Wisniewski, Slisz, Pyrka, Swiderski, Piatek, Kochalski, Moder, Bereszynski, Grosicki, Dragowski
Albania: Strakosha, Hysaj, Ajeti, Djimsiti, Mitaj, Laci, Asilani, Bajrami, Shehu, Uzuni, Hoxha
Subs: Ramadani, Pllana, Pilo, Pajaziti, Muci, Mehmeti, Kastrati, Ismajli, Dajsinani, Broja, Balliu, Aliji
“Do you know why I’m so calm? Because we’re such a good team.” Craig Bellamy never made it to a major tournament with Wales as a player – can he do it as the head coach?
GOAL! Turkey 1-0 Romania (Kadioglu 53)
We have our first of the night. Arda Guler is the creator for Turkey, cutting in from the right to whip a delicious ball into the area. Ferdi Kadioglu, the left-back, makes an excellent run and pulls off an even better first touch before slotting in through the keeper’s legs.
Turkey v Romania: The second half is underway in Istanbul, the game still goalless. Mircea Lucescu, who captained Romania against Brazil in 1970, is still in the hunt for another World Cup appearance. What a life.
Rob Smyth’s preview on Football Daily is the best out there.
Preamble
Get all your screens up and try not to strain that neck – it’s World Cup playoff time. Sixteen teams are competing for the four remaining European spots at this summer’s tournament, with tonight’s eight semi-finals followed by the last dance next Tuesday. Feast your eyes on this:
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Turkey v Romania
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Czech Republic v Republic of Ireland
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Denmark v North Macedonia
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Italy v Northern Ireland
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Poland v Albania
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Slovakia v Kosovo
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Ukraine v Sweden
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Wales v Bosnia-Herzegovina
Scott Murray has the Italy-Northern Ireland clash covered, but the rest falls under my jurisdiction. Can the Republic of Ireland continue their remarkable resurgence and end their 24-year wait? North Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo have never made it to the biggest show. Graham Potter’s Sweden are here despite not winning a game in qualifying. Edin Dzeko, 40 years young, is still ticking along for Bosnia-Herzegovina. There’s plenty to get stuck into.
Turkey have already kicked off against Romania, with the remaining fixtures beginning at 7.45pm GMT. Let’s go.
