Four European Nations Punch World Cup Tickets

It was a busy Tuesday on the pitch with four important fixtures on the docket where the winners clinched spots in this summer’s World Cup, while the losers were left disappointed, on the outside looking in at the 48-team field. There was no shortage of drama and excitement in this quartet of matches and without further ado, let’s take a look at what unfolded.

Czechia 2, Denmark 2 (Czechia wins 3-1 on penalties):

In a match that lived up to what was at stake, 120 minutes proved not to be enough to determine a winner as this one was decided by penalty kicks. Czechia came up with the win and advanced to the World Cup for the first time since 2006.

Pavel Sulc got Czechia on the board early, finding the back of the net in the contest’s third minute off a corner kick. Denmark pushed in their efforts to find the equalizer but Matej Kovár was up to the task. As a result, Czechia led 1-0 at the half. Czechia saw Denmark press offensively in the second half. Joachim Andersen tied the game with a header in the 72nd minute off an assist from Mikkel Damsgaard. Denmark continued to push but neither side scored before the end of regulation, leaving the game tied at one.

In extra time, Czechia took a 2-1 lead as Ladislav Krejcí scored in the 100th minute of play. Denmark rallied again, tying the score on Kasper Høgh’s header off an assist from Anders Dreyer. The goal came off a cross after a corner kick. That came just after Sulc’s effort to make it a 3-1 game was thwarted by Denmark’s Mads Hermansen. Neither side fired a shot the rest of extra time. Denmark’s Rasmus Højlund hit the bar to open the penalty kicks. Czechia's Tomás Chory and Denmark's Christian Eriksen traded goals. Tomás Soucek gave Czechia a 2-1 advantage before Kovár stopped Dreyer and Mathias Jensen in the third and fourth rounds. Michal Sadílek converted his attempt to secure the victory for Czechia.

Denmark owned an 8-4 advantage in shots on goal and a 22-9 margin in shot attempts. They controlled possession, holding the ball a whopping 76.9% of the time to Czechia’s 23.1% in the match, yet fell short. Czechia advances to Group A to face off with Mexico, South Africa and South Korea.

Bosnia and Herzegovina 1, Italy 1 (Bosnia and Herzegovina wins 4-1 on penalties):

Italy had their opportunities but saw things start to unravel late in the first half. Their momentum ebbed away from them from there. As a result, Italy became the first former World Cup winner to miss three straight World Cups after falling Tuesday.

Things started well for Italy as they took a 1-0 advantage in the 15th minute as Moise Kean found the back of the net with a right-footed shot to the top right corner. Italy managed to maintain that advantage through the half before disaster struck. They found themselves down a man after Alessandro Bastoni picked up a red card in the 41st minute. That proved critical in the second half as Bosnia and Herzegovina, attacking with abandon, tallied the equalizer with a left-footed tally off the foot of Haris Tabakovic in the 79th minute of play.

Both teams had opportunities in extra time but came up empty, leaving the game level at one after 120 minutes of action. When it came to penalty kicks, Bosnia and Herzegovina tallied on all four of their attempts while Italy converted just one of three chances, sending them to defeat. Bosnia and Herzegovina owned an 11-3 advantage in shots and a massive 30-9 margin in shot attempts. They logged 10 corner kicks to Italy’s four and owned a 64.8% to 35.2% margin in possession. Gianluigi Donnarumma made nine saves in regulation for Italy and 10 overall, setting career highs. He did everything he could to keep his squad in the match.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is now part of Group B with Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.

Sweden 3, Poland 2:

In a match that seemed to be in Poland’s favor most of the way, except on the scoreboard, a late offensive flurry by Sweden led to the winning marker in the dying minutes. Anthony Elanga opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a left-footed boot that hit the top left corner of the net. That marker gave the Swedes a 1-0 advantage off an assist from Yasin Ayari. Poland knotted the score at one as Nicola Zalewski tallied in the 33rd minute off an assist from Piotr Zielinski with a shot that found the bottom right corner of the net.

Poland maintained the offensive pressure for most of the rest of the half but trailed 2-1 at intermission. After Jakub Kiwior earned a yellow card in the 43rd minute, Gustaf Lagerbielke gave Sweden the edge in the 44th minute with a header off a set play. Benjamin Nygren drew the assist. Poland had a couple more chances in extra time before intermission but were stonewalled. Lagerbielke nearly made it 3-1 early in the second half only to see his header drift just left. Just two minutes later, Karol Swiderski tied the game off an assist from Zalewski in the 55th minute.

The teams played to a standstill for more than 30 minutes before Sweden mounted one last offensive charge. After a corner kick in the 87th minute, Sweden fired two shots on goal that were stopped by Poland goalkeeper Kamil Grabara. Another shot was blocked and one off the foot of Besfert Zeneli caromed off the post before Viktor Gyökeres tallied the decisive marker. That goal, which came in the 88th minute, stood up as the winner. In the limited time remaining, Poland was unable to mount an attack and ended up falling short. Poland owned advantages in shots (7-5), shot attempts (15-7), corner kicks (9-2) and possession (66.7% to 33.3%) in the loss.

With the win, Sweden advances to Group F where they will face the Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia in group play.

Turkey 1, Kosovo 0:

In soggy, chilly conditions in Kosovo, it was a tight contest the whole way. One goal proved to be all the offense needed to determine a winner. Turkey controlled the action early in the contest. They kept pressure on Kosovo though they were unable to find the back of the net. Kosovo counter-punched and had the best scoring chance of the half when Fisnik Asllani’s drive was deflected by Uğurcan Çakır. The shot hit the crossbar and stayed out, keeping the game scoreless at the half.

In the second half, Turkey overcame the weather, the crowd and the opposition to take the lead. Kerem Aktürkoğlu opened the scoring in the 53rd minute from in close. He found the net after Orkun Kökçü’s shot was blocked. Turkey limited Kosovo’s scoring opportunities from there, with Asllani’s drive in the 87th minute from outside the box stopped by Çakır. Kosovo had a couple other efforts in the closing moments but couldn’t net the equalizer.

Turkey held a 3-2 shot advantage, a 12-11 margin in shot attempts and owned a 57.4% to 42.6% margin in possession. Those numbers helped offset five yellow cards in the match. With the win, Turkey is in the World Cup field for the first time since 2002. They’ll be in Group D with the United States, Paraguay and Australia.