Four European nations secured their participation at this summer’s World Cup following the qualification play-offs on Tuesday evening.
Sweden faced Poland, Denmark welcomed the Czech Republic, and Kosovo competed against Turkey. An opportunity to qualify for the competition in North America was at stake for the three victorious teams.
Explore our summary of those three matches, with a comprehensive article also accessible on 101GreatGoals for Italy’s play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Sweden 3-2 Poland
Viktor Gyokeres became Sweden’s crucial player, clinching an 88th-minute goal that secured their 3-2 triumph over Poland and reserved their berth at the World Cup.
Sweden gained the advantage on two occasions; Anthony Elanga and Gustaf Lagerbielke found the net flanking a Nicola Zalewski goal in the first half, before Karol Swiderski equalized the closely contested match shortly after the break.
However, with the match progressing towards an additional period, Arsenal man Gyokeres added to his two goals from the semi-finals against Ukraine by propelling the ball into the top of the goal after a series of Sweden shots, igniting immense joy at the Strawberry Arena.
This win signifies Graham Potter, ex-manager of Chelsea and West Ham, accomplishing his objective to get Sweden to the World Cup as they anticipate a strong performance in Group F this summer, where they will encounter Netherlands, Japan – who bested England on Tuesday night – and Tunisia.
Denmark 2-2 Czech Republic (Czech Republic win on pens)
The Czech Republic defeated Denmark in a penalty shootout following a 2-2 deadlock in regular time, thereby guaranteeing their inclusion in this summer’s World Cup.
The Czechs, who prevailed against Republic of Ireland in the semi-finals, achieved the initial score after just three minutes through Pavel Sulc, before Joachim Andersen equalized for Denmark in the 72nd minute.
Ladislav Krejci then re-established the home side’s advantage in extra-time, but the score was evened merely a minute subsequent through Bodo/Glimt striker Kasper Hogh before the match proceeded to a penalty contest.
Manchester United loanee Rasmus Hojlund placed Denmark at an early disadvantage in the shootout by striking the crossbar, with two more Danish players failing, among them Brentford’s Mathias Jensen, enabling Michal Sadilek to convert the crucial penalty kick to propel his country to the World Cup.
Czechia will be positioned in Group A alongside co-hosts Mexico, South Africa and South Korea this summer.
Kosovo 0-1 Turkey
Turkey will be integrated into Group D with co-hosts USA, Australia and Paraguay this summer following their 1-0 away victory over Kosovo in their World Cup play-off tie.
Kerem Akturkoglu netted the decisive goal early in the latter half to confirm Turkey’s participation at the World Cup for the initial occasion since 2002, at which point they secured third place in Japan and South Korea.