Kosovo 0-0 Turkey: Gallapeni of Kosovo catches up to Celik and tackles him in the box … Is that a penalty? Michael Oliver had a perfect view but no call. I don’t think there is enough in it to overturn.

Kosovo 0-0 Turkey: A poor pass from the visitors means Muslija gets the ball in the final third. He tries some tricks and turns but loses his footing and Turkey defend well.

Sweden 0-0 Poland: Denmark have the ball in the box but Lewandowski cannot get a good strike on the ball after an awkward tackle from Starfelt, who has hurt himself in the process.

Kári gets in touch:

It was only one match, but on Thursday it really felt like Sweden are back to being Sweden again under Potter. At their best, they combine imagination and flair with the kind of solid ruggedness that saps the will of their opponents. Sportswriter Charles Boehm once called Sweden “the walking manifestation of that sinking feeling that it’s not going to be your day”, which can’t be improved on.

I could never quite measure up to Boehm – quite the wordsmith – if we are being frank. Maybe he would compare me to Sweden right now, who have not offered much but are trying their best in front of their home crowd.

Kosovo 0-0 Turkey: The visitors are a whisker away from opening the scoring but two good blocks are made after Calhanoglu’s shot. Turkey have to settle for a corner but Kosovo deal with the danger.

Czech Republic 1-0 Denmark: So far, this is the game to watch. Hojlund blazes forward and has a go from a tight angle on the left but Kovar makes the low save.

Kick-offs: Here we go! Winners of each of these games will book their spot at the 2026 World Cup in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

The teams are out and the national anthems are being sung … Kick-off in less than five minutes across the grounds. Great atmospheres across the board in Pristina, Solna and Prague.

Bosnia and Herzegovina v Italy: Reminder, you can follow along the fourth European playoff final with Scott Murray below.

Kosovo v Turkey: The hosts nation only became Fifa members in 2016 and a win today would secure their first-ever World Cup finals place and complete a qualification campaign that has become a rallying cry for national pride.

“It gets emotional thinking about the conditions we faced,” Samir Ujkani says. Kosovo would often train on a rutted pitch at the crumbling Kek stadium outside Pristina, directly beneath the belching Obiliq power plants that have been listed among the most polluting in Europe. On other occasions they would make a three-hour round trip to Mitrovica, where the Haiti game took place, for a single session. “We didn’t care, we did it all and nobody complained. And I’m so proud of what the team are achieving now.”

This is a country where public matches were banned by Serbian authorities in the 1990s after the breakup of Yugoslavia. It is a place where football became the most luxurious of afterthoughts as a brutal, appalling war wrought unimaginable trauma at the end of that decade. When Kosovo rose and stood alone, sport became more important than ever in its capacity to project a fresh, serious, accomplished face to the world.

Read the full features from Nick Ames and Jack Snape below.

Kosovo v Turkey: Dreaming of a World Cup debut, Kosovo showed great nerve to beat Slovakia 4-3 in their play-off semi-final – twice levelling before taking a 4-2 lead. They will no doubt take great confidence from the victory, but coach Franco Foda warns that they must not get carried away. “We are in euphoria right now but we need to play the last game with calm,” he said.

Arda Güler’s awe-inspiring assist and Ferdi Kadioglu’s expert finish were the difference as Turkey overcame Romania in the semi-finals. Turkey have lost only once in seven competitive away fixtures since Euro 2024, continuing to score on the road despite not having a pure No 9.

Czech Republic v Denmark: “It’s been 20 years since our last World Cup appearance, and we’ll do everything we can to get there,” said the Czech Republic midfielder Tomáš Souček after his side’s penalty success against the Republic of Ireland. However, the Czech Republic have not beaten the Danes in seven games since a 3-0 win in the quarter-finals of Euro 2004.

Brian Riemer’s Denmark booked their final spot with a confident 4-0 victory over North Macedonia. “It is important to look forward to big matches, even though there is also a lot of pressure,” Riemer said. “It is a huge match, and it is probably one of the biggest matches I have been involved with in my career so far. We are completely well prepared and ready.”

Sweden v Poland: “Viktor Gyökeres was incredible,” said the Sweden manager, Graham Potter, after the Arsenal striker scored a hat-trick in his side’s 3-1 semi-final against Ukraine. He will certainly be the one to watch for Poland as they hope to register a win in Sweden for the first time since 1930.

These two teams met in the final of the 2022 World Cup playoffs, where Poland beat the Swedes 2-0 in Chorzow with goals from Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zielinski – both are in Poland’s XI for today’s match. Nicola Zalewski returns after being suspended for the semi-final and Jan Urban is unbeaten after seven games as Poland coach.