GOAL! Slovakia 2-1 Kosovo (Haraslin 45)
Slovakia regained the lead just before half-time as Lukas Haraslin’s free-kick from the left deceived everyone, including the goalkeeper, and slipped in at the far post.
GOAL! Poland 0-1 Albania (Hoxha 42)
Albania, coached by former Arsenal full-back Sylvinho and yet to qualify for a World Cup, took the lead. Arber Hoxha capitalized on a defensive error, rounded the keeper, and scored.
"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."
Wales are pushing hard at the moment. In the 40th minute, Harry Wilson attempted a free-kick from the right, aiming to catch the keeper off guard, but the shot was saved at the near post.
GOAL! Slovakia 1-1 Kosovo (Hodza 21)
At Bratislava, Kosovo equalized through Velin Hodza, who curled a first-time shot from the edge of the area into the bottom left corner.
GOAL! Czech Republic 1-2 Republic of Ireland (Schick pen 27)
A corner from the right by Ireland’s Manning led to a chaotic sequence: O’Shea headed the ball into the box, Coufal’s defensive header hit the bar and rebounded off the keeper into the net. The Irish bench celebrated enthusiastically.
GOAL! Czech Republic 0-2 Republic of Ireland (Kovar og 23)
Following a foul on Nathan Collins, the referee reviewed the incident and awarded a penalty. Troy Parrott converted, sending the ball to the left despite the keeper guessing correctly.
GOAL! Czech Republic 0-1 Republic of Ireland (Parrott 19 pen)
Wales v Bosnia-Herzegovina: David Brooks made a strong run in the area to win a corner. Wilson delivered the ball to the far post, where Jordan James headed it into the box, but Bosnia-Herzegovina cleared the danger.
GOAL! Slovakia 1-0 Kosovo (Valjent 6)
Slovakia, aiming for their first World Cup appearance since 2010, took an early lead through Martin Valjent of Mallorca. A free-kick from the right allowed the centre-back to rise and head powerfully into the net.
GOAL! Ukraine 0-1 Sweden (Gyökeres 6)
Arsenal striker Gyökeres scored after a slick move: Anthony Elanga passed to Benjamin Nygren inside the area, whose cross was perfectly timed for Gyökeres to tap in and celebrate.
Wales v Bosnia-Herzegovina: Early in the match, Wales earned a free-kick on the right, taken by Harry Wilson. The ball was flicked on at the near post but did not threaten Bosnia-Herzegovina’s goal. Dan James was active for Wales.
The matches across Europe have commenced.
Ben Davies, sidelined due to injury, was honored with a golden cap commemorating his 100 appearances for Wales.
Bob Walnut shared his review of the film Saipan on Letterboxd, awarding it three and a half stars and describing it as "far more abstract and arty than I was expecting." It has been added to the watch list.
A light show illuminated Cardiff City Stadium as the teams prepared for kickoff. Ethan Ampadu led Wales onto the pitch, while Edin Dzeko, still active and scoring for Schalke at 40 years old, led Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Troy Parrott has maintained strong form at club level since his November exploits, including a five-goal run against Portugal and Hungary that helped Ireland reach this stage. He has scored 28 goals for AZ Alkmaar this season, half in the Eredivisie.
Matchups for Tuesday’s fixtures are as follows:
- Wales/Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Italy/Northern Ireland
- Ukraine/Sweden vs Poland/Albania
- Czech Republic/Republic of Ireland vs Denmark/North Macedonia
As preparations continue for the Czech Republic versus Republic of Ireland match, a question remains: is Saipan worth watching?
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 was in 2002 when they finished third. They will face the winner of Slovakia versus 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)
Turkey scored the first goal of the night. Arda Guler created the chance by cutting in from the right and delivering a precise ball into the area. Left-back Ferdi Kadioglu made an excellent run and executed a superb first touch before slotting the ball through the keeper’s legs.
Turkey v Romania: The second half began in Istanbul with the score still 0-0. Mircea Lucescu, who captained Romania against Brazil in 1970, remains in pursuit of another World Cup appearance.
Rob Smyth’s preview on Football Daily is highly recommended.
Prepare your screens for playoff action. Sixteen teams are competing for the four remaining European spots at this summer’s World Cup. Tonight features eight semi-finals, with the final matches scheduled for next Tuesday. The fixtures include:
- Czech Republic v Republic of Ireland
Scott Murray has contributed analysis, with the remainder provided here. Can the Republic of Ireland continue their remarkable resurgence and end their 24-year wait? North Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo have never qualified for the World Cup. Graham Potter’s Sweden reached the playoffs despite not winning a game in qualifying. Edin Dzeko, at 40 years old, continues to perform for Bosnia-Herzegovina. There is much to anticipate.
Turkey have already started their match against Romania, with other fixtures commencing at 7:45 pm GMT.
