Will Sweden take the back door and become Italy's last opponent?

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• On Tuesday, the last four European starting places for the final round of the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA will be decided.
• The last Swiss group opponent will also be determined between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Italy, who could miss out on a World Cup for the third time in a row.
• The starting position ahead of the four simultaneous direct duels for the last tickets promises to be very exciting.

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The clash between Bosnia-Herzegovina and the former soccer superpower Italy will take place in Zenica. The Squadra Azzurra will be determined to avoid missing out on the World Cup finals for the third time in a row at all costs. However, Bosnia and superstar Edin Džeko will not be an easy opponent. The center forward is now 40 years old, but is still a defensive terror.

With his goal in the 86th minute to make it 1:1 in the semi-final in Wales, Džeko made it possible for his nation to win the penalty shoot-out and thus reach the final against Italy, who in turn beat Northern Ireland 2:0 at home.

The onset of winter in Zenica was a talking point ahead of the match. Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso even forgoes the final training session in the stadium due to the pitch conditions. Instead, the team completed a final session at the training center in Coverciano and will not travel to Zenica until Monday evening. Will the four-time world champions still live up to their role as favorites?

Italy under massive pressure in World Cup play-offs

"We've seen a bit of a monster this week ..."

Denmark almost had World Cup qualification in the bag last November. In the decisive group game in Scotland, the Danes were on course until the 93rd minute, but conceded 2:3 and 2:4 deep into stoppage time - and had to go through to the play-offs.

In the semi-finals, they secured an unchallenged 4:0 home win against North Macedonia. However, the final hurdle with the away game in Prague is likely to be significantly higher. The Czech Republic finished second in Group L behind Croatia - and kept their World Cup play-off semi-final chances alive in extremis.

They trailed against Ireland until the 86th minute before captain Ladislav Krejci equalized to force extra time. The Czech Republic finally prevailed 5:3 in the penalty shoot-out - and will now look to take the final step against Denmark in front of a home crowd.

Captain Ladislav Krejcí saved the Czechs.

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Surprisingly, Sweden are at the bottom of the Swiss group, without a win in six games and only in last place behind the Nati, Kosovo and Slovenia. The Scandinavians still qualify for the play-offs in 2024 because they win their Nations League C group.

And star striker Viktor Gyökeres opened the back door to the World Cup with a hat-trick in the semi-final against Ukraine. Sweden won 3:1, securing their first competitive win in over a year and looking to seize their last chance against Poland.

Viktor Gyökeres scored a treble against Ukraine.

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The Poles, for their part, lost out in their Group G duel with the Netherlands. Things did not look good in the play-off semi-final against Albania either until the 63rd minute, before Lewandowski and Zielinski turned the game around after trailing 1-0. Poland are considered outsiders for the final in Sweden. But that doesn't mean anything against the Scandinavians - as the recent past has shown.

Kosovo surprised everyone with a very strong group phase in qualifying, finishing second in Group B behind Switzerland and ahead of Slovenia and Sweden. In the play-offs, the underdogs picked up where they left off - knocking Slovakia out of the World Cup race with a spectacular 4:3 victory.

Kosovo has been unbeaten since the 4-0 defeat in Switzerland in September 2025. If they are to qualify for the finals for the first time, they will have to extend their unbeaten streak by one more game. Despite home advantage, this is likely to be a huge challenge against Turkey.

The Turks impressed in qualifying, losing just one of their six matches - albeit a 6-0 defeat to Spain. In the play-off semi-final, Vincenzo Montella's team beat Romania 1-0 in the cauldron of Istanbul. Will Turkey also be able to hold their own at the Stadiumi Fadil Vokrri in Pristina?

Much jubilation among the Kosovars - will they qualify for their first World Cup finals?

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