Italy beats Northern Ireland 2-0 in World Cup playoff semifinal. Gyökeres gets hat trick for Sweden

By Canadian Press on March 26, 2026.

Italy finally won a match in the World Cup playoffs. Now the four-time champion needs to win one more to avoid failing to qualify for a third straight time.

The Azzurri beat Northern Ireland 2-0 in the European semifinals on Thursday.

Sandro Tonali broke the deadlock with a half-volley early in the second half for Italy at home in Bergamo and then set up another goal for Moise Kean.

Also advancing to the playoff finals scheduled for Tuesday were Sweden, Poland, Turkey, Kosovo and Denmark.

Italy next visits either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina needing another victory to reach the upcoming tournament in North America and avoid going at least 16 years without even playing a match at soccer’s biggest event.

The Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina game was 1-1 in extra time Thursday, when Ireland and the Czech Republic also went to extra time — tied 2-2.

The other finals matchups are: Sweden vs. Poland; Turkey vs. Kosovo; and Denmark vs. either Czech Republic or Ireland.

Italy was eliminated by Sweden over two winless legs in the playoffs for the 2018 World Cup then was stunned by North Macedonia in the semifinal round in 2022.

Italy’s World Cup struggles go back all the way to 2010 and 2014, having failed to advance from its group on both occasions.

The Azzurri’s last World Cup knockout match was when they won the title in 2006 by beating France in a penalty shootout.

Gyökeres scores three for Sweden

Viktor Gyökeres hit a hat trick to send Sweden past Ukraine 3-1 despite not having scored for his country since 2024. Until Thursday, Gyökeres was scoreless and Sweden winless in a miserable qualifying group campaign.

The game was played in Spain because Ukraine hasn’t hosted international games since the Russian invasion of 2022.

Sweden will face Poland after 37-year-old Robert Lewandowski scored a crucial header in a 2-1 win over Albania, keeping alive the Barcelona striker’s bid to reach a third World Cup.

Albania took the lead through Arber Hoxha just before halftime after a defensive blunder by Poland. Lewandowski’s header at a corner got his team back into the game before Piotr Zielinski’s goal put Poland in front.

Kosovo is a game away from its first-ever World Cup after twice recovering from a goal down to upset Slovakia 4-3. That sets up a playoff with Turkey for a World Cup spot.

Gustav Isaksen scored twice in two minutes in a Denmark’s 4-0 win over North Macedonia.

Lucescu’s Romania eliminated

In an early match, Turkey beat Romania 1-0 and will face either Slovakia or Kosovo for a spot at its first World Cup since a third-place run in 2002.

Turkey took the lead shortly after the break when Ferdi Kadioglu was set up in front of the goal with a long, accurate pass from Arda Guler, a 21-year-old winger for Real Madrid who could become one of the World Cup’s younger standouts.

Vincenzo Montella’s Turkey squad reached the quarterfinals of the 2024 European Championship.

Romania’s elimination means that 80-year-old Mircea Lucescu won’t get a chance to coach at the World Cup for the first time. Lucescu captained Romania at the 1970 World Cup. He previously coached Turkey.

Nicolae Stanciu hit the post for Romania in the second half in Istanbul.

“We knew it would be a tough match. Lucescu knows us well and prepared accordingly,” Turkey captain Hakan Calhanoglu said. “In the first half, we could have made better runs in behind. In the second half, Ferdi scored with a ball in behind and it became 1-0. From then, it was ours.”

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Andrew Dampf And James Ellingworth, The Associated Press