World Cup 2026 qualifiers: Switzerland, Denmark, Croatia and Scotland win, Sweden flops
In addition to the match between Italy and Israel, terminated 5-4 for the Azzurri, the UEFA Zone 2026 World Cup qualifiers offered six other matches and in these there was no shortage of surprises, starting with Sweden’s defeat in Kosovo: 2-0 for the Balkans in Pristina, with goals by Rexhbecaj on 26′ and Muriqi on 42′. In the final sent off Emerllahu, red irrelevant to the result at the triple whistle.
Somewhat surprisingly, Daninmarca also inflicted a net 3-0 away to Greece in Piraeus: goals by Damsgaard at 32′, Andreas Christensen at 62′; and the new Napoli player Hojlund at’81’. In Basel, however, a very high-intensity first half was enough for Switzerland to beat Slovenia by the same score, with goals by Elvedi on 18′, Embolo on 33′ and Ndoye on 38′.
Croatia strolls past Montenegro in Zagreb: 4-0 the final score with goals by Jakic at 35′, Kramaric at 51′, Kuc’s own goal at 85’85’ and icing on the cake by Perisic at 92′. Montenegrins in ten from 42′, due to the second yellow issued to Bulatovic. Two ‘Italians’ were decisive in Scotland’s victory over Belarus: in fact, they signed the final 2-0 Turin player Che Adams, scoring at 43′, and Napoli midfielder Billy Gilmour at 65′, although the goal is marked on the score sheet as Volkov’s own goal. Closing out the evening’s report is the Faroe Islands’ 1-0 win in Gibraltar, with Martin Agnarsson scoring the winning goal in the 68th minute.
These are the updated standings, recalling that the first-place finisher in each group will go to the World Cup, while the runners-up will face playoffs:
Group A: Slovakia 6, Northern Ireland and Germany 3, Luxembourg 0.
Group B: Switzerland 6, Kosovo 3, Sweden and Slovenia 1.
Group C: Denmark and Scotland 4, Greece 3, Belarus 0.
Group D: Iceland and France 3, Ukraine and Azerbaijan 0.
Group E: Spain 6, Georgia and Turkey 3, Bulgaria 0.
Group F: Portugal 3, Hungary and Ireland 1, Armenia 0.
Group G: Netherlands (one game down) and Poland 10, Finland 7, Lithuania 3, Malta 2.
Group H: Bosnia and Herzegovina 12, Austria (one game less) 9, Romania 6, Cyprus 3, San Marino (one game more) 0.
Group I: Norway 12, Italy and Israel (one game more) 9, Estonia (one game more) 3, Moldova 0.
Group J: North Macedonia 11, Belgium (one game less) and Wales 10, Kazakhstan 3, Liechtenstein 0.
Group K: England 12, Serbia (one game less) 7, Albania 5, Latvia 4, Andorra (one game more) 0.
Group L: Croatia (one game less) and Czech Republic 12, Faroe Islands and Montenegro 6, Gibraltar 0.
