Türkiye beats Kosovo, clinching spot in 2026 Fifa World Cup

Türkiye reached their first World Cup in 24 years as Kerem Akturkoglu’s goal gave them a narrow win in their play-off with Kosovo.

Türkiye had not qualified for the tournament since finishing third in the 2002 edition, but will now face Australia, Paraguay and co-hosts the United States in Group C this summer.

In a tense match in Pristina, Kenan Yıldız cut the ball back for Orkun Kökcü, whose mis-hit shot was turned in at the back post by Fenerbahçe striker Aktürkoğlu in the 53rd minute.

Opponents Kosovo were hoping to reach their first major tournament since their Fifa and Uefa memberships were accepted in 2016.

They hit the bar in the first half when Türkiye goalkeeper Uğurcan Cakır tipped Fisnik Asllani’s effort onto the woodwork.

But Türkiye, which only had one other shot on target outside of their goal, held on to reach their third World Cup.

The victory ended a run of five straight failed qualification campaigns.

Four years ago, they were two games away from a place in the World Cup but were beaten by Portugal in their play-off semi-final.

Türkiye had won four of their first six World Cup 2026 qualifying games but missed out on an automatic spot to Spain, who finished three points above them in their group.

Brighton’s Ferdi Kadioğlu helped Türkiye to a 1-0 win over Romania in their path C semi-final on Thursday, which set up their winner-takes-all tie in Kosovo.

Led by stars Arda Güler of Real Madrid and Inter Milan’s Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Türkiye were the heavy favourites, ranked 23rd in the world, 55 places above Kosovo.

Türkiye have recent tournament pedigree, having reached the quarter-finals of the 2024 Euros, losing to the Netherlands in the last eight.