Italy, Sweden advance in World Cup playoff semis

Italy took a step closer to ending its World Cup nightmare on Thursday, beating Northern Ireland 2-0 in Bergamo as the UEFA World Cup playoff semifinals produced a night of high drama, upsets, and hat tricks across Europe.

Italy Breathe Again

The four-time World Cup champions, who failed to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, controlled play but were held scoreless until the second half. Sandro Tonali broke the deadlock with a half-volley early after the break, then set up Moise Kean to seal the victory. Italy, coached by Gennaro Gattuso, will travel to face the winner of the Wales-Bosnia and Herzegovina match in Tuesday's Path A final. That semifinal was level at 1-1 and headed to extra time on Thursday evening.espn+2

Italy's last World Cup knockout match came when they lifted the trophy in 2006 by beating France on penalties. Since then, they were eliminated in the group stage in 2010 and 2014 before missing the tournament entirely in 2018 and 2022.whec

Gyökeres Hat Trick Headlines Path B

Viktor Gyökeres delivered one of the night's standout performances, scoring a hat trick to power Sweden past Ukraine 3-1 in Valencia, Spain. The Sporting CP striker had been scoreless for his country since 2024 before his eruption on Thursday. Sweden will meet Poland in Tuesday's Path B final after Robert Lewandowski headed Poland level following Arber Hoxha's opener for Albania, and Piotr Zielinski added a second to complete a 2-1 comeback in Warsaw.foxsports+1

Kosovo Stun Slovakia; Denmark Cruise

Kosovo produced the night's biggest upset, twice coming from behind to beat Slovakia 4-3 in a wild semifinal in Bratislava. Kosovo, which has never appeared at a World Cup, will now face Turkey — 1-0 winners over Romania in the early kickoff — for a place at the tournament in North America.foxsports+1

Denmark eased past North Macedonia 4-0 in Copenhagen, with Gustav Isaksen scoring twice in two minutes. Denmark will play the winner of the Czechia-Republic of Ireland semifinal, which was tied 2-2 and in extra time as of Thursday evening.whec

The four path finals are all scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, with the winners claiming the last European spots at the 48-team World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.