Graham Potter's Sweden are one win from qualifying for the World Cup after Viktor Gyokeres scored a hat-trick in their 3-1 play-off semi-final win over Ukraine. The Arsenal forward had not scored in 2026 qualifying before Thursday's game in Valencia, Spain. But Gyokeres went home with the match ball after scoring in the sixth and 51st minutes, before completing his treble with a 73rd-minute penalty. Turkey beat Romania 1-0, with Brighton full-back Ferdi Kadioglu scoring the only goal of the game in Istanbul. Elsewhere in the race to qualify for the World Cup, Northern Ireland's World Cup dream ended with a 2-0 defeat away to Italy, while Wales and the Republic of Ireland both suffered agonising penalty shootout losses against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Czech Republic respectively after draws in extra time.

Source: BBC March 26, 2026 22:04 UTC