A talented Türkiye squad is targeting its first World Cup berth in 24 years.
Kosovo has the chance to become the next World Cup debutant to book its place at this summer’s tournament, but the hosts are big underdogs against Türkiye in Tuesday’s playoff final. Remarkably, the visitors haven’t appeared at the World Cup since finishing third in 2002, and have cruelly been beaten three times in the playoffs.
Vincenzo Montella’s squad is perhaps as talented as its ever been, though, and they surely would’ve qualified automatically for this tournament hadn’t they been drawn against Spain. A 6–0 defeat to the European champions in September 2025 meant claiming the all-important top spot was always unlikely, but Türkiye head into this fixture off the back of a five-game unbeaten run. A measured and mature showing helped them past Romania on Thursday, while Kosovo, who struggled in front of goal in qualifying, struck four times to help them past Slovakia—a nation that doesn’t recognize Kosovan independence. Kosovo’s fairytale fittingly culminates on home soil on Tuesday night, with Franco Foda’s players aiming to establish themselves as national heroes by downing the heavily favored Türkiye.is covering all of Tuesday’s UEFA playoff finals, but a £2.49 fee must be paid to access the streams.The 2026 World Cup kicks off with the same fixture that opened the 2010 tournament, with co-hosts Mexico facing South Africa on June 11.James Cormack is a freelancer soccer writer for Sports Illustrated FC. An expert on Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, he follows Italian and German soccer, taking particular interest in the work of Antonio Conte & Julian Nagelsmann.
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