Croatia Earns Place at 2026 World Cup, Netherlands on Verge, Germany in Uncertainty
Croatia secured their berth at the 2026 World Cup in North America thanks to a shaky 3-1 victory against the impressive Faroe Islands on Friday, while the Netherlands virtually guaranteed their own qualification.
Germany's chances of progressing remain dependent on their concluding Group A fixture on Monday against Slovakia at home, following a brace from Nick Woltemade that delivered a tough 2-0 success at Luxembourg.
Geza David Turi stunned the crowd by putting the Faroes ahead, but goals from Josko Gvardiol, Petar Musa, and Nikola Vlasic in Rijeka ensured that the 2018 World Cup runners-up Croatia advanced to the tournament in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
The win extended Croatia's advantage to six points ahead of the Czech Republic in Group L, with only one match remaining.
"For Croatia, for the supporters!" an elated Gvardiol shared on his X profile.
However, the evening highlighted how underdogs can unsettle bigger teams, even if they fail to land a decisive hit.
The Faroes, riding a trio of straight wins and clinging to slim qualification prospects, boldly went ahead versus a Croatia side that merely required a point to advance.
Turi collected the ball inside Croatia's territory and advanced unchallenged before unleashing a shot from distance that took a significant deflection to elude Dominik Livakovic in the Croatian net on the 16th minute.
Croatia's response came swiftly, just seven minutes later, as Manchester City stalwart Gvardiol rifled home a leveller amid some sloppy defending from the Faroes.
With veteran Luka Modric, aged 40 and earning his 193rd appearance, orchestrating play from midfield, the home team steadily assumed dominance.
Twelve minutes after the interval, Musa slotted in at the front post to calm the Croatian supporters.
As the Faroes' dream of becoming the tiniest country ever to qualify for a World Cup slipped away, Vlasic twisted the blade further with a controlled volley twenty minutes before the end, catching goalkeeper Mathias Lamhauge out of position.
Depay Keeps Dutch Ahead
Memphis Depay's landmark 55th goal for the Netherlands, extending his national record, propelled them close to confirmation of a finals place via a 1-1 stalemate against Poland.
Jakub Kaminski revived Poland's aspirations of overtaking the Netherlands for the Group G lead right before halftime in Warsaw, finishing a pass from Robert Lewandowski beyond Dutch keeper Bart Verbruggen.
Yet, merely two minutes into the second period, Depay netted to preserve the Netherlands' three-point cushion at the summit, bolstered by a substantial 13-goal edge in difference that renders their Monday home match against Lithuania a mere formality.
In Group A, resilient Luxembourg posed numerous threats to Germany during a scoreless opening half, but Woltemade's pair of strikes after the break maintained Germany's position at the head of the section.
"I realise it was not an attractive match, yet we committed fully, pressed relentlessly, and claimed the victory," Woltemade remarked to Germany's RTL channel.
The quadruple world champions require just a single point from their home encounter with Slovakia on Monday to seal their World Cup entry.
Their closest challengers, Slovakia, saw two strikes disallowed by VAR, but Tomas Bobcek netted deep into stoppage time in Kosice to grab a narrow 1-0 win over Northern Ireland.
Slovakia, however, needs to prevail in Germany on Monday to claim the group and bypass the play-offs.
In other action, Liam Jessop's effort on 20 minutes appeared to position Gibraltar for their inaugural win or at least a tie in a major qualification campaign, although Vasilije Adzic and Nikola Krstovic steered Montenegro to a 2-1 escape in Group L.