Denmark and Italy will miss the 2026 World Cup after penalty shootout losses in the playoffs. Czechia defeated Denmark away, Bosnia-Herzegovina beat Italy, and Turkey secured qualification with a 1-0 win.
Denmark lost a penalty drama to Czechia away. Denmark trailed in regular time and extra time but equalized both times. In the shootout, Rasmus Højlund hit the bar with the first penalty, Christian Eriksen equalized with the second, but Anders Dreyer and Mathias Jensen missed theirs. Michal Sadílek scored 3-1 in the fourth round, securing Czechia's first World Cup appearance in 20 years.
Italy also fell in a penalty shootout away to Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1-4 after 1-1 in full time and extra time. This means Italy misses the World Cup for the third time in a row.
Turkey qualified for the World Cup with a 1-0 away win over Kosovo. Norway and Sweden will not be joined by Denmark at the tournament, but Sweden has already qualified after beating Poland with Viktor Gyökeres as the hero.
