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New Delhi: Croatia booked their spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 3-1 comeback victory against the Faroe Islands at home on Friday. Croatia reached 19 points, and the second-placed Czech Republic have no chance to catch them in Group L, as they sit on 13 points with one game to play against Gibraltar on Monday.
For the visitors, ranked 127th in the FIFA rankings, the campaign concludes with 12 points and a genuine fight for the top two places. The Faroe Islands stunned the crowd as Geza David Turi scored the opening goal of the match in the 16th minute. He burst forward from midfield and hit a low shot that deflected from Luka Vuskovic to give the visitors the lead.
Seven minutes later, Croatia levelled the score as Josko Gvardiol drilled a powerful strike into the bottom right corner. The hosts took a lead in the 57th minute as an unmarked Petar Musa guided a low cross into the goal. Nikola Vlasic netted the third goal for Croatia in the 70th minute as the hosts registered a dominating win.
AC Milan midfielder Luka Modric will lead Croatia into his tenth major international tournament and fifth FIFA World Cup in 2026. Croatia's long-time number 10 and former Real Madrid player was crucial to their runner-up finish in 2018 and bronze in 2022.
"The number sounds unreal, and I hope my health holds up and that I will be there. Ten is a special number for me and I hope we achieve a good result," Modric said.
Nick Woltemade netted a brace in the second half to give the four-time world champions Germany a 2-0 victory against Luxembourg in their penultimate 2026 World Cup qualifier match on Friday, leaving them on the verge of automatic qualification.
The Newcastle United forward netted the first goal in the 49th minute of the match and added another in the 69th minute to keep Germany at the top of Group A with 12 points.
The Netherlands managed to keep their three-point advantage over Poland in their World Cup qualifying group as the two teams drew 1-1 on Friday, leaving the Dutch just one point away from qualification.
Jakub Kaminski scored the opening goal of the match in the 43rd minute to give Poland a halftime lead as they needed victory to keep their hopes alive of topping Group G and securing automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
Memphis Depay netted the leveller for the visitors after the break to ensure the Dutch team moved to 17 points, with Poland second in the group G standings on 14 points.
The Netherlands need only draw against bottom-placed Lithuania in their last fixture in Amsterdam on Monday to seal their World Cup spot.
