Rasmus Hjølund was one of three Danish players to miss a penalty as the Czechs missed out on a World Cup place. The on-loan Manchester United striker failed to convert his first spot-kick, while Anders Dreyer and Matthias Jensen also failed to find the back of the net.
However, Viktor Gökeres scored the winning goal in the 88th minute against Poland, allowing Sweden to prevail and claim one of the final spots in this summer’s North American tournament. Anthony Elanga scored the Scandinavian side’s first goal and they took the lead twice, only to be thwarted by their opponents until the Arsenal striker struck with a decisive strike late on.
More than ten years have passed since Italy’s current World Cup drought. That will extend to at least 16 after missing out on three consecutive World Cups.
This will be Turkey’s third appearance in the tournament, and the first time in 24 years since they finished third in 2002. Fenerbahce forward Kerem Akturkoglu scored the only goal in the away game against Kosovo in Pristina, in a 1-0 win. Either Bolivia or Iraq and either the Democratic Republic of Congo or Jamaica complete the lineup.
