In the 2026 World Cup European Qualifiers final, Turkey defeated Kosovo 1-0 away from home. This victory secured their place in the World Cup finals for the first time in 24 years.

Turkey started strong and launched a sustained attack on Kosovo's penalty area in the 9th minute. Had Lombard Dłova not intervened to deny Kenan Yildiz's final shot, Kosovo would likely have been on the back foot much earlier. In the 13th minute, Yildiz cut the ball back from the left, and Abdul Bardakžić's curling shot from outside the box was comfortably saved by Arianet Muriqui.

After that, Kosovo gradually stabilized and launched a counter-attack. In the 23rd minute, Florent Muslia's corner kick from the left caused chaos in the opponent's penalty area, and Kreshnik Hajrić attempted a bicycle kick but it went ridiculously high. In the 29th minute, Virdin Hoza delivered a diagonal pass in the attacking third, and Fisnik Aslani's long-range shot was brilliantly saved by Uurcan Cakir. Vedat Murić then quickly moved forward to follow up with a shot, but it also missed the target.

In the 32nd minute, Olkun Kirkchu received the ball in the attacking third and surged into the left side of the penalty area, but missed a scoring opportunity under the combined defense of Dlova and Muriqui. Neither side managed to score again, and the score remained 0-0 at halftime.

The second half began with both sides switching ends. In the 53rd minute, Turkey finally broke the deadlock: Kokcho broke into the penalty area from the left and cut the ball back, where Kerem Aktirkooglu finished with a close-range shot. With Aktirkooglu's crucial goal, the scales of victory began to tip in Turkey's favor.

After taking the lead, Turkey played with increasing ease. In the 63rd minute, Yildiz cut inside from the left wing and unleashed a powerful shot, which was brilliantly saved by Muriqui. In the 83rd minute, Kokchuk passed the ball from midfield to the left wing, where Yildiz again broke into the penalty area and fired a shot just wide of the far post. The match ended with Türkiye winning 1-0 away from home.

Image source: Internet/UEFA official website