{"id":575024,"date":"2026-03-30T22:17:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T22:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/575024\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:17:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T22:17:12","slug":"italys-world-cup-fate-to-be-decided-socceroos-to-learn-final-group-opponent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/575024\/","title":{"rendered":"Italy’s World Cup fate to be decided, Socceroos to learn final group opponent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Qualifying for the biggest-ever FIFA Men’s World Cup started in late 2023 and has already produced some incredible stories, including the unlikely berths of Cura\u00e7ao and Cape Verde.<\/p>\n

But there are still some heavyweights that have not yet locked in their spot in the 48-team competition in the United States, Canada, and Mexico starting in June.<\/p>\n

Four-time World Cup champion Italy headlines the play-off finals; T\u00fcrkiye or Kosovo will be the Socceroos’ first group stage opponent, and after starting this qualification campaign leading Australia, Graham Arnold is hoping to take Iraq all the way.<\/p>\n

Twelve teams remain in the hunt for the final six spots, with their World Cup dreams to be decided in winner-takes-all play-offs.<\/p>\n

UEFA play-offs<\/p>\n

UEFA has the most qualification spots for the tournament, with the final four of 16 nations to be decided in games across the continent.<\/p>\n

Stan Sport will broadcast all UEFA qualifiers.<\/p>\n

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Italy<\/p>\n

Wednesday, April 1, 5:45am AEDT, Stadion Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/p>\n

Sandro Tonali scored Italy’s first goal against Northern Ireland in the play-off semifinal.\u00a0 (Getty Images: Giuseppe Maffia)<\/p>\n

The Azzurri are the world number 12, but have missed the last two editions of the tournament after losing in play-offs both times.<\/p>\n

Twenty years after its last World Cup triumph, there is incredible expectation on the one-time powerhouse of men’s football to rise again.<\/p>\n

Bosnia and Herzegovina has only ever been to one World Cup in Brazil 2014.<\/p>\n

Incredibly, the team is still led by 40-year-old talisman Edin D\u017eeko, who has conceded Italy will be the “big favourites”.<\/p>\n

The Italians beat Northern Ireland at home last week to progress to this stage, while Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Wales in a penalty shootout.<\/p>\n

The winner will join Canada, Qatar, and Switzerland in Group B.<\/p>\n

Kosovo vs T\u00fcrkiye<\/p>\n

Wednesday, April 1, 5:45am AEDT, Stadiumi Fadil Vokrri, Pristina, Kosovo<\/p>\n

\"Turkish<\/p>\n

Arda G\u00fcler (right) has been a central figure for T\u00fcrki\u0307ye during qualifying. (Getty Images: Ahmad Mora\u00a0)<\/p>\n

This is the match most Socceroos fans will be keeping a keen eye on \u2014 they’ll face the winner in their first group game in Vancouver.<\/p>\n

At world number 24, T\u00fcrkiye is ranked three places higher than Australia, and is the favourite to progress.<\/p>\n

Led by Real Madrid midfielder Arda G\u00fcler, it had a tough 1-0 win over Romania in the play-off semis.<\/p>\n

Kosovo, ranked 78th, is hoping to make its World Cup debut, still riding on a high after a thrilling 4-3 win over Slovakia.<\/p>\n

The winner will join Australia, the USA and Paraguay in Group D.<\/p>\n

Sweden vs Poland<\/p>\n

Wednesday, April 1, 5:45am AEDT, Nationalarenan, Solna, Sweden<\/p>\n

\"Sweden<\/p>\n

Viktor Gy\u00f6keres was in top goal-scoring form in Sweden’s semifinal victory. (Getty Images: David Aliaga)<\/p>\n

Viktor Gy\u00f6keres is familiar to most football fans, and the Arsenal striker has propelled his country to this point, scoring a hat-trick in the 3-1 semifinal win over Ukraine.<\/p>\n

This is a re-match of the 2022 play-offs, where Poland claimed a 2-0 win.<\/p>\n

Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, 37, is still the main man for Poland, as he hopes to lead his country to a third straight World Cup.<\/p>\n

The winner will join the Netherlands, Japan, and Tunisia in Group F.<\/p>\n

Czechia vs Denmark<\/p>\n

Wednesday, April 1, 5:45am AEDT, Letn\u00e1 Stadium, Prague, Czechia<\/p>\n

\"Czechia<\/p>\n

Czechia claimed a dramatic win over Ireland in a penalty shootout. (Getty Images: Adam Davy)<\/p>\n

World number 20 Denmark is aiming to qualify for a third straight time and comes into this play-off final off the back of a 4-0 win over North Macedonia.<\/p>\n

Czechia pulled off a late escape against Ireland, after trailing 2-0, it claimed a late equaliser to force a shootout.<\/p>\n

The 43rd-ranked side has not featured in a World Cup in 20 years.<\/p>\n

The winner will join Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea in Group A.<\/p>\n

Intercontinental play-offs<\/p>\n

The last two places will be determined at FIFA’s play-off tournament, hosted at two of the World Cup venues in Mexico.<\/p>\n

These games will be streamed on FIFA+.<\/p>\n

Bolivia vs Iraq<\/p>\n

Wednesday, April 1, 2pm AEDT, Monterrey Stadium, Guadalupe, Mexico<\/p>\n

\"Graham<\/p>\n

Australian Graham Arnold is guiding Iraq through qualification. (Getty Images: Noushad Thekkayil)<\/p>\n

After a poor start to the Socceroos’ qualifying campaign, coach Graham Arnold resigned in September 2024.<\/p>\n

He took over as Iraq’s manager in May 2025, and the Lions of Mesopotamia reached this stage with a 107th-minute penalty against the UAE in the fifth stage of AFC qualifying.<\/p>\n

Their sole appearance at the sport’s showpiece event came in 1986, and Arnold is looking to become the first Australian coach to take two different countries to the World Cup.<\/p>\n

Bolivia has played an extra game, having to defeat Suriname to earn the clash against Iraq, and its last World Cup appearance came in 1994.<\/p>\n

The winner will join France, Norway, and Senegal in Group I.<\/p>\n

Jamaica vs DR Congo<\/p>\n

Wednesday, April 1, 8am AEDT, Guadalajara Stadium, Guadalajara, Mexico<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Jamaica had to beat New Caledonia to get a final chance to qualify. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Like Iraq, Congo secured an early spot in this play-off final, while Jamaica had to overcome New Caledonia in the semi.<\/p>\n

Jamaica is ranked much higher at 69, to Congo’s 132.<\/p>\n

The Reggae Boyz missed a shot at automatic qualification after a scoreless draw with Cura\u00e7ao saw the “blue wave” become the smallest ever nation by population to make it to the World Cup.<\/p>\n

The winner will join Colombia, Portugal, and Uzbekistan in Group K.<\/p>\n

Who else has qualified for the World Cup?<\/p>\n

The USA, Canada, and Mexico were given automatic berths as the co-hosts, with the rest of the nations contesting continental qualification pathways.<\/p>\n

UEFA (Europe)<\/p>\n

England, France, Croatia, Norway, Portugal, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Scotland, Spain, Austria and Belgium.<\/p>\n

Concacaf (North America, Central America and Caribbean)<\/p>\n

Panama, Cura\u00e7ao and Haiti.<\/p>\n

CAF (Africa)<\/p>\n

Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia.<\/p>\n

AFC (Asia)<\/p>\n

Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.<\/p>\n

CONMEBOL (South America)<\/p>\n

Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay.<\/p>\n

OFC (Oceania)<\/p>\n

New Zealand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Qualifying for the biggest-ever FIFA Men’s World Cup started in late 2023 and has already produced some incredible…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":575025,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,63,80064,92958,6693,282083,13201,16135,218721,1076,2328,85,21418],"class_list":{"0":"post-575024","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-bosnia-and-herzegovina","11":"tag-bosnia-herzegovina","12":"tag-denmark","13":"tag-edin-dzeko","14":"tag-fifa","15":"tag-fifa-world-cup","16":"tag-graham-arnold","17":"tag-iraq","18":"tag-italy","19":"tag-sports","20":"tag-world-cup"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/575025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}