Turkey and Romania meet Thursday in Istanbul, in a single-elimination semifinal of the UEFA World Cup qualifying playoffs.
Turkey is the clear favorite, ranked 26th in the world after finishing second in Group E behind Spain. Vincenzo Montella’s team went 7-1-2 across qualifying with a 17-goal attack headed by Real Madrid star Arda Güler and Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz.
Turkey closed the group stage with a 2-2 draw in Spain, and the team have not lost at home making the match at the Tüpraş Stadyumu a tough challenge for the visitors.
Romania is ranked 47th and reached the playoffs after finishing qualifying third in Group H behind Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Mircea Lucescu’s squad didn’t win a single away match in 2025, and veteran midfielder Nicolae Stanciu will need to be at the top of his game if Romania is to pull off an upset in Istanbul.
The winner of Thursday’s game will face the winner of Kosovo’s semifinal against Slovakia in the final on Tuesday, March 31 for a place at the World Cup.
- When: Thursday, March 26
- Where: Tüpraş Stadyumu (Istanbul, Turkey)
- Time: 1 p.m. ET
- Channel/streaming: FS2 (Watch on Fubo), ViX (Watch on Prime Video)
