PHOTOS | Turkey beats Romania 1-0 to advance in UEFA World Cup qualifying playoff

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Meciul dintre Turcia și România din semifinala play-off-ului pentru calificarea la Campionatul Mondial din 2026, disputat la Istanbul, 26 martie 2026. Inquam Photos / Ștefan Constantin

Turkey secured a 1-0 win over Romania in their playoff semi-final in Istanbul moving one step closer to qualifying for the FIFA 2026 World Cup.

In a high-stakes encounter, the deadlock was broken in the 53rd minute when Real Madrid midfielder Guler produced a superb pass to pick out Ferdi Kadioglu, who controlled and finished to give the hosts the lead.
That proved decisive in a tight contest between two sides seeking a return to the World Cup for the first time since 2002.Turkey grew in confidence after going ahead and came close to scoring again shortly afterwards, with Juventus’ Kenan Yildiz cutting in from the left and hitting the crossbar with a superb curling shot.
Romania, who had kept the hosts at bay in a cautious first half, pushed forward in search of an equalizer but were unable to break through as Turkey held on tightly to their advantage.

The win sends Turkey into the playoff final on March 31, where it will face Slovakia or Kosovo for a place at the 2026 World Cup.

Turkey’s home-field advantage combined with a 21-place gap in FIFA rankings made the game a steep challenge for Romania. The hosts have the attacking quality to break down a Romanian defense that struggled on the road in 2025.

Turkey lineup

  • Ugurcan Çakir
  • Abdülkerim Bardakci
  • Samet Akaydin
  • Ferdi Kadioglu
  • Mert Müldür
  • Arda Güler
  • Hakan Çalhanoglu
  • Ismail Yüksek
  • Kerem Aktürkoglu
  • Kenan Yildiz
  • Baris Alper Yilmaz

Romania lineup

  • Andrei Radu
  • Andrei Burca
  • Radu Dragusin
  • Nicusor Bancu
  • Andrei Ratiu
  • Ianis Hagi
  • Vlad Dragomir
  • Razvan Marin
  • Daniel Birligea
  • Valentin Mihaila
  • Dennis Man

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