{"id":17427,"date":"2026-04-03T08:32:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T08:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/?p=17427"},"modified":"2026-04-03T08:32:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T08:32:45","slug":"world-cup-playoffs-roundup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/world-cup-playoffs-roundup","title":{"rendered":"The Final pre-World Cup International Break: Italy Out, England Stumble and Messi Says Goodbye"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The final major international window before the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/football\/league\/fifa-world-cup-5930\">2026 World Cup<\/a> has come and gone, and it delivered in full. World Cup places were sealed in dramatic fashion, giant nations stumbled in friendly action, and Kaoru Mitoma silenced Wembley. With the tournament now less than three months away and the full 48-team lineup confirmed, the stakes of every result suddenly feel very real. Here is everything that happened across a week that will shape the summer&#8217;s conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>The World Cup is just 69 days away&#8230;<\/h2><nav><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#world-cup-the-final-places-are-sealed\">World Cup &#8211; the final places are sealed<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#mbappe-and-france-hand-brazil-a-warning-in-a-thriller\">Mbappe and France hand Brazil a warning in a thriller<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#englands-wembley-fortnight-to-forget\">England&#8217;s Wembley fortnight to forget<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#messi-and-a-last-dance\">Messi and a last dance..?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#the-rest\">The Rest<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#fa-qs\">FAQs<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"world-cup-the-final-places-are-sealed\">World Cup &#8211; the final places are sealed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The headline business of the window was the completion of World Cup qualification, with the final six spots distributed across two sets of playoffs. In Europe, four paths ran to their conclusions on 31 March, producing a quartet of qualifiers \u2014 Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, T\u00fcrkiye and the Czech Republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Italy will not be at the 2026 World Cup. For the third consecutive time. It is a sentence that still feels surreal to write. The Azzurri won the first game of their path, defeating Northern Ireland 2-0 in the semi-final, and came into the final against Bosnia and Herzegovina as overwhelming favourites on paper. Moise Kean put them ahead in the 15th minute, and for a while it looked as though Gennaro Gattuso&#8217;s side would finally end the nightmare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then Alessandro Bastoni was sent off just before half-time for a last-man challenge, and the entire tie turned. Haris Tabakovic equalised in the 79th minute. Extra time produced no winner. Italy missed two penalties \u2014 Francesco Pio Esposito and Bryan Cristante both failing \u2014 and Bosnia held their nerve to win 4-1 on spot kicks. For a four-time world champion to miss three consecutive World Cups, in a tournament expanded to 48 teams, is one of football&#8217;s most jaw-dropping failures. They will watch from home again this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\r\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Gigio Donnarumma madr his Itaiy NT debut aged 17! <br \/><br \/>It&#8217;s almost unbelievable that when he turns 31 he will still have 0 World Cup minutes to his name \ud83d\ude31 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uDyMpk8FTx\">pic.twitter.com\/uDyMpk8FTx<\/a><\/p>\r\n\u2014 365Scores (@365Scores) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/365Scores\/status\/2039696595193594186?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">April 2, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>\r\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Elsewhere, Sweden&#8217;s qualification was one of the most thrilling stories of the window. Viktor Gyokeres grabbed an 88th-minute winner against Poland in a 3-2 victory in Solna, sending the Swedes back to the World Cup for the first time since 2018. T\u00fcrkiye ended a 24-year absence from the tournament, beating Kosovo 1-0 through Kerem Akt\u00fcrko\u011flu&#8217;s second-half goal. Czech Republic edged Denmark in a penalty shootout, winning 3-1 from the spot after a 2-2 draw, to reach the World Cup for the first time since 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The intercontinental playoffs, held in Mexico, concluded with Iraq and DR Congo claiming the final two places. Iraq beat Bolivia 2-1 in their deciding match, ending a 40-year wait to return to the World Cup. DR Congo, meanwhile, defeated Jamaica 1-0 in extra time \u2014 a historic result that ends the nation&#8217;s absence from the tournament since 1974.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\r\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Imagine all these big names missing out on the BIGGEST football tournament!<br \/>How far this team could go in a World Cup? \ud83e\udd14 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PdasjC9nOM\">pic.twitter.com\/PdasjC9nOM<\/a><\/p>\r\n\u2014 365Scores (@365Scores) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/365Scores\/status\/2039622131646976074?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">April 2, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>\r\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"mbappe-and-france-hand-brazil-a-warning-in-a-thriller\">Mbappe and France hand Brazil a warning in a thriller<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>France and Brazil met in a pre-World Cup friendly at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on 26 March \u2014 the same ground where Les Bleus will play their final group stage game this summer \u2014 and France won 2-1 despite finishing with ten men. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/football\/player\/kylian-mbappe-39820\">Kylian Mbappe<\/a>, back to full fitness after his knee concerns at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/football\/team\/real-madrid-131\">Real Madrid<\/a>, opened the scoring with a chipped finish set up by a precise <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/football\/player\/ousmane-dembele-39779\">Demb\u00e9l\u00e9<\/a> through ball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hugo Ekitike doubled the lead after Dayot Upamecano&#8217;s red card left France a man down, with Bremer pulling one back late for a Brazil side missing several key figures and visibly short of collective organisation. Didier Deschamps, stepping down after this tournament, now has the deepest attacking pool of any manager at the World Cup. Few teams will fancy facing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2268477513-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"World Cup ready - (L-R) France's defender #15 Ibrahima Konate, midfielder #08 Aurelien Tchouameni, forward #07 Ousmane Dembele, forward #10 Kylian Mbappe and midfielder #06 Eduardo Camavinga share a moment in the bench during a friendly football match between Colombia and France at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, on March 29, 2026. \" class=\"wp-image-17431\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Photo by FRANCK FIFE \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"englands-wembley-fortnight-to-forget\">England&#8217;s Wembley fortnight to forget<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>England used this break as a final audition before Thomas Tuchel picks his World Cup squad, and came away with one draw and one defeat. Against Uruguay on 27 March, Ben White returned to the fold for the first time since the 2022 World Cup, was booed on introduction, scored his first international goal, then gave away a stoppage-time penalty that allowed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/football\/player\/federico-valverde-41053\">Federico Valverde<\/a> to equalise at 1-1. James Garner and James Trafford made their senior debuts, but the performance was flat throughout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Four days later, Japan won 1-0 at Wembley through a Kaoru Mitoma counter-attacking finish \u2014 the first time England have lost to an Asian nation at senior level. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/football\/player\/harry-kane-1669\">Harry Kane<\/a> missed the game with a minor knock, and with 19 attempts producing just four shots on target, the hosts were booed off at full-time. Tuchel was clearly using both games to assess fringe options, but a winless camp this close to a tournament is not the momentum anyone wanted. England are in Group L with Croatia, Ghana and Panama. They need Kane fit, and they need answers fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\r\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Not being called-up to England&#8217;s current squad sets Trent Alexander-Arnold&#8217;s World Cup aspirations in geopardy! Will Real Madrid&#8217;s ace miss the grandest stage of them all? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MmnhLIeI1R\">pic.twitter.com\/MmnhLIeI1R<\/a><\/p>\r\n\u2014 365Scores (@365Scores) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/365Scores\/status\/2035628264593424682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">March 22, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>\r\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"messi-and-a-last-dance\">Messi and a last dance..?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Amid the playoff drama and the pre-tournament friendlies, one image cut through everything else. On 30 March, AFA team photographer Manuel Cortina shared a photo from Ezeiza \u2014 Argentina&#8217;s national training complex \u2014 captioning it as what was possibly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/football\/player\/lionel-messi-874\">Lionel Messi&#8217;s<\/a> last ever training session at the facility. The 38-year-old, who has not publicly confirmed his participation at the World Cup, appeared visibly contemplative in the images, and the reaction across the football world was immediate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Argentina went on to beat Zambia 5-0 at La Bombonera the following day, in what is expected to be their final home match before the tournament, with Messi scoring and assisting in front of a crowd that treated every touch as something to be treasured. He did not speak to the media throughout the window. Lionel Scaloni has made no secret of how desperately he wants his captain on the plane to North America. Whether or not Messi boards it remains, for now, the sport&#8217;s most loaded open question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\r\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Scaloni on Lionel Messi:<br \/><br \/>\u201cIf Leo Messi wants, I\u2019m confident he can reach 1000 goals.\u201d<br \/><br \/>The GOAT still has more to give\ud83d\udc10\ud83d\udd25 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FjYQjG9thr\">pic.twitter.com\/FjYQjG9thr<\/a><\/p>\r\n\u2014 365Scores (@365Scores) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/365Scores\/status\/2039763625963859983?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">April 2, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>\r\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-rest\">The Rest<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Elsewhere across the break, the USA were heavily defeated by Belgium in their first friendly of the window as Mauricio Pochettino&#8217;s figures out how to impress as co-hosts. Mexico and Portugal played out a competitive friendly that raised the temperature around their respective World Cup preparations, while Colombia tested France, although fell short, in in Les Bleus&#8217; second outing of the window. Scotland \u2014 who qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1998 \u2014 also played during the break, continuing preparations for a Group C that includes Brazil, Morocco and Haiti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2268532872-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 26: Jhon Arias of Colombia celebrates scoring his team's first goal with teammates during the international friendly match between Colombia and Croatia at Camping World Stadium on March 26, 2026 in Orlando, Florida. \" class=\"wp-image-17432\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Photo by Leonardo Fernandez\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"fa-qs\">FAQs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Who qualified for the 2026 World Cup in the recent playoffs?<\/strong><br>The six teams who secured spots in the final playoff window were Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, T\u00fcrkiye, Czech Republic, Iraq and DR Congo. They joined the 42 teams who had already qualified, completing the full 48-team field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why did Italy fail to qualify for the 2026 World Cup?<\/strong><br>Italy were eliminated by Bosnia and Herzegovina in the UEFA playoff final on 31 March. The match finished 1-1 after extra time, with Italy losing on penalties. A red card for Alessandro Bastoni before half-time was the turning point. It is the third consecutive World Cup Italy have failed to qualify for<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When does the 2026 World Cup start?<\/strong><br>The 2026 FIFA World Cup begins on 11 June, with Mexico facing South Africa in the opening match in Mexico City. The final takes place on 19 July at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Who are England playing at the 2026 World Cup?<\/strong><br>England are in Group L alongside Croatia, Ghana and Panama. Their opener is against Croatia on 17 June at AT&amp;T Stadium in Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What happened to Italy at the World Cup playoff?<\/strong><br>Italy were knocked out by Bosnia and Herzegovina in the UEFA playoff final, losing on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Gennaro Gattuso&#8217;s side were reduced to ten men when Alessandro Bastoni was sent off before half-time, which proved decisive. It is the third consecutive World Cup Italy have failed to qualify for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>By Nicky Helfgott &#8211; <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NickyHelfgott1\"><em>NickyHelfgott1 on X (Twitter<\/em>)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep up with all the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\">latest football news<\/a> and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/en-us\/football\/league\/premier-league-7\/news\"> Premier League news<\/a> on 365Scores!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The final major international window before the 2026 World Cup has come and gone, and it delivered in full. World Cup places were sealed in dramatic fashion, giant nations stumbled in friendly action, and Kaoru Mitoma silenced Wembley. With the tournament now less than three months away and the full 48-team lineup confirmed, the stakes &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":17429,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,893],"tags":[4945,4941,2532,4938,4936,4937,4947,4946,4939,3648,4935,4948,4940,4290,188,4942,4944,4943,2744,4097],"class_list":["post-17427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer","category-world-cup","tag-ben-white-england","tag-bosnia-herzegovina-world-cup","tag-brazil-national-team","tag-brazil-vs-france","tag-england-vs-japan","tag-england-vs-uruguay","tag-england-world-cup-squad","tag-fifa-world-cup-2026","tag-france-national-team","tag-hugo-ekitike","tag-international-break-2026","tag-international-football-results","tag-italy-world-cup-qualification-failure","tag-kaoru-mitoma","tag-kylian-mbappe","tag-sweden-world-cup-2026","tag-thomas-tuchel-england","tag-uefa-playoffs-2026","tag-viktor-gyokeres","tag-world-cup-2026-qualifiers","article_type-discover","entity_type-competition","inspiration-365s-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17427"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17437,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17427\/revisions\/17437"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.365scores.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}