I obviously want to thank everyone who's here, all the players, the staff and all the people who make sure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes. I'm proud to be the captain of Oranje and to lead you every single time. I'm already excited for the final tournament and to achieve success together. The specific phrase the final tournament has been picked up by fans as the crucial detail.
Spain were almost guaranteed to finish top of Group E ahead of kick-off unless Turkiye could pull off a miraculous goal swing, but Dani Olmo got them off to a flying start. The Barcelona forward finished past Altay Bayindir in the fourth minute in Seville, but the visitors restored parity just before the break through Deniz Gul's strike from close range.
Austria came from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina, which booked their place at the 2026 World Cup. Bosnia-Herzegovina were on course to leapfrog Austria into top spot in Group H after Haris Tabakovic gave them a 12th-minute lead. Ralf Rangnick's side were then denied an equaliser just before the break, when Konrad Laimer drilled in off the post, only for it to be chalked off after a VAR review for a foul in the build-up.
Led by a core of five Bayern players, Germany claimed a comprehensive 6-0 win over Group A rivals Slovakia in their final game of World Cup qualifying to secure their place in next summer's tournament in Canada, Mexico and the USA. "The World Cup is the greatest thing there is. We're not used to it being so tight in Germany, so I'm really happy," said Joshua Kimmich, who captained the team in Leipzig on Monday.
Best odds: 4/5 Bookmaker: Olympusbet Scotland and Denmark will battle for a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup when they meet at Hampden Park on Tuesday evening. Despite losing on Saturday, the hosts still have a chance to qualify automatically: Scotland must win to reach next year's finals, while Denmark only need a draw. Scotland Two hard-fought home victories over Belarus and Greece last month lifted Scotland to 10 points, level with Denmark at the top of Group C.
Supporters and the media in Hungary have turned on the team and their manager, Marco Rossi, as they woke up to the fact that their World Cup dream is over. Hungary only needed a draw at home to Ireland to make the playoffs, but they threw away a 2-1 lead to lose 3-2 and it's the Hungarians who now face a grim spell of 10 months before their next game of consequence.
With nothing but third place in a friendly competition on the line, head coach Hossam Hassan and Egypt have taken the decision to omit the 33-year-old Liverpool star. A squad update from the Egyptian camp in the UAE confirmed that Salah, who is ranked at no.1 FourFourTwo's list of the best African footballers ever, will not play but made clear that there is no injury concern.
A sickness bug has disrupted Denmark's plans for their make-or-break World Cup qualifier with Scotland in Glasgow on Tuesday. Brian Riemer, the Danish head coach, has admitted he is concerned over the situation amid fears the ailment will spread further before kick-off. Joachim Andersen and Rasmus Hjland missed Denmark's surprising draw with Belarus on Saturday evening due to illness. The result in Copenhagen meant Scotland's 3-2 loss to Greece was immaterial for Steve Clarke's side.
On Friday evening, Luka Modric secured a spot in his fifth career World Cup with Croatia, making AC Milan a little happy too. Why is this the case? As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) report, with qualification secured the Croatia coach Dalic will be able to give his starters a break tomorrow in Montenegro, in a match that has become as important as a friendly.
