World Cup 2026: DR Congo to face Jamaica in final qualifying game

World Cup 2026 qualifiers: Italy vs Bosnia, Denmark vs Czechia, Sweden vs Poland, Turkey vs Kosovo, DR Congo vs Jamaica – key playoff finals.

DR Congo will take the fight to Jamaica on Tuesday as they hope to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in five decades. (Photo credit: FIFA)

With club football on hold and international football at the center stage, it's a good time to look at some intriguing news around the upcoming World Cup and the qualifying process.

Who has qualified? Who is fighting for a chance to play in the deep end of North America? Across all continents, qualifying rounds were fulfilled, and now, it has come down to sudden death for a few countries.

Europe is where the juice is. Giants like Italy and Denmark are having to do it the hard way; they have both survived the first hurdle, and now they must win their respective final qualifying games to stand a chance of kicking off the World Cup this summer.

Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean inspired Italy to a win over Northern Ireland on Thursday. The Azurris will now face Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday in the final rounds of the qualification. Bosnia beat Wales on penalties in their penultimate game to book a date with Italy.

Denmark mauled North Macedonia on Thursday with four different scorers heaping a 4-0 defeat on the tiny European nation. The reward for that is a finale on Tuesday against Czechia. The latter emerged as a surprise winner against Ireland on Thursday in a penalty shootout after regulation time ended 1-1.

Sweden beat Ukraine 3-1 with Arsenal's Viktor Gyökeres bagging a hat trick, while Poland saw off Albania 2-1. The two winners will face off on Tuesday in what would be a tricky game. Is there a last dance at the World Cup for Robert Lewandowski?

Finally, in the European pool, Arda Güler was inspirational in Turkey's 1-0 success over Romania while Slovakia lost to Kosovo. Turkey will be the clear favorite on Tuesday, but Kosovo will not be easy to beat.

In other news, DR Congo will face Jamaica in the final. The Reggae Boys beat New Caledonia 1-0 to book a place in the final against DR Congo. The African side edged the Super Eagles of Nigeria on penalties to get to this stage; they must give it their all when they meet Jamaica next week.