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Hull City secured promotion to the Premier League after beating Middlesbrough 1-0 in the English Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium in London.
Oli McBurnie scored the winning goal in the 90+5th minute, giving Hull City the final available promotion spot for next season’s Premier League.
Coventry City and Ipswich Town had already earned direct promotion after finishing in the top two places in the Championship. Hull City became the third and final team to move up through the play-offs.
The final, played in front of 84,506 fans at Wembley, remained goalless until stoppage time.
Hull City started the match cautiously, while Middlesbrough pushed forward from the wings in the opening 20 minutes and looked to create chances in the penalty area. However, Middlesbrough struggled to find space against Hull City’s defense.
In the 24th minute, Coyle sent a header toward goal at the back post, but goalkeeper Brynn pushed the ball away for a corner.
Hull City then had a chance in the 38th minute when Millar was left one-on-one with the goalkeeper after a quick attack, but Brynn came off his line in time to clear the danger.
Belloumi, who had helped Hull City reach the final with a stylish goal against Millwall in the second leg of the semifinal, tried his luck from distance in the 43rd minute, but his shot went wide.
McBurnie came close in the 45th minute, heading Giles’ cross from the left onto the top of the crossbar.
The first half ended 0-0.
Both teams tried to use the support of their fans in the second half, but the score did not change until the final moments.
In the 90+5th minute, Hirakawa sent a cross into the penalty area from the left. Brynn tried to clear the ball, but McBurnie collected it and finished to give Hull City a 1-0 lead.
Hull City held on to win the match and will compete in the Premier League next season.
Hull City, aiming to return to the Premier League for the first time since the 2016-17 season, won a Championship play-off final for the third time.
The club had previously won play-off finals against Bristol City in 2008 and Sheffield Wednesday in 2016.
With the victory over Middlesbrough, Hull City kept its perfect record in play-off finals and secured another promotion to England’s top flight.
Hull City’s opponent in the Championship play-off final changed because of a disciplinary investigation involving Southampton.
The English Football Association and league officials found serious indications that Southampton had secretly watched a Middlesbrough training session. The case was treated as conduct against sporting ethics, leading to a disciplinary process against the club.
Following the investigation, Southampton was removed from the play-off final, and Middlesbrough was officially named as Hull City’s new opponent at Wembley.
The incident, described as a spying case, centered on claims that people linked to Southampton’s technical staff had monitored and recorded Middlesbrough’s tactical training without permission. Authorities ruled that the conduct violated football ethics.
The league also decided to impose a four-point deduction on Southampton for the 2026-27 Championship season.
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