Newsletters
Türkiye moved within one victory of ending a 24-year World Cup absence on Thursday night, as Ferdi Kadioglu's second-half goal gave the hosts a 1-0 victory over Romania in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying playoff semifinal at Vodafone Park.
The decisive moment came in the 53rd minute, when Real Madrid's Arda Guler threaded a perfectly weighted through ball behind the Romanian defense and Kadioglu, surging into the box unmarked, slotted the ball past goalkeeper Ionut Radu. It was the Brighton & Hove Albion defender's first competitive goal in a Türkiye shirt, and it proved to be the only one his side needed.
The result sends Vincenzo Montella's squad into the Path C final on March 31, where they will travel to face the winner of the Slovakia-Kosovo semifinal. Victory in that match would secure Türkiye a place at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, ending an absence from the tournament that stretches back to their remarkable third-place finish in 2002.
Türkiye dominated much of the contest, particularly after halftime, with Guler pulling the strings in attack. The 21-year-old's assist for the goal was his fourth in the European qualifying campaign, underscoring his growing influence on the international stage. Before setting up Kadioglu, Guler had already tested Radu with a shot from inside the box that the Romanian goalkeeper parried, and he forced another save from range in the first half.
Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz also came close to doubling the lead in the 61st minute, rattling the crossbar with a right-footed effort from the left side of the box after a slick combination with Ferdi Kadioglu. Captain Hakan Calhanoglu, meanwhile, was a persistent threat from distance, firing several shots from outside the area, though none found the target.
The first half had ended goalless despite Türkiye's clear territorial advantage. Calhanoglu twice saw efforts blocked, Guler sent a shot from the center of the box over the bar, and Abdulkerim Bardakci fired wide from range. Romania's best opening before the break came through Ianis Hagi, whose blocked shot in the 23rd minute was one of only a handful of visiting forays into dangerous areas.
Romania, managed by the legendary Mircea Lucescu, grew more urgent as the clock wound down. Nicolae Stanciu, introduced as a substitute in the 71st minute, struck the left post with a curling effort from the right side of the box in the 77th minute, the closest the visitors came to an equalizer. Moments earlier, Andrei Ratiu had forced a block from the Türkiye defense.
Lucescu's side also had Ianis Hagi, the son of Romanian football icon Gheorghe Hagi, threatening sporadically, and Daniel Birligea showed flashes of danger in the first half with a blocked shot from close range. But Romania managed only a handful of attempts on goal over the 90 minutes and never truly sustained the pressure needed to find a leveler.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
