It was an entirely positive day for the national teams featuring FC Porto players in the European play-off for qualification to the 2026 World Cup. Poland, Denmark and Turkey won their respective matches and secured places in the decisive finals for a spot in the final tournament.
Poland beat Albania 2-1 and moved on after coming from behind. The Polish team will now face Sweden in the play-off final. All three FC Porto players took part in the match: Kiwior and Bednarek started, while Pietuszewski came on in the second half.
Denmark were the most convincing of the three sides, thrashing North Macedonia 4-0 to confirm qualification for the final match of this stage. Czechia are up next. Viktor Froholdt played the full 90 minutes.
Turkey, meanwhile, beat Romania 1-0 in Istanbul and remain in the fight for a place at the 2026 World Cup. Deniz Gül, FC Porto’s forward, was included in the Turkish squad for this fixture but remained on the bench. In the final, the Turks will face Kosovo.
As a result, all of FC Porto’s internationals still involved in this stage of qualification ended the day with reasons to smile. All three national teams have advanced to the play-off final and are now just one match away from securing a place at the World Cup.
The decisive fixtures have already been set: Sweden-Poland, Kosovo-Turkey and Czechia-Denmark.