Netherlands Secure World Cup spot, Poland Squeaks Through, Northern Ireland to play-offs
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BRATISLAVA. The football players of the Netherlands will not be absent from next year’s World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
The “Oranjes” definitely secured direct promotion from Group G of the european qualifiers after beating Lithuania 4-0 on Monday to take first place in the five-man table with 20 points.
The Dutch will appear at the World Championship for the twelfth time. They went through the qualification cycle without a loss, in eight duels they recorded only two draws with Poland (1:1, 1:1).
They were practically certain to advance even before the final round, as they had a substantially better score than the second-placed Poland, which was three points behind.
Despite this, the Dutch did not underestimate the duel with Lithuania, Tijani Reijnders’ goal in the 16th minute gave them peace of mind. After the change of sides, Cody Gakpo, Xavi Simons and Donyell Malen still prevailed.
The Poles fought hard
It was more arduous for the Poles to get off to a good start on the Malta pitch, four minutes later irvin Cardona responded to Robert Lewandowski’s goal.
However, the favorite tipped the scales in their favor after an hour of play, when Pawel wszolek and Karol Swiderski scored within three minutes, but the latter’s goal was disallowed after the intervention of the VAR system.
The home team took advantage of this and managed to equalize from the penalty, which was converted by Teddy Teuma. Poland did not allow the loss of points, in the 85th minute Piotr Zielinski redeemed it with an accurate strike.
Northern Ireland go to the play-offs
Northern Ireland had a certain tie in the “Slovak” A-group based on their performance in the League of Nations. It earned a place in it thanks to promotion from the C-division to the “B” division.
An even first half in Belfast resulted in a goal in Luxembourg’s net,which turned out to be the only one.
The 1:0 home victory was arranged by Jamie Donley in the 44th minute with a converted penalty kick. The Northern Irish fell behind 12-point slovakia by three points.
The czechs improved their taste
The Czechs were sure of a play-off and already knew before the duel against Gibralta
World Cup 2026 Qualifying – November 17th Results
Here’s a recap of the World Cup 2026 qualifying matches played on Monday,November 17th:
Group A:
* Northern Ireland 1 – 0 Luxembourg
* Goal: 44′ Donley (penalty)
Group G:
* Netherlands 4 – 0 Lithuania
* Goals: 16′ Rirders,58′ Gakpo (penalty),60′ Simons,62′ Male
* Malta 2 – 3 Poland
* Goals: 36′ Cardona,68′ Teuma (penalty) – 32′ Lewandowski,59′ Wszolek,85′ Zielinski
Group L:
* Czech Republic 6 – 0 Gibraltar
* Goals: 5′ Doudera,18′ Chorý,32′ Coufal,39′ Karabec,44′ Souček,51′ Hranáč
* Montenegro 2 – 3 Croatia
* Goals: 3′ Osmajič,17′ krstovič – 37′ Perišič (penalty),72′ Jakič,87′ Vlašič
Source: https://sportnet.sme.sk/c/23588991/kvalifikacia-ms-vo-futbale-2026-pondelok-17-novembra.html