Turkey vs Romania

Turkey kept their World Cup dream alive with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Romania in the UEFA Path C playoff semifinal. Ferdi Kadioglu struck the decisive blow on 53 minutes, latching onto a sublime through ball from Arda Guler before firing home to send the home crowd into raptures. It was a cagey first half with Turkey dominating possession but struggling to unlock a compact Romania defence. The breakthrough came early in the second period when Guler threaded a pinpoint pass from the right into the box, and Brighton's Kadioglu did the rest with a powerful finish. Romania pushed hard for an equaliser in the closing stages and rattled the post, but Turkey held firm at the back to see out the win. The result sends Turkey into the Path C final, where they will face the winner of Slovakia versus Kosovo with a place at the 2026 World Cup on the line.