Türkiye ends its World Cup absence with victory in Kosovo

Türkiye qualified for the World Cup for the first time in twenty-four years after defeating Kosovo 1-0 in the European play-off final. Kerem Aktürkoğlu's close-range touch in the fifty-third minute settled an encounter in which the hosts were seeking their first major-tournament appearance.

Kosovo threatened before the interval when Fisnik Asllani forced Ugurcan Cakir to turn a powerful shot onto the crossbar. Türkiye's winner followed a Kenan Yildiz cutback and an attempted finish by Orkun Kokcu, with Aktürkoğlu redirecting the ball into the net.

Arijanet Muric kept Kosovo in contention by denying Yildiz, while Cakir later stopped another Asllani effort. The result placed Türkiye in World Cup Group D with the United States, Paraguay and Australia, ending a run stretching back to 2002.