World Cup Playoff Semi Final XI

We’re now through with the 2026 World Cup semi-finals – sadly, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland all crashed out and will not be playing at the finals of the tournament.

Nevertheless, here is our team of the round. There were some awe-inspiring individual perfomances throughout the round – who made it into our best XI?

GK: Nikola Vasilj

There weren’t many particularly stand-out goalkeeping performances during the playoff semis, but we went for Nikola Vasilj for his shoot-out heroics against Wales.

He saved Neco Williams’ penalty to send Bosnia and Herzegovnia through to the next round, despiate having failed to keep a clean sheet during normal time.

RB: Mërgim Vojvoda

Kosovo have never played at a World Cup – now, thanks to an herculean display against Slovakia in the playoff semi-finals, they’re just one game away from making history.

Notching up a pair of assists, Mergim Vojvoda was one of Kosovo’s best players on the night – he gave Atletico Madrid’s David Hancko plenty to think about.

CB: Riccardo Calafiori

It wasn’t a vintage performance by Italy against Northern Ireland, but they got the job done – Riccardo Calafiori’s defensive efforts proved to be crucial.

Making up for the frailties of Alessandro Bastoni, Calafiori rarely put a foot wrong against the Boys in Green as they coasted to a 2-0 win.

CB: Christian Nørgaard

Another Arsenal defender makes our XI. Christian Norgaard’s minutes for the Gunners might have been limited in recent weeks, but the Dane’s display against North Macedonia was practically faultless.

Not only did he keep a clean sheet, Norgaard also scored Denmark’s final goal of the game in an emphatic 4-0 win.

LB: Ferdi Kadioglu

Turkey saw off a stubborn Romania side in the first game of the World Cup playoff semi-finals – Ferdi Kadioglu was the key lynchpin behind their success.

Scoring a goal and keeping a clean sheet from the left-back position, Kadioglu could not have done more to secure Turkey’s place in the next round.

CM: Sandro Tonali

Sandro Tonali was Italy’s saviour on Thursday night. As the Italian crowd began to grow restless at the New Balance Arena, Tonali thumped a half-volley into the back of the net from just outside of the area.

Tonali could leave Newcastle United in the summer – if he wants to secure a move to one of Europe’s biggest clubs, it is vital that he puts himself in the shop window at the World Cup.

CM: Sebastian Szymański

Poland have underperformed somewhat over the past couple of decades, but they aren’t out of contention for a spot at the World Cup yet.

They largely have Sebastian Szymanski to thank for this – he assisted both of their goals against Albania in a 2-1 win.

RW: Gustav Isaksen

Gustav Isaksen isn’t the first Danish player to have featured in our XI today – and he won’t be the last. Given that the Danes won by a score of 4-0, this shouldn’t be too surprising.

Isaksen scored a brace against North Macedonia, with both of his goals coming within a minute of each other – he also created a couple of chances throughout the proceedings.

AM: Mikkel Damsgaard

Mikkel Damsgaard was the creative spark behind Denmark’s victory over North Macedonia, playing a number of incisive passes to keep them on their toes.

The Brentford man created an impressive five chances against North Macedonia – he also scored a goal and notched up an assist, too.

LW: Benjamin Nygren

Graham Potter’s Sweden have come under some heavy criticism over the last year, but they were able to shake off the cobwebs to record a crucial win over Ukraine.

Benjamin Nygren gave Ukraine all kinds of problems down the left flank, notching up an assist for Sweden to score their first goal of the game.

ST: Viktor Gyokeres

Viktor Gyokeres was back to his brilliant best on Thursday night. Ukraine had no answer for the Arsenal man as he scored an impressive hattrick against them.

The Swedes failed to qualify for the World Cup in 2022 – Gyokeres played liked a man possessed, aiming to right the wrongs of four years ago.