Croatia roar back to seal spot, Germany in limbo

Croatia booked their ticket to the 2026 World Cup in North America with an unconvincing 3-1 win over the inform Faroe Islands on Friday as the Netherlands all but booked their spot in the finals too.

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COMEBACK KINGS: Croatia players and officials celebrate their team's qualification for the 2026 World Cup at the end of the match against Faroe Islands in Rijeka.

Germany’s qualification hopes still rest on their final Group A match tomorrow at home to Slovakia despite a Nick Woltemade brace giving them a laboured 2-0 win at Luxembourg.

After Geza David Turi had given the Faroes a shock lead, strikes from Josko Gvardiol, Petar Musa and Nikola Vlasic in Rijeka handed 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia their ticket to the finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Victory gave Croatia a six-point lead over the Czech Republic at the top of Group L with just a single game left to play.

“For Croatia, for the fans!” a jubilant Gvardiol posted on his X account.

But it was a night when the underdogs struck fear into more illustrious opponents, although without managing to strike a telling blow.