World Cup qualifiers, play-offs and friendlies: The best football games you can watch today

The last stage of the World Cup qualifiers start today, Thursday, March 26.
Text: Javier Escribano
Published 2026-03-26

Thursday, March 26, is the first big day of the current international break in men's football, the first before World Cup, with some paramount matches for nations like Sweden, Italy, Ukraine, Turkey, Poland, Ireland, and Denmark, with the inter-confederation play-offs and European qualifiers, with six spots in total up for grabs.

Meanwhile, those already qualified, and those who didn't, will still play friendlies, with some highlights today including Brazil vs. France tonight.

European qualifiers:

Path A


Italy vs. Northern Ireland: 20:45 CET, 19:45 GMT
Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina: 20:45 CET, 19:45 GMT


Path B


Ukraine vs. Sweden: 20:45 CET, 19:45 GMT
Poland vs. Albania: 20:45 CET, 19:45 GMT


Path C


Turkey vs. Romania:18:00 CET, 17:00 GMT
Slovakia vs. Kosovo: 20:45 CET, 19:45 GMT

Path D


Denmark vs. North Macedonia: 20:45 CET, 19:45 GMT
Czech Republic vs. Ireland: 20:45 CET, 19:45 GMT


Inter-confederation play-offs


Bolivia vs. Suriname: 23:00 CET, 22:00 GMT
New Caledonia vs. Jamaica: 04:00 CET, 03:00 GMT (of Friday)


Friendlies


Tanzania vs. Liechtenstein: 15:30 CET, 14:30 GMT
Moldova vs. Lithuania: 16:00 CET, 20:00 GMT
Georgia vs. Israel: 18:00 CET, 17:00 GMT
Cyprus vs. Belarus: 18:00 CET, 17:00 GMT
Brazil vs. France: 21:00 CET, 20:00 GMT
Croatia vs. Colombia: 00:30 CET (of Friday), 23:30 GMT

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