Poland v Netherlands, Croatia v Faroe Islands, and more: World Cup 2026 qualifying – live

8.58pm GMT Goal! Luxembourg 0-1 Germany (Woltemade 49) At last! 8.57pm GMT 50 min: Lewandowski has a chance, immediately, at the other end but Verbruggen tips it over. 8.56pm GMT Goal! Poland 1-1 Netherlands (Depay 47) Gakpo ghosts down the left and hangs a cross up, over the keeper, to the back stick. Malen dives in to head it, and Grabara saves, but Depay pounces on the rebound, and the Warsaw faithful are silent. That is Depay’s eighth goal of the qualifying campaign. 8.54pm GMT Julian Nagelsmann, the Germany head coach, surely got the hairdryer out at half-time. Updated at 8.54pm GMT 8.53pm GMT Second-half kick-off Let’s get ready to rumble. 8.52pm GMT “Why are entries in the MBM a mixture of GMT and EST?” asks Tony. “Is it to confuse whisky drinking Simon into believing it is time to look up the Scotland score?” They’re all displaying GMT here, but I’ll say yes, that’s exactly why. Updated at 8.53pm GMT 8.39pm GMT Half-time reading: Related: Thomas Tuchel wants England substitutes to channel anger into World Cup victory 8.38pm GMT Half-time scores Croatia 1-1 Faroe IslandsGibraltar 1-2 MontenegroLuxembourg 0-0 GermanyPoland 1-0 NetherlandsSlovakia 0-0 Northern Ireland Updated at 8.46pm GMT 8.35pm GMT Poland are on the back foot, but they win it back, and Jakub Kaminski bursts upfield on a pacy run. He finds Lewandowski in the centre circle with a progressive pass, and the Barcelona forward proves his class by taking a touch, waiting for Kaminski to power past him into space, and hitting an instant return ball, perfectly weighted, into the path of his teammate. Kaminski’s pace tears the Dutch defence to shreds. He takes it to the edge and tucks a calm, classy finish through the legs of the advancing Verbruggen and into the empty net! Updated at 8.47pm GMT 8.32pm GMT Goal! Poland 1-0 Netherlands (Kaminski 43) What a lovely goal. Updated at 8.46pm GMT 8.32pm GMT Luxembourg 0-0 Germany remains a latest score as we approach half time. A tremendous effort from the Luxembourgeois lads. 8.30pm GMT Goal! Gibraltar 1 Montenegro 2 (Krstovic 42 pen) The minnows trail. 8.29pm GMT 40 min: Van Dijk and Lewandowski are having a bit of argy-bargy. We won’t see fistifcuffs though. Will we? 8.28pm GMT Sounds more like a 40% proof plan, actually. 8.27pm GMT “I’m whiling away the hours before Scotland kick off in Greece tomorrow by following tonight’s matches and drinking whisky,” writes Simon. “Thus ensuring I sleep right through the game and wake up on Sunday morning not knowing the result, or indeed caring. It’s a foolproof plan, right?” Yes. But drink responsibly. 8.26pm GMT 37 min: Poland on the front foot. Cash cuts in, and decides to shoot from distance. It’s a naff effort that flies high and wide. Updated at 8.30pm GMT 8.25pm GMT 37 min: “The Warsaw faithful” are getting restless, says the commentator, which is technically accurate. The Dutch are proving themselves as worthy group winners if it continues like this. 8.23pm GMT “As one of my sisters married a very nice Faroese man (quite) a while ago, and two of his nephews (the Vatnhamar brothers) have been regulars in the national side, and one of my plucky youngsters (U16 coach in Denmark here) hails from the islands, I suppose I am a *bit* biased,” opens Erik on email “... but it’s very nice to see the minnows getting their elbows in early. Gibraltar, Malta, Faroe Islands ... I just hope it will last longer than a VAR review. Giving the slack in the channel, I suppose by the time you get to my mail, order will be restored all over ...” Well, it is 1-1 in Gibraltar, indeed. And 1-1 in Rijeka too. But I enjoyed your email and that’s the main thing. 8.21pm GMT Goal! Gibraltar 1-1 Montenegro 1 (Adzic 33) Pick that one out! 8.20pm GMT Flint Town are staring down the barrel now, 2-0 behind at home against New Saints. Dancing in the streets of Total Network Solutions tonight. 8.18pm GMT 30 min: If any team is having the best of it in Warsaw, it’s the visitors. Poland are struggling to make inroads, and Zielinski is threatening to do something good but never quite managing it, as per. 8.16pm GMT Kylian Mbappé has left his France squad and returned to Madrid to receive treatment for an ankle injury, the French Football Federation said. Mbappé, 26, scored two goals in a 4-0 win over Ukraine in Paris on Thursday to help France secure a spot in next year’s World Cup. However, he has been dealing with lingering inflammation in his ankle, leading France manager Didier Deschamps and the Real Madrid medical staff to call him back to the team. Mbappé now has 400 career goals, including 55 for France - just two shy of Olivier Giroud’s all-time national scoring record. He was scheduled to have scans on Friday, according to ESPN, and will miss France’s game in Azerbaijan on Sunday. (Reuters) 8.12pm GMT 24 min: Donyell Malen of Aston Villa, in the style of Arjen Robben, cuts in from the right and smacks a shot goalwards. It’s over the bar. Updated at 8.13pm GMT 8.11pm GMT “At the moment Luxembourg, a country the size of Luxembourg, is giving Germany the runaround,” chips in Charles Antaki. That raised a good chuckle. Updated at 8.12pm GMT 8.11pm GMT Goal! Croatia 1-1 Faroe Islands (Gvardiol 23) Order restored. Updated at 8.22pm GMT 8.09pm GMT “I would like to point out it isn’t 0-0 everywhere,” emails David. “The New Saints are 1-0 up away against Flint. My mate has gone to watch – in the rain – but he’s a West Ham supporter so he likes suffering!” Added to which, the mighty Gibraltar and the even mightier Faroe Islands have also hit the onion bag. Updated at 8.10pm GMT 8.08pm GMT Goal! Gibraltar 1-0 Montenegro (Jessop 20) There you have it. 8.07pm GMT 17 min: Van de Ven storms down the Dutch left. Zielinkski fouls him. Memphis Depay bends in a free-kick and Grabara punches clear. 8.03pm GMT Goal! Croatia 0-1 Faroe Islands (Turi) Remarkable! Geza Turi, who plays for Grimsby Town, has got the goal! Updated at 8.11pm GMT 8.03pm GMT It is nil-nil everywhere. And I mean everywhere. 8.01pm GMT 12 min: Szymanski is being forced off on the occasion of his 50th cap. Looks like a groin strain. Bartosz Kapustka on in his place. Early tweaks required for Poland. Updated at 8.02pm GMT 7.59pm GMT 10 min: Szymanski is down with what looks like a groin issue. Cash also seemed to take a little knock. 7.58pm GMT I guess if Poland win 8-0, and Van Dijk and Lewandowski are both sent off for fighting, this might approach the levels of drama we saw for Ireland v Portugal last night. Updated at 8.02pm GMT 7.56pm GMT 7 min: Kaminski darts down the Poland left and shoots low, but straight at Verbruggen. Updated at 7.56pm GMT 7.55pm GMT “One element of qualification that doesn’t seem to have got much attention yet is the (in my humble one) lunacy of the Nations League route to a playoff,” emails Tom. “Sweden have had about as bad a qualifying campaign as you could imagine, yet throughout they’ve been all but guaranteed a playoff spot. I get that Uefa wants to make its new(ish) tournament attractive, but undermining their World Cup qualification groups seems an odd way of going about that. “The thought also occurs that, if you were a weaker side playing smart, it might be a good idea to tank a Nations League campaign, get into a lower division then win that and sneak a route into a World Cup?” All sounds extremely sensible Tom. Thanks for your message. 7.52pm GMT 2 min: What a start for Poland! But what a miss too. Matty Cash is in space on the right, and crosses for Nicola Zalewski, who is six yards out with only the keeper to beat. The bouncing ball gets a bit big on him, and he shins a clumsy effort over the bar and wide. What a chance for Poland. And what a miss by Zalewski. Cash looks a bit miffed. Updated at 7.53pm GMT 7.49pm GMT First half kick-off Allez! 7.49pm GMT We’ve had the anthems in Warsaw. Now it’s time for some football. I’ll be keeping an eye on goals elsewhere too. 7.46pm GMT I make no apology for also posting Zielinski’s recent work of art: 7.45pm GMT Here’s that Micky van de Ven belter from the other week: I can’t see the name Micky van de Ven without thinking of Peep Show and “Men with Ven”. How about you? Updated at 7.45pm GMT 7.42pm GMT Poland’s recent record in major tournaments is woeful. The players’ relationship with the fans can be a complicated one. And much like England, they have an ageing and overrated striker leading the line. Updated at 7.47pm GMT 7.38pm GMT Malta’s earlier win in Finland meant that Poland’s playoff place is secure. Surely, though, Poland are too far behind on goal difference to win the group, even if they win tonight? Stranger things have happened I suppose. Let’s pretend this is a winner-takes-all clash just for a bit of fun. Updated at 7.41pm GMT 7.35pm GMT Seriously, though, do send me an email. I can’t do this without you. Updated at 7.35pm GMT 7.34pm GMT Looking forward to seeing Zielinski for Poland. As readers of today’s earlier blog will know, he scored a belting side-footed volley for Inter the other week. I also saw him score a cracker for Napoli with my own eyes a few years back. 7.23pm GMT Which countries have qualified, and how did they do it? This article by Andy Martin does exactly what it says on the tin: Related: World Cup 2026: which countries have qualified and how did they do it? 7.20pm GMT Croatia v Faroe Islands teams Croatia: Livakovic, Stanisic, Vuskovic, Gvardiol, Marco Pasalic, Modric, Mario Pasalic, Perisic, Petar Sucic, Kramaric, Musa. Substitutes: Pongracic, Caleta-Car, Sutalo, Moro, Orsic, Vlasic, Jakic, Fruk, Ivanovic, Matanovic, Ivusic, Pandur. Faroe Islands: Lamhauge, Faero, Gunnar Vatnhamar, Andrias Edmundsson, Rene Shaki Joensen, Turi, Andreasen, Davidsen, Frederiksberg, Hanus Sorensen, Meinhard Olsen. Substitutes: Dam, Svensson, Bjartalid, Oregaard, Klettskard, Mork, Martin Agnarsson, Justinussen, Joan Edmundsson, Knudsen, Benjaminsen, Reynatrod. Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (Azerbaijan) Updated at 7.20pm GMT 7.19pm GMT Slovakia v Northern Ireland teams Slovakia: Dubravka, Gyomber, Skriniar, Obert, Hancko, Bero, Lobotka, Rigo, Duris, Strelec, Haraslin. Substitutes: Rodak, Takac, Pekarik, Vavro, Mesik, Leo Sauer, Bobcek, Bozenik, Benes, Tupta, Hrosovsky, Schranz. Northern Ireland: Peacock-Farrell, McConville, Ballard, McNair, Hume, Bradley, Saville, Devenny, Lyons, Price, Charles. Substitutes: Hazard, Southwood, Lewis, Devlin, Marshall, Donley, Smyth, Reid, Kelly, McDonnell, Magennis, Brown. Referee: Istvan Kovacs (Romania) 7.13pm GMT Thomas Tuchel wants his England substitutes to channel any anger they feel at not starting into making the difference when they can because the team that win the World Cup will be defined by productivity off the bench. The head coach will prepare a heat-proof gameplan for the finals next summer when temperatures at many of the venues in the United States, Mexico and Canada are expected to be stifling and a major part will involve how best to use his substitutes. Related: Thomas Tuchel wants England substitutes to channel anger into World Cup victory 7.10pm GMT Poland v Netherlands teams Poland (4-4-1-1): Grabara; Kedziora, Ziolkowski, Kiwior, Cash; Szymanski, Zielinski, Skoras, Zalewski; Kaminski; Lewandowski. Substitutes: Kochalski, Szczesniak, Rozga, Swiderski, Kapustka, Grosicki, Wszolek, Buksa, Kozlowski, Bereszynski, Dragowski. Netherlands (4-3-3): Verbruggen; Geertruida, Timber, Van Dijk, Van de Ven; Gravenberch, De Jong, Malen; Kluivert, Gakpo, Depay. Substitutes: Flekken, Valente, Quinten Timber, Lang, Reijnders, Schouten, Roefs, Van Hecke, Emegha, Simons, Ake, De Ligt. Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy) Updated at 7.22pm GMT 7.08pm GMT Teemu Pukki came off the bench for Finland on 78mins – plenty of the Malta players would have seen him play many times on the telly. But Malta held on for their win. Updated at 7.30pm GMT 7.05pm GMT “The Maltese are celebrating, as they should, while the Finns look shell-shocked,” writes Kári Tulinius, watching events unfold in Helsinki. “I’d say the post-match commentary on Finnish TV was funereal, but it was more like a group of people discussing whether they should stage an intervention. At one point, there was discussion whether this was rock bottom or not.” Things can always get worse, that’s my motto. Thanks for the update as always, Kári. Updated at 7.07pm GMT 7.03pm GMT Malta are ranked 166th in the world, Finland are 72nd. That’s a bona fide giant-killing. 7.01pm GMT Finland have just lost 1-0 at home to Malta, which is a turn-up for the books in Group G. Jake Grech’s goal on 81min won it for the visitors. That’s Malta’s first win in seven games in this campaign, to go with two draws. Dancing in the streets of Valletta tonight? 6.56pm GMT Luxembourg v Germany teams Luxembourg: Moris, Jans, Korac, Carlson, Bohnert, Olivier Thill, Martins Pereira, Olesen, Barreiro, Sinani, Dardari. Substitutes: Djabi Embalo, Curci, Avdusinovic, Muratovic, Pereira Cardoso, Veiga, Selimovic, Dzogovic, Sebastien Thill, Martins, Fox, Moreira. Germany: Baumann, Baku, Anton, Tah, Raum, Pavlovic, Goretzka, Sane, Wirtz, Gnabry, Woltemade. Substitutes: Thiaw, Kimmich, Leweling, Ouedraogo, Burkardt, Nubel, Nmecha, El Mala, Schlotterbeck, Schade, Brown, Dahmen. Referee: John Brooks (England) 6.55pm GMT Gibraltar v Montenegro teams Gibraltar: Hankins, Jolley, Ronan, Lopes, Jessop, Torrilla, Annesley, Mauro, Pozo, Borge, James Scanlon. Substitutes: Banda, Del Rio, Morgan, Richards, Lopez, Bent, Perera, Olivero, McCafferty, Vinet, Mouelhi, Bartolo. Montenegro: Nikic, Marusic, Tuci, Sipcic, Radunovic, Jankovic, Adzic, Bulatovic, Milan Vukotic, Osmajic, Krstovic. Substitutes: Popovic, Petkovic, Milic, Simun, Rubezic, Vesovic, Brnovic, Perovic, Djukanovic, Kostic, Loncar, Camaj. Referee: Anastasios Papapetrou (Greece) 6.51pm GMT Can the Netherlands do it on a cold night in Warsaw? We’ll be focusing mostly on the match at the top of Group G. If Poland can win, they’d draw level on points with their opponents at the top of the group, although the Dutch goal difference is vastly superior: before kick-off it’s +19 to Poland’s +6. On Monday Poland are away in Malta while the Netherlands host Lithuania. Barring a shock the Netherlands will win the group regardless. 6.30pm GMT Preamble Netherlands v Poland, Luxembourg v Germany, Slovakia v Northern Ireland and Croatia v Faroe Islands are just some of the top football matches occurring this evening on the road to the 2026 Fifa World Cup. Gibraltar v Montenegro is also a football match, whether it counts as top, I will leave others to decide. Germany need to tread carefully in Group A after losing their opener to Slovakia, while the Dutch and the Poles are duking it out for top spot in Group G. Northern Ireland are also in with a shot in Group A, but an away assignment in Slovakia won’t be easy. For all your permutations, consult Ed Aarons’ definitive group-by-group breakdown below. I’ll also bring you some permutations musings shortly, plus team news and other stuff. You can always send me an email with your thoughts, too. Let’s get it on. Kick-offs: 7.45pm UK time Related: World Cup 2026 European qualifying: when, how and who needs what?