Doha [Qatar], March 28: Ferdi Kadioglu's second-half goal put Turkiye into a men's World Cup European play-off final after a tight 1-0 home win over Romania on Thursday.
He calmly netted on 53 minutes after Arda Güler's fine assist in the one-off semi-final at the Besiktas stadium in Istanbul.
Romania's 80-year-old coach Mircea Lucescu, who counts Turkiye and Besiktas among his many former jobs, was left to rue Nicolae Stanciu hitting the post as the Tricolours missed the World Cup for the seventh straight edition.
On Tuesday, Vincenzo Montella's Turkiye will play the winner of the Slovakia v Kosovo semi-final, which take place later on Thursday.
The victor of the final will qualify for the World Cup, alongside those in three other UEFA "paths." Turkiye, who finished third in 2002, have not reached a men's World Cup since.
This year's tournament in North America in June and July will feature an expanded 48 teams, meaning more nations have a chance to qualify.
Twelve European countries already got through by virtue of winning their groups.
The play-offs are made up of second-placed teams and sides who did well in the previous Nations League.
Italy host Northern Ireland later with the winner facing Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina next week.
Ukraine take on Sweden on neutral ground in Valencia and Poland welcome Albania in path B, while Denmark against North Macedonia and Czech Republic v Ireland are the other semi-finals in path D.
Source: Qatar Tribune
