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Troy Parrott has kept firing at club level since his heroics in November, that five-goal spree against Portugal and Hungary to get Ireland here. He’s got 28 club goals for AZ Alkmaar this season, half of them in the Eredivisie.

This is how things are set up for Tuesday:

  • Wales/Bosnia-Herzegovina v Italy/Northern Ireland

  • Ukraine/Sweden v Poland/Albania

  • Slovakia/Kosovo v Turkey

  • Czech Republic/Republic of Ireland v Denmark/North Macedonia

As we prepare for Czech Republic against the Republic of Ireland … can anyone tell me whether Saipan is worth a watch?

Wales v Bosnia-Herzegovina teams

Wales: Darlow, Williams, Lawlor, Rodon, Dasilva, Ampadu, Jordan James, Brooks, Wilson, Daniel James, Johnson

Subs: Ward, King, Koumas, Cullen, Cabango, Norrington-Davies, Kpakio, Colwill, Harris, Thomas, Sheehan, Broadhead

Bosnia-Herzegovina: Vasilj, Muharemovic, Katic, Kolasinac, Memic, Tahirovic, Bajraktarevic, Sunjic, Dedic, Dzeko, Demirovic

Subs: Hadzikic, Zlomislic, Mujakic, Celik, Gigovic, Bazdar, Basic, Hadziahmetovic, Burnic, Alajbegovic, Radeljic, Tabakovic

FULL-TIME: Turkey 1-0 Romania

Turkey’s last World Cup appearance? When they finished third in 2002. They’ll face the winner of Slovakia v Kosovo on Tuesday.

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Slovakia v Kosovo teams

Slovakia: Dubravka, Valjent, Vavro, Obert, Hancko, Bero, Lobotka, Duda, Sauer, Strelec, Haraslin

Subs: Rodak, Takac, Pekarik, Gyomber, Suslov, Mraz, Benes, Tupta, Hrosovsky, Krcik, Rigo, Kapralik

Kosovo: Muric, Dellova, Hajrizi, Hajdari, Gallapeni, Vojvoda, Hodza, Rexhbecaj, Muslija, Asllani, Muriqi

Subs: Bekaj, Saipi, Hadergjonaj, Aliti, Ilir Krasniqi, Rashica, Rrahmani, Berisha, Ermal Krasniqi, Emerllahu, Zabergja, Zhegrova

Denmark v North Macedonia teams

Denmark: Hermansen, Bah, Nørgaard, Nelsson, Mæhle, Højbjerg, Hjulmand, Froholdt, Isaksen, Højlund, Damsgaard

Subs: Jungdal, Rønnow, Provstgaard, Høgsberg, Nikolas Nartey, Eriksen, Osula, Lindstrøm, Høgh, Noah Nartey, Dreyer, Jensen

North Macedonia: Dimitrievski, Stojchevski, Zajkov, Musliu, Churlinov, Elmas, Atanasov, Bardhi, Herrera, Qamili, Rastoder

Subs: Iliev, Shishkovski, Bejtulai, Serafimov, Trajkovski, Musovski, Velkovski, Nikolov, Doriev, Ristovski, Miovski, Alimi

Czech Republic v Republic of Ireland teams

Czech Republic: Kovar, Holes, Hranac, Krejci, Coufal, Provod, Darida, Jurasek, Schick, Chory, Sulc

Subs: Hornicek, Jedlicka, Chaloupek, Vitik, Karabec, Kliment, Cerv, Chytil, Sadilek, Zeleny, Visinsky, Soucek

Republic of Ireland: Kelleher, O’Brien, Collins, O’Shea, Coleman, Taylor, Molumby, Manning, Azaz, Ogbene, Parrott

Subs: Keeley, Travers, Kenny, Idah, Brady, Dunne, Vale, Egan, Knight, Browne, Abankwah, Szmodics

Ukraine v Sweden teams

Ukraine: Trubin, Tymchyk, Zabarnyi, Bondar, Mykolenko, Kaliuzhnyi, Tsygankov, Yarmoliuk, Sudakov, Zubkov, Vanat

Subs: Neshcheret, Riznyk, Sarapii, Mykhailichenko, Svatok, Voloshyn, Hutsuliak, Pikhalonok, Yaremchuk, Shaparenko, Ponomarenko, Ocheretko

Sweden: Nordfeldt, Lagerbielke, Hien, Lindelöf, Gudmundsson, Johansson, Ayari, Karlström, Nygren, Elanga, Gyökeres

Subs: Törnqvist, Ellborg, Bergvall, Svensson, Nilsson, Smith, Bardghji, Starfelt, Svanberg, Larsson, Ali, Zeneli

Poland v Albania teams

Poland: Grabara, Kedziora, Bednarek, Kiwior, Cash, Szymanski, Zielinski, Skoras, Kaminski, Lewandowski, Rozga

Subs: Pietuszewski, Ziolkowski, Wisniewski, Slisz, Pyrka, Swiderski, Piatek, Kochalski, Moder, Bereszynski, Grosicki, Dragowski

Albania: Strakosha, Hysaj, Ajeti, Djimsiti, Mitaj, Laci, Asilani, Bajrami, Shehu, Uzuni, Hoxha

Subs: Ramadani, Pllana, Pilo, Pajaziti, Muci, Mehmeti, Kastrati, Ismajli, Dajsinani, Broja, Balliu, Aliji

“Do you know why I’m so calm? Because we’re such a good team.” Craig Bellamy never made it to a major tournament with Wales as a player – can he do it as the head coach?

GOAL! Turkey 1-0 Romania (Kadioglu 53)

We have our first of the night. Arda Guler is the creator for Turkey, cutting in from the right to whip a delicious ball into the area. Ferdi Kadioglu, the left-back, makes an excellent run and pulls off an even better first touch before slotting in through the keeper’s legs.

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Turkey v Romania: The second half is underway in Istanbul, the game still goalless. Mircea Lucescu, who captained Romania against Brazil in 1970, is still in the hunt for another World Cup appearance. What a life.

Rob Smyth’s preview on Football Daily is the best out there.

Preamble

Get all your screens up and try not to strain that neck – it’s World Cup playoff time. Sixteen teams are competing for the four remaining European spots at this summer’s tournament, with tonight’s eight semi-finals followed by the last dance next Tuesday. Feast your eyes on this:

  • Turkey v Romania

  • Czech Republic v Republic of Ireland

  • Denmark v North Macedonia

  • Italy v Northern Ireland

  • Poland v Albania

  • Slovakia v Kosovo

  • Ukraine v Sweden

  • Wales v Bosnia-Herzegovina

Scott Murray has the Italy-Northern Ireland clash covered, but the rest falls under my jurisdiction. Can the Republic of Ireland continue their remarkable resurgence and end their 24-year wait? North Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo have never made it to the biggest show. Graham Potter’s Sweden are here despite not winning a game in qualifying. Edin Dzeko, 40 years young, is still ticking along for Bosnia-Herzegovina. There’s plenty to get stuck into.

Turkey have already kicked off against Romania, with the remaining fixtures beginning at 7.45pm GMT. Let’s go.

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