Kosovo at least guarantees qualification for the play-offs and needs to beat Switzerland by 6 goals in the final round to advance directly to the World Cup.
6686 Sports News on November 16th. In the fifth round of Group B of the World European Preliminaries, the Swiss home team defeated Sweden 4-1, and the visiting team of Kosovo defeated Slovenia 2-0. Kosovo has also locked in the top two in the group in advance, at least ensuring a place in the play-offs. At the same time, there is a theoretical possibility of going directly to the 2026 United States, Canada and Mexico World Cup.
In the current situation of Group B, Switzerland leads with 4 wins, 1 draw and 13 points, followed by Kosovo with 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss and 10 points. Slovenia is eliminated early with 3 draws, 2 draws and 3 points. Sweden is at the bottom with 1 draw, 4 losses and 1 point. However, it still relies on its results in the UEFA Nations League to lock in a ticket to the play-offs.
In the final round, Kosovo will face group leader Switzerland at the home team venue. According to the relevant rules of the World European Preliminary, if the two teams have the same points, the goal difference will be compared first. Switzerland leads Kosovo by 3 points and has a goal difference of 12! Kosovo's goal difference is only 1, and Switzerland has a goal difference 11 higher than Kosovo.
This also means that in the final round of the competition, Kosovo must beat Switzerland by 6 goals at home in order to squeeze out its opponents and qualify for the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.