We’re now through with the 2026 World Cup semi-finals – sadly, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland all crashed out and will not be playing at the finals of the tournament.
Nevertheless, here is our team of the round. There were some awe-inspiring individual perfomances throughout the round – who made it into our best XI?
GK: Nikola Vasilj
There weren’t many particularly stand-out goalkeeping performances during the playoff semis, but we went for Nikola Vasilj for his shoot-out heroics against Wales.
He saved Neco Williams’ penalty to send Bosnia and Herzegovnia through to the next round, despiate having failed to keep a clean sheet during normal time.
RB: Mërgim Vojvoda
Kosovo have never played at a World Cup – now, thanks to an herculean display against Slovakia in the playoff semi-finals, they’re just one game away from making history.
Notching up a pair of assists, Mergim Vojvoda was one of Kosovo’s best players on the night – he gave Atletico Madrid’s David Hancko plenty to think about.
CB: Riccardo Calafiori
It wasn’t a vintage performance by Italy against Northern Ireland, but they got the job done – Riccardo Calafiori’s defensive efforts proved to be crucial.
Making up for the frailties of Alessandro Bastoni, Calafiori rarely put a foot wrong against the Boys in Green as they coasted to a 2-0 win.
CB: Christian Nørgaard
Another Arsenal defender makes our XI. Christian Norgaard’s minutes for the Gunners might have been limited in recent weeks, but the Dane’s display against North Macedonia was practically faultless.
Not only did he keep a clean sheet, Norgaard also scored Denmark’s final goal of the game in an emphatic 4-0 win.