**Newcastle United had three stars hoping to help their respective countries book a place in this summer’s World Cup via the play-offs last night.**
Italy, Sweden and DR Congo were all in action on Tuesday night, hoping to secure a place in the World Cup in North America in the summer.
Newcastle had a player in action for each side with Sandro Tonali for Italy, Anthony Elanga for Sweden and Yoane Wissa for Congo.
All three will be returning to Newcastle at the end of the week, but their moods will certainly be different.
Anthony Elanga opened the scoring with a screamer in Sweden’s 3-2 win over Poland to give them a place at the tournament. Poland fought back twice after going behind but Viktor Gyokeres scored a late winner, leaving Poland little time to do it a third time.
> 1-0 Sweden.
>
> ANTHONY ELANGA BEATS THE GOALKEEPER WITH A PRECISION SHOT THAT BOUNCES IN OFF THE BAR! WHAT A STRIKE
>
> — 1337x (@1337xh0x) [March 31, 2026](https://twitter.com/1337xh0x/status/2039080928144761000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
Elanga’s confidence is definitely growing of late, and a goal for his country will be another boost for him. This could be crucial for the run-in for Newcastle.
Yoane Wissa played 90 minutes for DR Congo, who needed extra time to get past Jamaica. Axel Tuanzebe scored in the 101st minute to break the deadlock and send DR Congo to the World Cup for the first time in over 50 years.
It wasn’t such a good night for Sandro Tonali, however. Italy took an early lead against Bosnia and Herzegovina via Moise Kean, but a red card for Allesandro Bastoni late in the first half made life difficult for the Italians.
Bosnia managed an equaliser midway through the second half, and the game stayed tied through extra time, taking it to penalties, where the Italians fell apart. Bosnia won the shootout 4-1, with Italy’s only successful penalty scored by Tonali.
Not that he really needs to be, but at least the lack of World Cup football keeps Tonali out of the shop window in the summer. If he’d gone to the tournament and impressed, the speculation over his future would have become insufferable.