FC St. Pauli

Twelve teams have qualified for the UEFA EURO 2024 play-offs, with three last-minute tickets to the final tournament up for grabs. The six semi-finals take place on Thursday, 21 March (20.45 CET), with the winners advancing to three finals on Tuesday, 26 March (20.45 CET).

Keeper Nikola Vasilj's Bosnia and Herzegovina will host Ukraine in Zenica in their play-off semi-final, with Manolis Saliakas and Greece entertaining Kazakhstan in Nea Filadelfia, a suburb of Athens. Danel Sinani is in the Luxembourg squad but will miss the play-off semi-final against Georgia due to suspension. If Luxemburg lose that game, he would be eligible for the match for third place, which is classed as an international friendly.

Should they beat Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina would face the winners of the game between Iceland and Israel, and if they qualify for the EURO by winning that game, they would enter Group E alongside Belgium, Slovakia and Romania. Victory over Kazakhstan would see Greece take on the winners of the semi-final between Georgia and Luxembourg for one of the coveted tickets to the final tournament, where they would meet England, Croatia and Czechia in Group D. Should Luxembourg qualify, however, Sinani would be eligible to play again.

Estonia, whose coach, Thomas Häberli, has yet to name his squad for the play-offs, would face Wales or Finland in the final were they to beat Poland in the semi-final. Victory in the final would give them and the 91-times-capped Karol Mets a place in Group D at the EURO along with France, the Netherlands and Austria.

Elsewhere, Australia have already contested two qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, winning both (7-0 against Bangladesh and 1-0 against Palestine). Next up for the Socceroos, and with them Jackson Irvine and Connor Metcalfe, are back-to-back qualifiers against Lebanon, the first in Sydney on Thursday, 21 March (10.00 CET), and the second in Canberra on Tuesday, 26 March (9.45 CET).

Tunisia are not involved in any qualifying matches and instead will take part in a four-nations tournament in Egypt, for which caretaker coach Montasser Louh has named Elias Saad in his 26-man squad. First up for Tunisia are Croatia on Friday, 22 March (19.00 CET), with hosts Egypt kicking off against New Zealand at the same time. The two losers will contest the match for third place on Monday, 25 March, while the two winners will play out the final on Tuesday, 26 March.

Elias Saad could make his Tunisia debut in the four-nations tournament in Egypt.

In Aljoscha Kemlein and Eric da Silva Moreira, the Boys in Brown will have another two players away on international duty next week. Kemlein is in the Germany Under-20 squad to contest two matches against France on Friday, 22 March and Monday, 25 March. Both games will kick off at 15.00 CET at the Oliva Nova Sports Center in the Spanish municipality of Oliva. Silva Moreira has been called up by the Germany Under-18s, who will also be in Spain for a tournament in Pinatar, where they will take on the Netherlands on Wednesday, 20 March, England on Friday, 22 March and Czechia on Monday, 25 March.

Aljoscha Kemlein (left) and Eric da Silva Moreira will be on international duty with Germany feeder teams.

Photos: Witters