World Cup Qualifying Best Bets – March 31

Bosnia & Herzegovina just about took their place in the final of the World Cup qualifiers as they beat Wales on penalties. Had it not been for Edin Dzeko’s late goal, Bosnia would have fallen in Cardiff. Despite this, they now arrive for this one on the back of four without defeat, and they will be confident they can give Italy some real problems. However, they have not won any of their five previous matches against Italy, losing four times and drawing once. 

Italy come into their World Cup Qualifying final aiming for a fifth win in six meetings with Bosnia. Their 2-0 triumph over Northern Ireland helped to make up for a 4-1 loss to Norway in their final group game that saw them miss out on automatic qualification for the World Cup. Despite this, they will be confident heading into this one. 

With the pressure situation of this final more than likely to see both teams playing some cagey football, I back Italy to secure victory without conceding. The Italians have secured four wins in five against Bosnia, with three of the four wins coming to nil. 

Sweden battled beyond Ukraine in the semi-final of their World Cup Qualifying campaign, with this extending their unbeaten run to two matches. Prior to this, Sweden had slipped to four consecutive defeats, losing twice to Kosovo and Switzerland. Their woeful run in qualifying means they arrive for this one on the back of a disappointing streak that means they have it all to do if they are to fully turn their qualifying campaign around. 

Poland come into the final of their World Cup playoff looking to extend an impressive run of six matches without defeat. With four wins and a draw coming in this time, the travelling side will fancy their chances of defeating an out-of-sorts Swedish side. Poland were able to secure a 2-0 win over Sweden in their last meeting back in 2022, while they have won their last two on the road. More impressive still is their pair of 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in qualifying, with Poland clearly able to match the top teams in the competition. 

With this in mind, I am backing Poland to secure a vital win in their playoff final as they make it three consecutive victories and seven without defeat in qualifying.