Today's highlights
• Turkey begin the play-off semi-finals in Istanbul against Romania with an exciting group of players holding the hopes of a nation on their backs, but Romania are a good side and won't be pushovers
• That is followed by the other seven matches, which include former winners Italy, who are looking to avoid missing out for a third consecutive World Cup and yet more national embarrassment when they host Northern Ireland
• The other standout fixture is Czechia against the Republic of Ireland - can Troy Parrott produce more heroics for the visitors, or will the hosts and favourites go through?
All the play-off semi-final fixtures
Czech Republic vs Republic of Ireland - 20:45 CET
Denmark vs North Macedonia - 20:45 CET
Italy vs Northern Ireland - 20:45 CET
Slovakia vs Kosovo - 20:45 CET
Wales vs Bosnia & Herzegovina - 20:45 CET
Key updates to keep you informed:
19:27 CET - It's a big night for Denmark, as they host North Macedonia to keep their dreams of going back to the World Cup alive.
Injuries to the Danes' backline has put that in jeopardy, with four key players all missing.
This sees Christian Norgaard - the Arsenal midfielder - starting as a makeshift centre-back, whilst Rasmus Hojlund will lead the line.
Seattle Sounders' Danny Musovski gets the nod for North Macedonia, and Flashscore sat down with him recently as he explained his pride in wearing the shirt of his parents' homeland.
19:20 CET - Kenan Yildiz now hits the woodwork for Turkey as they continue to ratchet up the pressure on Romania. The away side have struggled, in truth, going more than 30 minutes without a shot until Ianis Hagi broke the rot in the 54th minute.
19:11 CET - GOAL! Turkey have lift off in Istanbul, and it's their star man, Arda Guler, at the heart of it. He puts a beautiful ball onto the foot of Brighton's Ferdi Kadioglu, who volleys home from close range to give his side the lead. That was his first goal of the season of the campaign, and it came at the perfect time.
All to do for Romania now...
18:48 CET - No stoppage time at the end of the first half in Istanbul, which tells you all you need to know about a tense and tight affair between Turkey and Romania.
We have had no shots on target so far, whilst the hosts have bossed attention, their manager, Vincenzo Montella, will want them to turn that into clear-cut chances in the second period.
18:34 CET - Turkey have had 70% possession over the last 15 minutes, and they are starting to create more opportunities. Arda Guler, their main man, has had a couple of shots, but neither have hit the target.
18:18 CET - With so much riding on today's games, it's no real surprise that it has been a cagey opening to Turkey against Romania. The first real glimpse of goal comes from a Hakan Calhanoglu free-kick, but the Inter man can't find the target.
18:03 CET - We are underway in Istanbul as Turkey and Romania are just 90 minutes away from earning a spot in a playoff final.
Who will come out on top?
17:39 CET - Just more than 20 minutes until today's action gets underway and if you want to whet the appetite for the first game of the day, then we have you covered...
16:40 CET - Team news is just in for the first play-off clash in Istanbul and Turkey head coach Vincenzo Montella has named an attacking side to take on Romania.
Supporters were expecting Montella to play a 4-3-3 with three central midfielders, but instead he has gone with a 4-2-3-1 with Real Madrid star Arda Guler playing in the 10 role behind the striker.
Check out the full lineups below:
12:30 CET - Good afternoon and welcome to play-off semi-final day! It is a huge day for nations in Europe that have yet to book their plane for the United States this summer. Turkey and Romania get the action-packed evening started at 18:00 CET before the other seven games get underway at 20:45 CET.
