Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Scotland and Austria secure automatic World Cup spots

A stunning bicycle kick and two stoppage-time goals sealed Scotland's dramatic return to the World Cup after a 28-year wait.

Austria needed a late equalizer to also make it back to soccer's showcase event for the first time since 1998, while top-ranked Spain clinched its spot after equaling Italy's 31-match unbeaten record in competitive games in Europe.

Belgium and Switzerland also secured their places for the 2026 World Cup as European qualifying finished Tuesday. Five automatic spots were still available in Europe.

Scotland beat 10-man Denmark 4-2 in a winner-take-all match in Group C, with Scott McTominay scoring a superb bicycle kick goal three minutes into the match, sending the Hampden Park crowd into raptures.

A draw would have given Denmark the group win and the Danes were in good position after Patrick Dorgu equalized in the 82nd, but Kieran Tierney put the hosts ahead again three minutes into added time. Kenny McLean then sealed Scotland's qualification eight minutes into stoppage time when he chipped goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel from the halfway line.

“We’ve been on a journey. I spoke to them about it pre-match, about how this is the opportunity we’ve waited for. What a night, eh?" Scotland coach Steve Clarke said. “This was the chance, one game. This was like a playoff final. We put everything on the line. There’s always one last step and it’s always the hardest.”

Denmark, which saw Rasmus Kristensen sent off in the 62nd, finished second in the group, two points behind Scotland.

A 1-1 home draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina was enough for Austria to win Group H and return to the World Cup after a 28-year wait, while Belgium routed Liechtenstein 7-0. Switzerland qualified after a 1-1 draw at Kosovo.

The 12 group winners qualified directly, while the runners-up will participate in playoffs along with the four best-ranked group winners of the 2024-25 Nations League that did not finish first or second in their groups.

The playoffs will be played on March 26 and March 31. The World Cup will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11-July 19.

Mikel Oyarzabal scored the equalizer in the 62nd minute and Spain drew 2-2 with Turkey at home to extend its unbeaten streak — which began in a match against Italy in the semifinals of the Nations League in 2023 — to 31 matches in Europe, according to UEFA and Spain's soccer federation. Italy’s record came between 2018 and 2021. It ended with a 2-1 loss to Spain in the Nations League final.

The only way La Roja would have lost first place was if it was defeated by seven goals or more. Turkey was second in the group.

“We wanted to finish without conceding a goal. A bittersweet taste, but we’re happy to qualify for the World Cup,” said Dani Olmo, who scored for Spain four minutes into the match in Seville.

Already eliminated Bulgaria beat Georgia 2-1 at home.

Belgium reached its fourth straight World Cup by trouncing Liechtenstein to win Group J. Charles De Ketelaere and Jeremy Doku each scored a pair of goals.

Second-place went to Wales after it routed North Macedonia 7-1 at home with a hat trick by Harry Wilson. A draw would have been enough for North Macedonia. Both North Macedonia and Wales were secured in the playoffs through the Nations League.

Switzerland drew with Kosovo to win Group B and secure its sixth straight World Cup appearance. Switzerland arrived in good position and could have guaranteed its spot even if it had lost by five goals. Kosovo, seeking its first World Cup appearance, had already secured second place.

Sweden, which will be in the playoffs through the Nations League, drew 1-1 Slovenia.

Already eliminated Greece and Belarus drew 0-0.

In another winner-take-all match, Austria held Bosnia and Herzegovina to a draw at home to win Group H and make it back to the World Cup for the first time since 1998 in France. Michael Gregoritsch scored the equalizer that Austria needed to qualify in the 77th.

“It was difficult. It was really difficult," Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said. “Conceding a goal naturally made it even more difficult. But then we threw everything into it and were eventually rewarded. If Bosnia play like this, they will progress too.”

Bosnia and Herzegovina, which last played in soccer’s showcase event in 2014 in Brazil, ended second and will be in the playoffs.

Third-place Romania, in the playoffs through the Nations League, routed San Marino 7-1 at home.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Scotland's Andrew Robertson, front left ,and Lawrence Shankland front right, and teammates celebrate qualifying after defeating Denmark in a 2026 World Cup European Qualifying soccer match in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (Jane Barlow/PA via AP)

Switzerland's, from left, Johan Manzambi, Granit Xhaka and Ricardo Rodriguez, celebrates with teammates after the 2026 World Cup Group B qualifying soccer match between Kosovo and Switzerland in Pristina, Kosovo, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)

Austria's Michael Gregoritsch celebrates his side's equalizing goal during a group H World Cup qualifiying soccer match between Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina in Vienna, Austria, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)

Belgium's Brandon Mechele, center, celebrates with teammates after scoring his sides fourth goal during the 2026 World Cup group J qualifying soccer match between Belgium and Liechtenstein in Liege, Belgium, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Turkey's Barış Alper Yılmaz fights for the ball against Spain's Aymeric Laporte during the 2026 World Cup qualifier group E soccer match between Spain and Turkey in Seville, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Scotland's Scott McTominay scores the opening goal with an overhead kick during the 2026 World Cup European Qualifying soccer match between Scotland and Denmark at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones blasted apartment buildings and the power grid in the southern Ukraine city of Odesa in an overnight attack that injured six people, including a toddler and two other children, officials said Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed confidence in his country’s eventual victory in the nearly four-year war against its neighbor.

Four apartment buildings were damaged in the Odesa bombardment, according to regional military administration head Oleh Kiper. The DTEK power provider said two of its energy facilities had significant damage. The company said 10 substations that distribute electricity in the region have been damaged in December.

Russia has escalated attacks on urban areas of Ukraine. As its invasion approaches a four-year milestone in February, it has also intensified targeting of energy infrastructure, seeking to deny Ukrainians heat and running water in the bitter winter months.

Between January and November, more than 2,300 Ukrainian civilians were killed and more than 11,000 were injured, the United Nations said earlier in December. That was 26% higher than in the same period in 2024 and 70% higher than in 2023, it said.

There are renewed diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.

U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday and announced that a settlement is “closer than ever before." The Ukrainian leader is due to hold talks next week with European leaders supporting his efforts to secure acceptable terms.

Despite progress in peace negotiations, which he didn't mention, Putin reaffirmed his belief in Russia’s eventual success in its invasion during his traditional New Year’s address.

He gave special praise to Russian troops deployed in Ukraine, describing them as heroes “fighting for your native land, truth and justice.”

“We believe in you and our victory,” Putin said, as cited by Russian state news agency Tass.

The Russian Defense Ministry said 86 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight over Russian regions, the Black Sea and the illegally annexed Crimea peninsula.

Russia’s Defense Ministry released a video of a downed drone that it said was one of 91 Ukrainian drones involved in an alleged attack this week on a Putin residence in northwestern Russia, a claim Kyiv has denied as a “lie.”

The nighttime video showed a man in camouflage, a helmet and a Kevlar vest standing near a damaged drone lying in snow. The man, his face covered, talks about the drone. Neither the man nor the Defense Ministry provided any location or date.

The video and claims could not be independently verified.

Kyiv has denied the allegations of an attack on Putin’s lakeside country residence and called them a ruse to derail progress in peace negotiations.

Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation said Wednesday that the images could not be considered evidence of the attack as the origin of the damaged drone, as well as the time and location of the video itself, remained unknown.

“It took Russia more than two days to fabricate this ‘evidence’. The photographs of metal fragments laid out on the snow, published by the Russian Defense Ministry, do not prove anything in themselves,” the center said in a statement on its website.

“There is no video of air defense operations in the area of ​​the residence, no recorded drone crashes in the claimed locations and no consistency even in its own figures, which have changed repeatedly.”

Maj. Gen. Alexander Romanenkov of the Russian air force claimed that the drones took off from Ukraine’s Sumy and Chernihiv regions. At a briefing where no questions were allowed, he presented a map showing the drone flight routes before they allegedly were downed by Russian air defenses over the Bryansk, Tver, Smolensk and Novgorod regions.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, called the Russian allegations “a deliberate distraction” from peace talks.

Zelenskyy said Romania and Croatia are the latest countries to join a fund that buys weapons for Ukraine from the United States.

The financial arrangement, known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, pools contributions from NATO members, except the United States, to purchase U.S. weapons, munitions and equipment.

Since it was established in August, 24 countries are now contributing to the fund, according to Zelenskyy. The fund has received $4.3 billion, with almost $1.5 billion coming in December, he said on social media.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Security Service carried out a drone strike on a major Russian fuel storage facility in the northwestern Yaroslavl region early Tuesday, according to a Ukrainian security official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Long-range drones struck the Temp oil depot in the city of Rybinsk, part of Russia’s state fuel reserve system, the official told The Associated Press. Rybinsk is about 800 kilometers (500 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

A previous version of this story was corrected to give the timing of the alleged attack on Putin's residence as late Sunday and early Monday.

Katie Marie Davies in Leicester, England, contributed to this story.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This image made from undated video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, shows a downed drone at an undisclosed location that it said was one of the Ukrainian drones involved in an alleged attack on a residence of President Vladimir Putin this week – a claim Kyiv has denied as a "lie". (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

This image made from undated video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, shows a downed drone at an undisclosed location that it said was one of the Ukrainian drones involved in an alleged attack on a residence of President Vladimir Putin this week – a claim Kyiv has denied as a "lie". (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

This image made from undated video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, shows a man in camouflage standing by a downed drone at an undisclosed location that it said was one of the Ukrainian drones involved in an alleged attack on a residence of President Vladimir Putin this week – a claim Kyiv has denied as a "lie". (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this image made from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, a Russian Army soldier fires from D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)