" UPDATED - WALES NOT GOING TO THE WORLD CUP "

WALES NOT GOING TO THE WORLD CUP

THEY LOSE 4-2 ON PENALTIES AT HOME TO BOSNIA AFTER A 1-1 DRAW IN THE PLAY-OFF SEMI FINAL




Updated




Lawlor starts.

Wales team:


Karl Darlow
Jay Dasilva
Dylan Lawlor
Joe Rodon
Neco Williams
Ethan Ampadu
Jordan James
David Brooks
Harry Wilson
Dan James
Brennan Johnson


Wales subs:


Danny Ward
Tom King
Ben Cabango
Rhys Norrington-Davies
Ronan Kpakio
Josh Sheehan
Joel Colwill
Liam Cullen
Sorba Thomas
Nathan Broadhead
Lewis Koumas
Mark Harris



Wales face Bosnia on Thursday night at Cardiff City Stadium, with a place in the World Cup Qualifying play-off final at stake.

The game kicks off at 7.45pm. It will be shown live on BBC One in Wales, BBC Two in the rest of the UK and on S4C.

Should Wales win, they will play at home against Italy or Northern Ireland the following Tuesday. They play their semi final on the same day and time.

WALES SQUAD


Karl Darlow (Leeds United)
Danny Ward (Wrexham)
Adam Davies (Sheffield United)
Tom King (Everton)

Jay Dasilva (Coventry City)
Rhys Norrington-Davies (Queens Park Rangers - on loan from Sheffield United)
Dylan Lawlor (Cardiff City)
Ben Cabango (Swansea City)
Joe Rodon (Leeds United)
Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest)
Ronan Kpakio (Cardiff City)

Ethan Ampadu (Leeds United)
Josh Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers)
Jordan James (Leicester City - on loan from Stade Rennais)
Joel Colwill (Cardiff City)
Harry Wilson (Fulham)
David Brooks (Bournemouth)
Sorba Thomas (Stoke City)
Rubin Colwill (Cardiff City)

Liam Cullen (Swansea City)
Nathan Broadhead (Wrexham)
Brennan Johnson (Crystal Palace)
Mark Harris (Oxford United)
Lewis Koumas (Hull City - on loan from Liverpool)
Dan James (Leeds United)
Rabbi Matondo (Rangers)

Can’t wait,love the Welsh games.Play like last game and we should win this game.

Big hill to climb

Looking forward to this

Good luck Thursday,really hope you get through.

Wales and Bosnia-Herzegovina face each other at Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday, 26 March for a place in a World Cup European qualifying play-off final.

The winners will then face either Italy or Northern Ireland at home on Tuesday, 31 March for a place at the finals in Canada, Mexico and United States this summer.

Wales are aiming to be at their second successive World Cup tournament, having reached Qatar in 2022, where they failed to progress from the pool stage.

Sergej Barbarez's Bosnia-Herzegovina are looking to reach the World Cup finals for the first time since 2014. However, they have taken part in four previous play-off campaigns for major tournaments (World Cup and Euros) and have never won a single match in seven attempts, drawing three and losing four.

Craig Bellamy's Wales sit 31st in the Fifa world rankings, 40 places above the visitors, making them favourites to continue dreaming of only a third ever finals appearance.

The match kicks off at 19:45 GMT and will be live on BBC One Wales and S4C along with full match commentary and reaction on BBC Sounds via Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru.

The broadcasts - other than S4C - will also be available on the BBC Sport website and app where you can follow blow-by-blow action with our live text commentary.

For all the build-up and analysis, follow the football and Wales sections on the BBC Sport website.

Italy host Northern Ireland at the same time with comprehensive BBC Sport coverage also available of that game.

Both games have to be decided on the night - so if they are level after 90 minutes they will go to extra time and penalties if needed.

Wales will once again be without long-term skipper Aaron Ramsey who has not played for his country since September 2024. Full-back Connor Roberts also remains absent having not figured for Burnley this season through injury.

Head coach Bellamy will also be without Tottenham defender Ben Davies, Wrexham striker Kieffer Moore and West Bromwich Albion centre-back Chris Mepham because of injury.

They are replaced in the 26-man squad by Wrexham goalkeeper Danny Ward, left-back Rhys Norrington Davies - on loan at Queens Park Rangers from Sheffield United - and Rangers forward Rabbi Matondo.

Barbarez's 25-strong squad includes former Arsenal defender Sead Kolasinac - currently with Italian Serie A side Atalanta - Amir Hadziahmetovic on loan at Championship club Hull City from Turkish side Besiktas, and former Manchester City, Roma and Inter Milan striker Edin Dzeko.

Double Premier League title winner Dzeko turned 40 last week and is currently playing in Bundesliga 2 for Schalke 04.

The squad also includes two uncapped goalkeepers in Osman Hadzikic and RC Lens defender Nidal Celik.

Istvan Kovacs of Romania will take charge of this match.

Dennis Higler from the Netherlands will be running VAR.

CRAIG BELLAMY:

"It's something I'm really passionate about"

He adds that he understands the pressure to go one step closer to achieving this with his squad in the playoff semi-final against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday night.

Going to be a tough game for us, Bosnia have had some fairly decent results, and this could go either way...as long as it's not penalties!

Ethan Ampadu will captain Wales against Bosnia-Herzegovina at CCS tomorrow night

One player cannot replace Gareth Bale – Wales' greatest is simply irreplaceable – but Harry Wilson is giving the impossible job a pretty good go.

It is difficult to overstate the void Bale left. More international goals and appearances than any other Welshman, and the stats only hint at the transformational effect the former Real Madrid forward had on his country.

Coping without Bale has had to be a collective effort. Wilson, however, has stepped up more than most.

Since Bale retired in 2023, Wilson has scored more goals than any of his countrymen. In fact, 12 of his 17 career international goals have come during that time.

Many have been spectacular, adding to a showreel of long-range strikes to rival Bale's back catalogue.

Most have come with Wilson's left foot too, a source of magic akin to the one Bale possessed.
There is even a slight suggestion of a physical resemblance. Well, maybe that's pushing the comparison, but Wilson's flowing locks now require an Alice band like Bale's. A nod to the hair apparent?

Where Wales used to rely on Bale in their most important moments, now they turn to Wilson.

Craig Bellamy's side face Bosnia-Herzegovina in their World Cup play-off semi-final in Cardiff on Thursday and, if they are victorious, they will host Italy or Northern Ireland in the final the following Tuesday.

When Wales beat Austria and Ukraine in play-offs to reach the 2022 World Cup, Bale scored all three goals.

Could Wilson do similar this time?

"We can't replace Bale," he tells BBC Sport Wales. "He was our best ever player.

"He carried us through games, he got us to major tournaments and the performances he put in in those tournaments were incredible.

"I never saw it as 'I have to replace Bale', I just knew along with the other attacking players we've got massive boots to fill, a big void to fill. As a collective we have to do that.
"I'm really happy with the way I've played and my numbers since Gaz left. But it definitely wasn't the case of me replacing him because no-one can do that."

Bellamy confident and bullish 2-0

I'm not feeling these play-offs.

Was all in with the belief we would beat Austria and Ukraine.

Put this out there so I can gladly take a beating when proved wrong.

UEFA squad list showing Adam Davies, Rubin Colwill and Rabbi Matondo have not made Wales’ 23-man squad for tonight.

harry Wilson's journey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq1uG1HP8eo

Few hundred outside the Duke Of Wellington mainly in black

Lawlor starts.

Wales team:


Karl Darlow
Jay Dasilva
Dylan Lawlor
Joe Rodon
Neco Williams
Ethan Ampadu
Jordan James
David Brooks
Harry Wilson
Dan James
Brennan Johnson


Wales subs:


Danny Ward
Tom King
Ben Cabango
Rhys Norrington-Davies
Ronan Kpakio
Josh Sheehan
Joel Colwill
Liam Cullen
Sorba Thomas
Nathan Broadhead
Lewis Koumas
Mark Harris

i can't believe Rubin is not in the squad .

2 keepers on the bench, is that a rule? as seems weird to leave out a player like rubin who could change the game if we were losing going into the last 10 minutes to have 2 keepers on the bench

Three City players / No Rubin

But as I know Bellamy does not like him

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Come on WALES, congratulations DYLAN LAWLOR well deserved !!!!

Thought sorba Thomas would have started

Come on Wales

They've obviously come with a game plan to bully & foul their way through the game.

The Bosnian team players look massive compared to the Welsh players and very physical. Cmon boys

Wales the team who are doing most of the attacking in the first 15 minutes.

As has been said, Bosnia are trying to disrupt how we play by making a lot of fouls and they already have one yellow card.

Wilson hits the post.

Then a VAR check for a Wales penalty but not given.

This referee is already annoying me.