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Wales will play host to Bosnia-Herzegovina in their World Cup play-off semi-final, while Northern Ireland are set to travel to Italy for their own semi-final clash. The winners of these matches will face each other in the final, with the victor of Wales’ tie earning the right to host that decisive game. Meanwhile, the Republic of Ireland will visit the Czech Republic, potentially setting up a home final against either Denmark or North Macedonia. These single-leg semi-finals and finals are scheduled for 26 March and 31 March respectively.
The European play-offs feature sixteen teams competing to secure four remaining spots for the World Cup tournament taking place in the US, Canada, and Mexico next year. The draw, conducted in Switzerland, paired top-seeded teams from pot one against pot four teams on home ground, while pot two teams hosted pot three sides. The draw also determined the pathways teams will follow to the final, including which side will enjoy home advantage. Of the sixteen teams, twelve qualified by finishing second in their World Cup qualifying groups, while four—including Northern Ireland—earned their places by winning their Nations League groups in the previous year. The main World Cup draw, including England and Scotland, is scheduled for 5 December in Washington DC.
This play-off path carries significant meaning for Wales, as outlined by BBC Sport Wales journalist Dafydd Pritchard. Wales have enjoyed considerable fortune with home advantage over recent campaigns. Since the introduction of single-leg semi-finals and finals, all of Wales’ four matches have taken place at Cardiff City Stadium, and the upcoming play-offs could see this extend to six out of six matches. Their semi-final opponent, Bosnia-Herzegovina, is the nation where Wales secured their qualification for Euro 2016 after 58 years away from major tournaments. Should they progress, a home final against Italy could await. Italy’s previous visit to Cardiff ended in a 2-1 defeat in 2002, with Wales coach Craig Bellamy scoring the winner. The current Italy manager Gennaro Gattuso was a substitute in that match. Although Italy is the highest-ranked team in the play-offs and four-time World Cup winners, Wales will be optimistic about their chances to qualify for a second consecutive World Cup, and only the third in their history.
Northern Ireland face a daunting challenge, as noted by BBC Sport NI Senior Journalist Jonathan Bradley. Historically, Northern Ireland have played Italy eleven times and won only once, in 1958, a victory that secured their qualification for that year’s World Cup in Sweden. Whether history can repeat itself remains to be seen. According to FIFA rankings, this is the most difficult draw Northern Ireland could have been given. On top of that, if Northern Ireland defeat Italy, they will face another away match in the potential final against either Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina, making the road to qualification particularly tough for Michael O’Neill’s side.
In addition to the European fixtures, the intercontinental play-offs were also drawn, with matches set to be held in Mexico during the international break in late March. Six teams will compete for two World Cup berths. The four lowest-ranked teams will start in the semi-finals, while the two highest-ranked sides—DR Congo and Iraq—will enter directly into the final stage. The semi-final fixtures are New Caledonia versus Jamaica, and Bolivia versus Suriname. The winners of these will then face DR Congo and Iraq respectively in their final matches to determine the World Cup qualifiers
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