Wales – Bosnia and Herzegovina

The rivals will trade goals when the stronger one is identified.

The Wales national team enjoyed a true renaissance in the middle of the last decade. At Euro 2016, the Welsh side reached the semi-finals, where they were defeated by Portugal led by Cristiano Ronaldo. As for the World Cups, Wales' best result was in 1958, when they reached the quarterfinals. At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the Welsh failed to qualify, and at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar they crashed out. In a group with Iran, the United States, and England, the Welsh managed to collect one point and score one goal. Both of these events occurred against the United States. The team's only goal of the tournament, from a penalty, was scored by Gareth Bale, who is the record holder for appearances and goals for Wales, but has long since retired from football. A similar record-holder in the Bosnia and Herzegovina squad, at 40 years old, is the captain of German Schalke and is in good health. In the squad of the leader of the 2. Bundesliga, Edin Dzeko almost in every match scores and provides assists. Bosnia and Herzegovina, as an independent state, have appeared in the World Cup only once. This happened in 2014, when the team failed to advance from the group. The winner of this pair of semi-finalists risks in the final facing the most formidable opponent of all possible. The playoff bracket will pit him against the winner of the Italy - Northern Ireland duel. Bookmakers have named the home team the favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.86 on their victory. Wales looked quite convincing in the group stage of World Cup qualifying. The main rival of the Welsh for a direct ticket to North America was Belgium, which in a productive contest dealt them two defeats. Craig Bellamy's team has good experience of reaching the World Cup via playoffs. That is how Wales reached the World Cup in Qatar. Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the final round of the group stage of the qualifiers, could snatch a direct ticket to the 2026 World Cup from Austria. In the decisive match against their direct rival, Dzeko and company could not hold the lead in Vienna, conceding an equalizer in the 77th minute. The teams are fairly evenly matched, so an exchange of goals is expected in their head-to-head meeting.