Wales play Poland in play-off final for Euro 2024 spot

Rob Page will be hoping to lead his side to their 4th major tournament in 10 years

Manager Rob Page will be hoping for a victory tonight after a disappointing qualification campaign
Author: Claire BoadPublished 26th Mar 2024

Wales face Poland tonight in a make or break match for a spot at the European Championships this summer in Germany.

Fans will be hoping for victory after Wales' convincing 4-1 win over Finland in the play-off semi finals.

If Wales win they will earn their spot at their fourth major football tournament in 10 years, and their third European Championship on the trot.

The side - and the nation - know how much it means but to reinforce the point the squad had a special team talk in the shape of Wales and Hollywood actor Rhys Ifans.

All the odds will be in Wales's favour, thanks to the help of a home crowd. The game is being played at the Cardiff City Stadium with the Red Wall singing Yma O Hyd along the way.

This time Wales are without a number of key players with Gareth Bale, Joe Allen and Chris Gunter among those retiring.

"Look back to the semi-final and final before the World Cup and Gareth scored the three goals," said boss Page, recalling Bale's brilliance in the play-offs that guided Wales to Qatar.

"We had one of the world's best footballers and it shows how far we've come in a short space of time.

"We are only one tournament past Gareth's retirement and one win away from qualifying.

"We're a country where, if we can be there or thereabouts at the end of the campaign to qualify, while we're still in this transition of introducing young players without some of the world-class senior players we've had, then we're in a good place.

"That's where we are at this time and it's quite a significant move. It shows the strength in depth and quality we've got coming through."

Wales missed out on qualifying during the main group stages last year, so tonight's match against Poland is their final chance to board the plane to Germany this summer.

Kick-off is at 7:45 pm.

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