Wales may miss World Cup even after beating Norway — BBC Sport
Wales' women's national team will face Norway in the European play-off final for qualification for the World Cup, but even a victory in this tie may not guarantee direct qualification for the tournament in Brazil. The first match will take place on 1 December at Cardiff City Stadium in Cardiff, while the return match in Norway will be held four days later, BBC Sport reports.
Dependence on Finland's match
Eight play-off finals are being held in the European part of qualification. Seven winners will qualify directly for the World Cup, while the team with the lowest ranking based on the group stage will enter the intercontinental play-off.
For Wales, the result of the Finland-Italy match will be crucial. Finland, which ranked below Wales in the group-stage standings, defeated Serbia in the semi-final. If Finland beat Italy, Wales' success against Norway will secure the Welsh team a direct place at the World Cup. If Finland are eliminated, Wales will have to play in the intercontinental play-off in February after beating Norway.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
The European team will enter this tournament from the second stage and will have to win one knockout match. A total of six teams will take part in the competition, including two CONCACAF national teams, one CONMEBOL team and two teams that advance through the preliminary stage.
Final against former coach
Wales approach the matches against Norway after defeating Albania, which extended the team's unbeaten run to 10 games — the longest in the national team's history. Norway are ranked 13th in the FIFA rankings, 18 places above Wales, and beat Romania 8:0 on aggregate in the semi-final.
For the Welsh team, this will be their first attempt to qualify for the Women's World Cup. Norway have never missed such a tournament and became world champions in 1995. An additional storyline will be the meeting with Gemma Grainger, who coached Wales from 2021 to 2024 before leaving the team to take charge of Norway. Wales captain Angharad James said the players respect Grainger, but will seek to create surprises in matches against her team.
