Wales take on the visitors Finland Ukraine in the semifinal match of UEFA Euro 2024 qualification. The match will be played on Thursday, February 21st at Cardiff City Stadium (Cardiff).
Wales have recently been associated not so much with various coaches as with their main star, Bale. He could fool around, or rather, focus on golf, in Madrid, but he transformed into a true leader when playing for the national team and made a difference. Even though the results were declining. If at the debut Euro in 2016, the Welsh became a sensation, reaching the semi-finals, then at the next such championship, they managed to advance from the group stage – only to suffer a crushing defeat in the first knockout round. Finally, Gareth, postponing the end of his career, led his teammates to the World Cup, only the second in history (the first dates back to 1958). But there, they only managed a draw – of course, thanks to the captain's penalty goal – and a couple of defeats. Without their longtime leader and with aging other stars led by Ramsey, Rob Page's charges lagged significantly behind Croatia and Turkey in the qualifiers. But now, the Nations League is helping – they followed through to the playoffs through its quota. This is despite Wales being toothless in the youngest tournament and failing – but at the Division A level.
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Finland hasn't given up hope of qualifying for the Euro again. Suomi reached their peak during the previous qualification campaign. At that time, the team, which had undoubtedly progressed under Kanerva, managed to show excellent football, qualifying directly for the debut major tournament as the 2nd in their group. And in the tournament itself, the debutant started with a victory over the Danes, despite all the reservations surrounding Eriksen's sudden collapse on the field. But then there were defeats at the Euro, and subsequent fairly mediocre results in the following cycles. Even during last year's qualifiers, they accumulated what seemed like a considerable 18 points, but ultimately finished almost level with Kazakhstan, ahead only on additional criteria, and lagged behind Slovenia and Denmark by 4 points each. Well, the playoffs were still within reach, thanks to finishing 2nd in the Nations League group, where in Division B, the inconsistent Bosnians proved stronger than the Eagle-owls.
The sides first played each other back in 1971, and there have been different chapters in this rivalry. In 2020, within the Nations League framework, The Dragons won both matches, and the following year, in a friendly format, they settled for a goalless draw. The Welsh know how to achieve results. It will be the same next time, so we believe in a victory for the Dragons in this match in regular time.
Prediction for the match: Wales to win.
