Wales has been selected to host the European Championship play-off semi-finals against Finland, in what promises to be an exciting football match.
The Welsh team will be looking to qualify for their fourth major tournament out of the last five and will need to navigate the play-offs scheduled for March to reach the tournament in Germany next summer.
The semi-final is set to take place on March 21 in Cardiff, following the announcement of the draw in Nyon, Switzerland.
Rob Page’s team, who has been performing admirably lately, will have to be at their best to secure a win against Finland in the semi-finals.
The winners of the tie will be required to face either Poland or Estonia at home in the play-off final on March 26, with the victor securing the right to participate in Euro 2024.
In Path B, Israel has been drawn to face Iceland in the semi-finals, while Bosnia and Herzegovina will host Ukraine.
Georgia, on the other hand, will take on fellow potential tournament debutants Luxembourg in Path C, while Kazakhstan will travel to 2004 European champions Greece in the other semi-final of that route.
Ukraine, ranked 22nd in the FIFA rankings, will present Wales with a tough challenge, being six places above Wales.
Ukraine would have already been preparing for Germany had they been awarded what appeared to be a certain stoppage-time penalty against Italy on Monday.
Finland, on the other hand, has won six of their ten qualifiers, finishing four points behind Denmark and Slovenia, while Iceland won only three times in ten games and was a distant fourth to Portugal, Slovakia, and Luxembourg.
Euro 2024 play-off draw in full
Play-off semi-finals
Path A
Poland vs Estonia
Wales vs Finland
Path B
Israel vs Iceland
Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Ukraine
Path C
Georgia vs Luxembourg
Greece vs Kazakhstan
Play-offs finals
Path A: Wales/Finland vs Poland/Estonia
Path B: Bosnia-Herzegovina/Ukraine vs Israel/Iceland
Path C: Georgia/Luxembourg vs Greece/Kazakhstan
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The European Qualifiers will run until November 2023, and 24 teams will qualify through the results, while the remaining three teams will progress from the play-offs scheduled for March 2024.
Only the three teams to progress from the play-offs are yet to be determined, with the automatic qualifiers finishing in November.
The Euro 2024 group-stage draw will be made on Saturday, December 2, in Hamburg at 5 pm GMT.
The draw will consist of four pots of six teams.
Pot One will include England and hosts Germany, Portugal, France, Spain, and Belgium.
Pot Two will comprise Hungary, Turkey, Denmark, Albania, Romania, and Austria.
Scotland will be in Pot Three alongside Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Croatia.
Defending champions Italy will be in Pot 4 alongside Serbia and Switzerland, and the three play-off winners, which could be Wales.
Euro 2024, one of the most prestigious football tournaments in the world, is scheduled to take place from June 14 to July 14, 2024.
The tournament’s draw will be held in Hamburg on Saturday, December 2.
As the host nation, Germany is seeded in Group A and will occupy position A1, meaning that they will play in the opening match in Munich at the Allianz Arena on Friday, June 14.
The 10 host venues are as follows:
- Berlin – Olympiastadion Berlin
- Cologne – Cologne Stadium (RheinEnergieSTADION)
- Dortmund – BVB Stadion Dortmund (Signal Iduna Park)
- Dusseldorf – Dusseldorf Arena (MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA)
- Frankfurt – Frankfurt Arena (Deutsche Bank Park)
- Gelsenkirchen – Arena AufSchalke (Veltins-Arena)
- Hamburg – Volksparkstadion Hamburg
- Leipzig – Leipzig Stadium (Red Bull Arena)
- Munich – Munich Football Arena (Allianz Arena)
- Stuttgart – Stuttgart Arena (MHPArena)
The final match of the tournament is set to take place at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday, July 14, in what will undoubtedly be an unforgettable experience for football fans across the globe.
