Wales national football team don suffer another painful penalty shootout heartbreak for World Cup 2026 qualifiers as Bosnia and Herzegovina pip dem 4-2 on penalties after 1-1 draw for di European play-off semi-final match for Cardiff City Stadium. Di match wey end around 11:40 PM UTC on Thursday, March 26, 2026, see Bosnia veteran captain Edin Dzeko score late equalizer before his side win di shootout to set up final match against Italy next Tuesday.
For di match wey BBC report, Wales take lead through Dan James first half goal but Bosnia captain Edin Dzeko, wey be 40-year-old former Manchester City striker, score crucial equalizer for di 83rd minute to force extra time. After no goals for extra time, di match go penalty shootout where Bosnia goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj save from Neco Williams before 18-year-old Kerim Alajbegovic score winning penalty to send Bosnia to di final.
Di loss mean say Wales World Cup dream don end again and dem no go join England and Scotland for North America 2026 tournament. For Wales coach Craig Bellamy, dis na second penalty shootout loss for major tournament qualifiers after dem lose to Poland for Euro 2024 play-off two years ago. Bellamy, wey be former Manchester City teammate of Dzeko, even clash with di Bosnia captain for one point during di match.
For other European play-off semi-final matches wey happen same night, Italy beat Northern Ireland 2-0 with goals from Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean under coach Gennaro Gattuso. Sweden beat Ukraine 3-1 with Viktor Gyokeres scoring hat-trick, Poland come from behind beat Albania 2-1 with Robert Lewandowski scoring equalizer, Turkey beat Romania 1-0 through Ferdi Kadioglu goal, Kosovo beat Slovakia 4-3, Denmark beat North Macedonia 4-0, and Czech Republic beat Republic of Ireland 4-3 on penalties after 2-2 draw.
Di eight winning teams now set for di European play-off finals wey go hold on Tuesday, March 31, 2026 at 7:45 PM GMT. Di final matchups na Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Italy, Czech Republic vs Denmark, Kosovo vs Turkey, and Sweden vs Poland. Only four teams from dis finals go qualify for World Cup 2026 wey USA, Canada and Mexico go co-host.
For Bosnia side, di victory dey special because Edin Dzeko now close to becoming one of few outfield players aged 40 or over to play for World Cup. Only Roger Milla of Cameroon don achieve dis feat before for 1994 USA World Cup when he be 42 years. Dzeko, wey currently play for Schalke for Bundesliga 2, say “Age doesn’t matter, I’m not a write-off yet” as he aim to help Bosnia qualify for their first World Cup since 2014.
Other veteran players wey fit join Dzeko for World Cup 2026 include Croatia midfielder Luka Modric and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo, both wey dey set for their sixth World Cup appearances. But for Wales, di dream don end again as dem join Republic of Ireland as di only UK teams wey no qualify for di tournament.
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