Gareth Bale labelled Spanish newspaper headlines targeting him as “disgusting” after his two goals against Austria put Wales within one game of reaching the World Cup. Wales moved one step closer to their first World Cup since 1958 as Bale stole the show in a 2-1 win over Austria in the play-off semi-final. Spanish media outlets had criticised Bale after he linked up with Wales having been absent for Real Madrid in Sunday’s El Clasico against Barcelona.

Wales have been backed to beat Austria on Thursday night by the manager who took his own nation to the threshold of the World Cup finals. Former Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill reckons Wales can move to within one step of making it to Qatar – and their first World Cup finals appearance since 1958 – by winning their play-off semi-final at the Cardiff City Stadium, in a match that is live on S4C. O’Neil believes the cards have all fallen in Wales’ favour, with a home tie, the apparent fitness of superstar pair Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, and the delay in any play-off final until June because of the conflict in Ukraine.

By Harry Corish  Gareth Bale insisted he is match fit and refused to be drawn on his absence from ‘El Classico’ amid recent Madrid controversy. He is fit for Wales’ clash with Austria on Thursday and is set for one of his biggest nights in a Welsh shirt.  Whilst he has not featured much for Madrid this season, Bale has been in fine form for Wales, scoring three goals and recording three assists in his last five games for his country.

By Gareth James Wales are part of the UK and Ireland formal bid to host Euro 2028 to UEFA. The five associations confirmed in a joint statement issued on Wednesday morning that an ‘expression of interest’ (EOI) had been filed, which has the support of the governments of the UK, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The […]

Neco Williams says it would be a “dream come true” for Wales to qualify for the 2022 World Cup and end their 64-year wait to grace the tournament. Wales host Austria in a World Cup play-off semi-final at the Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday. The winners will play Scotland or Ukraine in June to decide a World Cup place, something Wales have not experienced since reaching the quarter-finals of the competition in Sweden in 1958.

By Tom Prosser Szymon Marciniak of Poland has been appointed to referee Wales’ World Cup play-off semi-final against Austria at the Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday. Wales will be hoping Marciniak’s appointment is a good omen for them as he previously refereed their crucial 1-0 win away to Cyprus in 2015.

By Paul Jones Wales manager Robert Page has lavished praise on “wonderful” Brennan Johnson ahead of his side’s World Cup play-off against Austria. The Nottingham Forest star is one of Wales’ emerging talents and qualifies for the Dragons through his Powys born mother who was born and raised in Rhayader. Johnson has emerged as one […]

By Tom Prosser Wales chief Noel Mooney has claimed war-torn Ukraine must play their World Cup play-off ties by June – or else pull out of the tournament. Both Wales and Scotland backed Ukraine’s request to postpone their play-off semi-final against the Scots at Hampden Park following Russia’s invasion of their neighbour. But with the […]

By Paul Jones Wales are hopeful Gareth Bale will be fit for their World Cup play-off with Austria. Bale was omitted from Real Madrid’s 23-man El Clasico matchday squad against Barcelona on Sunday, with reports in Spain saying the Wales captain was absent due to back pain. But Bale has joined up with the Wales […]

Swansea City manager Russell Martin expects his side to be a much improved outfit when they take to the Cardiff City Stadium turf for the South Wales derby in two weeks’ time. The Swans are without a fixture until April 2 due to the international break and Martin is confident his side can use the extra days wisely before attempting the first ever South Wales derby double. “We could make people very happy in two weeks’ time,” said Martin, whose team laboured to a 0-0 draw at home to Birmingham City.

Jordan Hugill would only consider staying at Cardiff City next season if Norwich City no longer want him. Striker Hugill has been a big success since he joined the Bluebirds on loan in January – scoring three times and providing two assists in 11 league appearances. But it is the fact that Cardiff have only lost twice in that sequence, with Hugill providing a focal point in seven victories, that underlines the value of the 29-year-old’s all-round contribution.

By Adam Cleary Cardiff City boss Steve Morison is counting down the days to the South Wales derby against Swansea City. Morison’s side are now heading into a 17-day break before their next game – the Welsh derby against the Swans, a fixture which saw the seccond city club emerge as comfortable 3-0 winners back […]

Russell Martin praised Joel Piroe’s “ruthlessness” after the Swansea City striker grabbed a victory which seemed about to elude them. Piroe struck a dramatic added-time winner as the Swans snatched a 3-2 success at Peterborough United that dealt a heart-breaking blow to the hosts’ survival hopes. The Dutch striker fired his 17th goal of a prolific season in the first minute of stoppage time to settle a  Championship thriller and leave rock-bottom Posh looking doomed.

By Paul Jones Wales manager Robert Page has no fears over Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey’s limited game-time heading into World Cup play-off action and insisted “big players turn up for big games”. Skipper Bale and Ramsey head into the semi-final tie against Austria in Cardiff on March 24 following recent injury struggles. The 100-times capped Bale has only featured twice for Real since the end of August, with his only start coming against Villarreal in LaLiga last month, while Ramsey has started two games for Rangers following his January loan move from Juventus.

Cardiff City face Stoke City at the Cardiff City Stadium tonight and boss Steve Morison admits his side have come a long way since they faced Stoke earlier on in the season. The reverse fixture at the end of October was Morison’s first game as interim manager and his side found themselves 3-0 down just after half time as they looked to end an eight game losing streak. “We went 2-0 down and we had to have a good conversation at half time,” admits Morison.

By Tom Prosser Peterborough United boss Grant McCann has branded Swansea City’s style of play as “unique” ahead of Wednesday’s Skybet Championship clash at London Road. “I’ve come up against Russell Martin teams at MK Dons and Swansea before and they have a unique style of play,” said McCann. “They are very much possession-based and they can be very hard to play against as they rotate players all the time.

Ammanford AFC enjoyed a thumping 5-2 win over Undy Athletic in the JD Cymru South League at the weekend. A vital three points for the home side, taking them up to 12th place in the 16-team table and 10 points clear of their visitors who are one spot off the bottom. However, the win wasn’t the only significant success of the week for a club which prides itself on its community links.

The New Saints are worthy winners of the Cymru Premier league title this season, as Welsh football’s most successful club regained its place at the summit of the domestic game. Despite the best efforts of Penybont to stall their inevitable proclamation, the Oswestry side claimed the point they needed on Saturday to be crowned champions […]

James Rowberry has praised his Newport County side for their dedication after they strengthened their bid for promotion from League Two. County climbed up into the automatic promotion places and could even go as high as second this week if they carry their current form into Tuesday and Friday night’s games against Carlisle and Hartlepool. A 2-0 victory away at Stevenage has left Newport fans beginning to dream about achieving their goal of climbing back into the third tier of English football for the first time in 35 years.

Cardiff keeper Alex Smithies dented Preston’s hopes of making the play-offs but bosses Steve Morison and Ryan Lowe reckoned both teams could have called a truce after 60 seconds. This was a game that had 0-0 not just written all over it, but under it and through it – like a seaside stick of rock. It was a contest that fell asleep almost as soon as it kicked off and although it roused itself in the final 15 minutes, it ended by hitting the snooze button.