Gareth Bale joked he would be delaying his retirement “for a little bit” after he fired Wales to their first World Cup in 64 years on Sunday night. Speculation had been rife that the Real Madrid star – who is set to become a free agent at the end of the month when his deal at the Bernabeu expires – would retire if Wales had failed to qualify for yet another World Cup. But the 32-year-old stepped up when his country needed him most to fire in the free-kick that was deflected past Ukraine goalkeeper Heorhiy Bushchan to make history.

The eyes of the world will be watching as Wales take on Ukraine in the World Cup play-off final at the Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday evening in a bid to secure a place in Qatar in November. It is set to be an emotional night for both teams, as Wales will be on the hunt to end decades of hurt after missing out on previous World Cups since 1958. Meanwhile, Ukraine will also be vying for a place in their second finals – their first was in 2006 – after three months of war with Russia, so it will be an inspirational occasion for the country should they qualify.

Joe Rodon says he has taken a leaf out of Gareth Bale’s book and not “cried” over his club situation as the pair bid to take Wales to the World Cup. Like Bale at Real Madrid, Rodon has been under-employed by his club this season – making just 10 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur and only three in the Premier League. But the duo will be key pillars at either end of the pitch for Wales against Ukraine on Sunday in the World Cup play-off showdown at Cardiff City Stadium,  a gigantic match that is live on S4C.

Wales defender Ben Davies has praised Ukraine star Oleksandr Zinchenko as “a stand-out man” for the way he has conducted himself in the media ahead of Sunday’s emotionally-charged World Cup play-off final. The eyes of the world will be on Cardiff City Stadium to see if Ukraine’s national football team can pull off a win that would lift a country that has been at war since Russia’s invasion in February. A tearful Zinchenko spoke from the heart ahead of Ukraine’s 3-1 play-off semi-final victory over Scotland on Wednesday, detailing what it would mean for his country if they qualify for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.

By Gareth James Wales’ World Cup play-off opponents Ukraine deserve “cheer and encouragement” following their 3-1 win in Wednesday night’s 3-1 play-of semi-final win against Scotland. That’s the view of Craig Brown, the last manager to take Scotland’s national men’s team to a World Cup finals. The Ukrainian team had not played a competitive match […]

By Paul Jones Wales boss Robert Page admitted his team selection for their opening Nations League game in Poland was influenced by Sunday’s World Cup play-off final. Skipper Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Ben Davies and Joe Allen were all rested as Wales slid to a 2-1 defeat in Wroclaw – their first loss for nearly […]

Rob Page has been heralded as a national hero as he stands just one game away from taking Wales to the World Cup finals for the first time since 1958. Page and his team – who will face Poland on Wednesday night at the Tarczynski Arena in Wroclaw – would be immortalised forever in Welsh history if they qualify for the World Cup in their next game against either Scotland or Ukraine on Sunday. But first they have a warm-up date with a tricky Poland side in the Nations League – opponents stacked with world class talent, who have already qualified for Qatar after beating Sweden 2-0 in their play-off final.

By Paul Jones Steven Naismith wants Scotland to embrace the prospect of “making more history” when they face Ukraine on Wednesday night. The Scots’ qualification for the delayed 2020 European Championship saw them take part in their first major tournament since the 1998 World Cup in France. Now, if they overcome Ukraine in a World […]

Wales midfielder Sorba Thomas hopes to complete a remarkable journey this weekend by winning Premier League promotion with Huddersfield. If the Terriers beat Nottingham Forest in Sunday’s Sky Bet Championship play-off final, Thomas will have risen from non-league football to the top flight in the space of 16 months. The former Boreham Wood midfielder said: “I always believed. When you look at the success stories of Jamie Vardy, Michel Antonio, Tyrone Mings, who came from non-league, you have to always believe.

Six years ago, Kieffer Moore worried his career had frozen but now he is one game away from the heat of a desert World Cup and the biggest hat-trick of his life. The Wales striker is about to become a Premier League player with Bournemouth, has got engaged to fiancé Charlotte Russell, and now just needs a place at the World Cup finals to make 2022 the year that made Moore merrier Yet back in 2016, the 6ft 5in hit man was returning from a stint in the Nordic city of Stavanger, where he failed to break the ice by scoring a single goal for Norwegian club Viking.

By Paul Jones Danny Ward insists that, as fans, the Wales players know exactly how heavy the weight of history feels as they prepare to qualify for a first World Cup finals for over half a century. The squad preparing to face their World Cup play-off final date next weekend hope to make history by […]

Football is now more popular in Wales than rugby. How do we know this? Because the Football Association of Wales told us so yesterday after some expensive piece of research. Except, as Daniel Parker points out, the truth is not quite so black and white and should certainly require a little more humility – on both sides. Another week, another tiresome round of Twitter squabbles on whether rugby or football is truly the national sport of Wales. The instinctive reaction should be to avoid these fractious arguments with a bargepole.