Wales vs Ukraine: World Cup play-off final prediction, kick off time, TV, live stream, team news, h2h results – preview
The last European spot at the inaugural winter tournament in Qatar is on the line for these two nations, with the winner set to enter Group B alongside England, USA and Iran.
Wales boss Robert Page has billed this weekend’s encounter as the nation’s biggest game since their only previous World Cup appearance in 1958, including their fairytale run to the last four of Euro 2016 in France.
Gareth Bale and Co have had to wait quite a while for this decider, with the departing Real Madrid star having notched two excellent goals in a memorable semi-final defeat of Austria on home soil back in March.
And just like Scotland, Wales will be fully aware that much of the world is against them here as they come up against neutrals’ favourites Ukraine, who displayed incredible heart to win 3-1 in their delayed clash at Hampden Park on Wednesday – their first competitive outing since Russia’s invasion of their country.
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It was a hugely emotional occasion in Glasgow, but 3,500 Ukraine fans saw their inspirational players remain focused despite many having not played a competitive match this year and move within one step of Qatar thanks to goals from Andriy Yarmolenko, Roman Yaremchuk and Artem Dovbyk.
A place at the World Cup would mean so much to both nations for very different reasons, so we can expect another highly-charged contest in the Welsh capital.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Wales vs Ukraine is scheduled for a 5pm BST kick-off on Sunday June 5, 2022.
The Cardiff City Stadium will host the match.
Where to watch Wales vs Ukraine
TV channel: In the UK, Sunday’s match will be televised live on Sky Sports Football and Main Event, with coverage beginning at 4pm.
Live coverage is also available via S4C and for free on ITV, where the show also starts at 4.
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers will also be able to watch the game online via the Sky Go app. Fans can also watch online via the ITV Hub or S4C Player.
Live blog: You can also follow all the action via Standard Sport’s live blog.
Wales vs Ukraine team news
Wales XI: Hennessey; Roberts, Ampadu, Rodon, Davies, Williams; Allen, Ramsey; James, Bale, Moore
Subs: Ward, Davies, Gunter, Mepham, Wilson, Johnson, Morrell, Norrington-Davies, Williams, Harris, Thomas, Matondo
Ukraine XI: Bushchan; Karavaev, Zabarnyi, Matvienko, Mykolenko; Stepanenko; Yarmolenko, Malinovskyi, Zinchenko, Tsygankov; Yaremchuk
AFP via Getty Images
Wales vs Ukraine prediction
This is such a unique and difficult contest to call.
Wales’ defeat in Poland – a match they initially led with less than 20 minutes to play – can be discounted as they had one eye firmly fixed on this colossal showdown.
With Bale leading the way for his country as usual, Page’s men certainly rose to the occasion on an unforgettable night against Austria.
That backing from a fervent Cardiff crowd could prove decisive once more, though Ukraine showed at Hampden that they won’t be overawed by that sort of partisan atmosphere.
To produce the caliber of performance they did against an albeit flat Scotland team given everything that is going on in their country and with a real lack of playing time for many of their squad is simply remarkable.
This may end up proving one step too far, but Ukraine can be so proud of their achievements regardless of Sunday’s result.
Wales to win, 1-0.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
These two sides have only met on three previous occasions, with Wales winless.
Ukraine won their last meeting 1-0 in March 2016, a tame pre-Euros friendly in Kyiv that was decided by Yarmolenko’s first-half strike.
They also played two World Cup qualifiers in 2001, with both matches drawn 1-1.
Wales wins: 0
Ukraine wins: 1
Draws: 2
