World Cup

CARDIFF: It has been 62 years since Wales last appeared in the World Cup finals but their interim manager Rob Page believes his side can make a real impact ...

"Gary Speed started it 12-13 years ago and I want to dedicate this win and qualification to him and his family. The tides have turned slightly now," he said. We played against their European-based players, in my first game," Page told BBC Wales, referring to a 0-0 friendly in November, 2020.

Gareth Bale led Wales to the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 64 years by beating Ukraine 1-0 to take the final European spot in Qatar.

But Wales did go further than England at Euro 2016 in France, reaching the semifinals where Cristiano Ronaldo led Portugal to victory and then the title. “I’m so proud of these boys,” Page said. Weeks of back spasms were not going to stop Gareth Bale's mission to lead Wales back to the World Cup. Try stopping the captain taking to the field when there is a 64-year drought to end. But the five-time Champions League winner is without a club for next season after being released by Madrid. While saying he has “loads” of offers, the 32-year-old free agent had been coy about his playing future. “It was difficult," Bale said. I’m so glad we’ve done it for these amazing fans.”

Bale, Ramsey and Hennessey were in the side that sunk to 117th in the world at the stadium where joy abounded on Sunday.

The giant hoardings on the exterior of the Cardiff City Stadium advertise the “timeless charm” of Vietnam and the sandy beaches of Malaysia, the country of the Championship club’s owner, Vincent Tan, but there is only one destination on the lips of those with Welsh blood. We’ve paved the way for the youngsters as well, we’ve welcomed them in and it’s hard to describe what it means to us. Page said Wales were reaping the rewards of the professionalism and identity instilled by Speed, who had targeted reaching the 2014 World Cup after taking over from John Toshack. “Gary’s words and his plan was all based around getting to a World Cup,” says the former Wales midfielder Owain Tudur Jones, an unused substitute that day against Australia. It has taken a little while but this is what Tosh wanted, it’s what Gary saw and thought was possible and now we’re seeing they were spot on.” It was fitting that Bale and Hennessey, who have been inseparable since playing together for Wales’ under-21s and will continue their journey on the biggest stage in November, shared the moment, which Robert Page dedicated to the late Gary Speed, who was nine months in the job in August 2011. Eleven years ago Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Wayne Hennessey walked off the pitch at Cardiff City Stadium after a 2-1 friendly defeat by Australia in front of a crowd of 6,373, some of whom resorted to sarcastic cheers.

LEILA FADEL, HOST: Now to Ukraine, where a few dozen hardcore fans got together to watch their national team play against Wales. Wales won one to nothing, ...

GRANITZ: Arbiter - the refs. Standing in line for the bathroom, Serhiy Ivanshenko explained why Ukraine trailed. Ukraine did have its shots - one missed header... GRANITZ: ...Only to have it called back by the ref. "Glory to the heroes." UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Non-English language spoken). GRANITZ: "Glory to Ukraine," they shout. GRANITZ: Myhalio Tsyruk says he thinks Ukraine can actually pull it off. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken). He switches to English to read what it says. So instead of going to the fan zone that would normally be set up outside the stadium, they go to the sports bar across the street. And the night began with some measured optimism.

Fans of 'bumblebees of football' prolong the celebration – and hatch plans to get to Qatar in November.

The bee shouldn’t be able to take off and we shouldn’t be able to qualify for the World Cup. But it can and now we have. It had been a fine weekend for the suppliers of hats, shirts and flags in the shops opposite Cardiff Castle and people were still coming in for souvenirs on Monday. “We’ve had a difficult couple of years,” said Bob Rice at Castle Welsh Crafts. “So it’s nice to see a bit of hustle and bustle. “The ‘still here’ sentiment is very important,” said Will. “Everyone is together and we always will be.” “Last night was the best, no doubt.” Everybody is having a tough time at the moment – Covid and now the cost of living crisis. “The anthem, the buildup, the game, the celebrations afterwards.

There'll be no second chances when Australia and United Arab Emirates meet in a playoff in Qatar on Tuesday for the right to take on Peru next week in a ...

Our fate is in our own hands.” “I think the two teams are evenly matched, based on close matches in recent years and the fact that we both finished third in our respective groups,” Mabkhout said. They’re hoping to be back there in November when Qatar hosts the first World Cup in the Middle East. The veteran playmaker, who has struggled with injuries in recent years, will once again link up with Ali Mabkhout. “Our confidence in ourselves is great,” UAE captain Walid Abbas said. “It would mean everything,” said Australia’s head coach Graham Arnold, an assistant to Guus Hiddink when the Socceroos played at the 2006 tournament.

Australia are nearing the end of the road in a curious qualifying campaign that has left the nation contemplating an existential crisis.

We need to be of the attitude that we have to make it, and I know that’s where the players will be.” Lose to the United Arab Emirates in Doha on Tuesday (Wednesday morning AEST) and there will be no second and decisive playoff against Peru. It will be the end of the road. It is more than Arnold’s fate, and the millions of Fifa dollars that FA stands to lose. Which is where we are now, at this critical juncture in a curious qualifying campaign and with a World Cup on the line. That they lack the tactical sophistication to score through the middle and rely too heavily on set pieces. So when Australia completed that second round undefeated and began the third with a Fifa-record 11th consecutive World Cup qualifying victory, we did – as Graham Arnold would say – expect to win.

Australia are used to travelling the "hard way" to World Cups and are ready to take on the United Arab Emirates in their Asian playoff in Doha, coach Graham ...

"Of course it’s going to be more fans from the UAE, but I think that will help us as well," he said. So it’s an experience we’re used to." Advertisement

It has been a clunky and mostly unimpressive performance from the Socceroos this year, but coach Graham Arnold says the team is finally ready to click.

"He pulled up very well from the game. - Australia will play UAE for the right to face Peru for a spot in the 2022 Qatar World Cup "Everything's in front of us, and that's from the first game, and that's tomorrow night.

From world record run to edge of ruin: Socceroos face $15m World Cup qualification... or 20-year-low.

The dismal end to the group stages of qualifying – both in terms of performances and results – left the coach on the brink of being axed. Put aside for a moment the upshot of qualifying in inspiring the next generation, or developing the profile of the game here – for cash-strapped Football Australia, that cash injection is still an important factor. A manager under immense pressure and a team struggling for form and struggling to implement a clear style of play. And after four years of developing a squad capable of competing in football’s greatest show, Arnold’s choices now could prove defining, for better or worse. Japan had atypically struggled early in their qualification campaign while the Socceroos were top of the group and racking up the wins. In four matches, the record was damning: one draw, three losses. After that, the Socceroos would win just one of their seven remaining qualifiers – even after ending a 763-day exile from home soil and playing with the benefit of roaring Australian crowds. Just like last time around, the Socceroos have trodden a long and tiresome road to qualification. “The Japanese no doubt have all the pressure on them because they have only won one game out of three,” he declared. Four and a half years later, the Socceroos face a similar scenario. A lack of tactical flexibility or any semblance of a ‘plan b’. Players out of position in cobbled-together squads. Some took to remaining overseas for months on end to be able to play their part on the road to Qatar. The sacrifices and the tolls on players and staff alike have been incalculable.

After a COVID-enforced period of stasis, in which they didn't play a match for 567 days, Australia's men's national team resumed World Cup qualifying last June ...

Striker Ali Mabkhout scored the winner in their last meeting with Australia and currently has 14 goals to his name in this current qualifying cycle: the most for any player from any confederation. Ange Postecoglou led the Socceroos through the intercontinental play-off back in 2018, just edging Syria and Honduras on their way to Russia. And while the odds are leaning in Australia's favour given they have won three of their past four meetings, the UAE are no push-overs. What followed was a tumbling of results: one win, three draws, and two losses as Australia scraped into third spot in their group. Uncertainty permeates Australia in many more ways. After several years of slowly-fading hopes, it finally felt like this rag-tag bunch of players - some of whom had never set foot in the country whose green-and-gold jersey they now wore — had, somehow, returned to the path first paved by the "golden generation" they grew up watching.

The winner of the match will then face Peru a week later for a spot at the 2022 World Cup.

Three potential kit designs for Portugal at the 2022 World Cup have leaked online and they could be the worst at the whole tournament.

He’s captain of the team, he’s the ultimate example." "These exhibits are nothing out of the ordinary. Club teammate Bruno Fernandes put it on a plate for the 37-year-old who made no mistake.

Two spots remain open at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and United Arab Emirates and Australia will meet on Tuesday in Qatar looking to keep their hopes alive.

If they do, they have a fantastic chance to move on. If they can prioritize defense and execute well, they'll have a chance. UAE: They finished in third in Group A with a 3-3-4 record and enter as underdogs.

Doha (AFP) – Coach Graham Arnold is counting on “Aussie mental strength” to see his side to victory over the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and through to ...

- Includes Premier League TV channel plus movies, TV shows & more - Price: $6.99/mo. (or get ESPN+, Hulu & Disney+ for $13.99/mo.) - Watch Premier League, World Cup, Euro 2024 & more Physically we are really ready for this game. But now all those type of things have been removed,” he said. “Australia is pretty much used to doing it the hard way.

The agonizing moment in a tight game came in the 34th minute when Andriy Yarmolenko inadvertently headed the ball into his own net while trying to clear Wales ...

"Every day we hear bombs and hear artillery. We came here and we're like in another world." The match was just a moment of respite. "We have war raging all over the country," Petrakov said. It's a holiday for us." "We have children and women dying on a daily basis.