Latest
Sport

Wales eye shutout in World Cup play-off first leg

Rhian Wilkinson sets a clean sheet as the first target for Wales in Friday's Women's World Cup play-off semi-final first leg against Albania.

RelxNews Staff8 October 2026 at 14:38 UTC1 min read
Wales eye shutout in World Cup play-off first leg

The prize on offer against Albania is a two-legged World Cup play-off final against either Norway or Romania in early December.

If they get that far, Wales would start as underdogs against Gemma Grainger's Norway side.

At this stage, Wales do not know if wins over Albania and Norway would be enough to seal a World Cup place.

There will be eight European play-off winners, with seven progressing straight to Brazil and one – the lowest-ranked nation from the group stage of qualifying – going into inter-confederation play-offs next February.

When asked whether the play-off process should be simpler, Wilkinson said: "This is above my pay grade. What I will say is it doesn't help to get stuck in what could be or what comes afterwards.

"There's different scenarios here, but it's not for us to change that.

"For right now, this is our path and we'll just keep taking care of what's in front of us one step at a time."

More in Sport

All Sport »