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BBC News
22-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Wales' World Cup score to settle after Qatar 'nightmare'
2026 World Cup qualifying: Wales v KazakhstanVenue: Cardiff City Stadium Date: Saturday, 22 March Kick-off: 19:45 GMTCoverage: Watch on BBC One Wales, iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app, plus S4C via iPlayer. Text commentary and highlights on BBC Sport website and app. Listen live on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, BBC Radio 5 Sport Extra. Wales will start their World Cup qualifying campaign on Saturday looking to right the wrongs of is not the familiar tale of the many near misses that littered their painful distant past, but rather a recent triumph that turned into dismal reaching the 2022 World Cup, Wales realised a dream; glorious catharsis after 64 barren years without playing on football's biggest once they got to Qatar, that dream became a one Football Association of Wales official in Doha put it: "We'd waited a lifetime, and then it was a disaster."It was not simply Wales' first-round exit that was so dispiriting, but the manner of it. This was the opportunity of a generation, squandered – and it still is why this team view the 2026 World Cup as "unfinished business" according to midfielder Joe Allen, a chance to make amends for not only want to secure their place at next year's tournament but make a meaningful impact when they get there, having failed so miserably to do so last time."It is something that sticks with me and I'm sure it sticks with a lot of the guys," says captain Ben Davies."The best moment of Qatar for us was probably just the Ukraine [play-off] game in getting there. It was disappointing out there and it was something that was tough to get over for a while."We didn't really show how good we can be on the world stage and that hunger to go and do it again is definitely there." 'Undercooked, unsure and unhappy' The significance of qualifying transcended football for Wales, a country which had never enjoyed the global attention that comes with a modern-day World had less time to prepare than other teams in Qatar having only sealed qualification five months earlier with a play-off win over Ukraine – but the FAW understood the logistics of major tournaments having been to the previous two European 2016 in particular had been a transformative success for Wales, though a World Cup was on a different nation grasped the cultural and political value of this opportunity but, in terms of the football, there were Rob Page had performed admirably after stepping into the role in difficult circumstances following Ryan Giggs' abrupt departure in led the team to the knockout stages of Euro 2020, Page etched his name into Welsh football history by becoming the first man to take Wales to a World Cup since can never be taken away from the former captain but, even by his own admission, this was a job he never thought he would have, considering his only previous managerial experience had come at Port Vale and Northampton was popular with the Wales squad but some performances during World Cup qualifying, such as a goalless home draw with Estonia – as well as the 4-0 thrashing by Denmark at Euro 2020 – had prompted criticism, with some questioning his credentials at this level."The players all liked Rob as a person but some were unsure about him as a coach," another FAW source tells BBC Sport Wales."When the squad met up in Cardiff before travelling to Qatar, the feeling seemed to be that they weren't as well prepared as they could have been."Matters did not improve when they got to Qatar. The timing and location of training sessions had to be changed at the last minute because of the searing heat, while some staff felt team meetings were players were also unimpressed by the content of training sessions and, with the likes of Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Allen already lacking match sharpness due to limited game-time at their clubs, there was a pervading sense that Wales were entering this tournament undercooked."Could we have gone with fresher legs from the start? It's easy to say now, in hindsight," Page said after returning only realised in hindsight what many felt was obvious before and during the event; his lack of foresight would prove costly. 'We were just there' Wales' World Cup campaign started to unravel at the very moment it began in were fortunate to draw against the United States in their opening game, Page admitting he got his selection and tactics wrong as his side were outplayed by dynamic, athletically superior late penalty rescued Wales on that occasion but, with their all-time leading scorer's influence waning as retirement loomed, Page's side would have no such luck in their remaining two manager said there were "lessons learned" against the USA but he proceeded to repeat the same mistakes against Iran as Wales were overwhelmed physically once again, hopelessly overrun as Iran won than effectively extinguishing Welsh hopes of reaching the second round, this felt like the beginning of the end of their golden Ramsey and Allen were all key figures in Wales' dizzying ascent to the Euro 2016 semi-finals but, in the baking desert heat of Qatar, they had been reduced to shrivelled imitations of their former final ignominy was a 3-0 defeat against England which could have been a far more severe drubbing had Gareth Southgate's men felt the a week after their first World Cup game for 64 years, Wales were heading home."Hopefully, next time we qualify it won't just be about being there," says Neco Williams, who started all three matches."Last time, we were just there."Plenty wanted Page gone while others felt World Cup qualification had made him close to unsackable, or at least had earned him another he was soon under pressure after a humiliating 4-2 home defeat against Armenia derailed their Euro 2024 qualifying he held on to his job despite missing out on qualification, Page was eventually dismissed last summer and replaced by Craig has started superbly, unbeaten in six games having led Wales to the Nations League's top division and instilled a bold new playing style in the ultimate aim, as he stated on his first day in the job, is to qualify for the 2026 World more than that, having seen how Wales fared in Qatar and how that disappointment still burns in his players, Bellamy wants his team to do themselves justice if they get to next year's competition in the USA, Canada and Mexico."These boys have got to a World Cup. I understand the motivation to move that again because of what happened last time," he says."We always talk about 'us against the world' but we're not an underdog. I don't believe in that, and I won't have it. Now, at times you use it, but you can't live on it because it only lasts so long."For me, it's always 'no, we are more'. We think more of ourselves than anyone else thinks of us."
BBC News
03-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ireland denied Nations Cup win in shootout loss to NZ
Ireland's women were beaten in a shootout by New Zealand in the final of the FIH Nations Cup in game finished 1-1, with New Zealand winning the penalty run-ins Grundie's side trailed to an early goal by Emelia Surridge but dominated possession for much of the pressure told when Katie Mullan scored a deserved equaliser with just under four minutes Power and Sarah Hawkshaw scored in the shootout to level it at 2-2 after three attempts for each side but after the Kiwis edged ahead, Michelle Carey hit the outside of the post before Hannah Cotter beat Ireland keeper Ayeisha McFerran to win the defeat is a setback for Ireland as it denied them a place in the FIH Pro League next season, which would have been perfect preparation for the 2026 World will remain in the second tier of world hockey for another year and switch their focus to the EuroHockey Championships in August and qualifying for the World Cup. "It's disappointing to lose in the shoot-out," coach Grundie said after the final."I think we played quite well throughout the game and we had a lot more chances that we weren't able to convert and it comes down to lottery of 1 v 1's, we came off second.'We'll learn from it and move on to the next one. It was a really positive tournament. We'll take some time out and then work towards the Europeans later this summer and we have a World Cup to qualify for." Penalty heartache once again - analysis For almost a decade the rollercoaster ride taken by the Ireland women's hockey team has been intertwined with missing out on 2016 and 2024 Olympic qualification to winning shootouts in the quarter and semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and making their first Olympics Games in Tokyo in perhaps it shouldn't have come as any surprise that this final would end up the way it had produced some superb attacking hockey in winning their four games on route to the final, including a 1-0 win over New Zealand in the pool once Surridge's reverse stick shot beat an unsighted McFerran in the sixth minute, Ireland were chasing the that there was any panic. The hard work put in by Grundie in his first few months in charge of the squad was clear to began to build momentum and by the end of the third quarter had forced five penalty corners but converted fact penalty corner routines were poor with only one of 25 scored in the five games, a statistic that Ireland will need to work on moving the final quarter, Ireland bombarded the New Zealanders. Power's shot went just wide and from a corner Hawkshaw was inches again on the big occasion it was Ireland's most experienced player who stepped twisted in the circle and fired the equaliser into the New Zealand net with 3:57 remaining in the game. Even then Ireland came close to winning it, New Zealand had nothing left, except the sanctuary of a shootout in which they'd had practice the day before by beating Chile in the held their nerve and it was just enough to end Irish dreams in the cruellest way possible, and not for the first time.
BBC News
11-02-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ireland still missing Monaghan for Six Nations
Ireland co-captain Sam Monaghan will miss the Women's Six Nations through Gloucester-Hartpury lock missed Ireland's victory over Australia and the WXV1 competition in the autumn after sustaining a serious knee injury when playing for her club in head coach Scott Bemand will bring together 40 players for a training camp next week to prepare for their Six Nations campaign which begins against France in Belfast on 22 are eight uncapped players included in the Barrett, Jane Neill, Beth Buttimer and Jane Clohessy graduate from the under-20s set-up, while Alma Atagamen caught the eye playing for the under-18s and is also Larn and Katie Heffernan will be seeking debuts for the side having previously represented Ireland in Finn is again included in the wider squad having travelled to Vancouver for WXV1 last year without taking the finished third in the 2024 Six Nations to qualify for this year's World will be in a pool with Japan, Spain and New Zealand at the tournament in England which starts in August.
