World Cup play-off draw: Leeds United quartet learn Wales fate with route to USA, Canada and Mexico laid out
Four Leeds United players are expected to feature when Wales begin their World Cup play-off campaign in March.
Leeds United’s Welsh quartet have discovered their potential path to the 2026 World Cup following Thursday’s play-off draw.
Wales secured their play-off spot after an impressive pair of wins during the November international break. The Red Dragons beat Liechtenstein 1-0 last weekend to send them into Tuesday’s meeting with North Macedonia knowing victory would put them above their opponents and into second.
Craig Bellamy’s side duly thumped North Macedonia 7-1 at the Cardiff City Stadium, with Leeds winger Dan James grabbing his first goal of the season for club and country. Karl Darlow and Joe Rodon also played in the crucial midweek victory while Ethan Ampadu was suspended, having picked up a decisive yellow card against Liechtenstein.
All four will expect to be part of the Wales squad when the next international break comes around in March, and it’s going to be a massive one. Following Thursday’s World Cup play-off draw, the path for Bellamy’s side to reach next summer’s major tournament has been laid out.
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Wales’ World Cup play-off route confirmed
Wales were in Pot 2 for the play-off draw, which took place at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich on Thursday, and were drawn out to face Bosnia and Herzegovina in their one-legged semi-final clash. That will take place on Thursday, March 26 next year and victory would put the Leeds quartet and their nation within one game of the World Cup.
Fortunately for Wales, their place in Pot 2 means they have been drawn as the home side for that semi-final clash. That means Bosnia and Herzegovina will have to head to the Cardiff City Stadium in March next year, a difficult trip given how they performed against North Macedonia.
And with each play-off path now fully laid out, Wales know who they might face in the decider. Should they beat Bosnia and Herzegovina in their play-off semi-final, the following week on Tuesday, March 31 will see them face one of Italy or Northern Ireland for a ticket to the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Victory in the play-off final would see Darlow, Rodon, Ampadu and James join some of their Leeds teammates across the Atlantic Ocean. Brenden Aaronson’s USA automatically qualified as one of three host nations, while Ao Tanaka will be playing in the tournament with Japan.
Other Leeds players will not be heading to the USA, Canada and Mexico, however. Jaka Bijol’s Slovenia, Gabriel Gudmundsson’s Sweden and Ilia Gruev’s Bulgaria all missed out after failing to impress in their qualifying groups. Noah Okafor’s Switzerland did make it through but the winger has not been involved with his country recently due to a fallout with the head coach.