Wales vs Bosnia-Herzegovina Preview & Prediction | 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifying (UEFA)
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Cardiff City Stadium plays host to another FIFA World Cup playoff as Wales welcome Bosnia-Herzegovina for a UEFA semi-final in the Welsh capital city.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – BBC / US – FOX Sports
How to watch online: UK – BBC iPlayer / US – Disney+
Key stats
- Bosnia and Herzegovina are unbeaten in all four previous international meetings between the sides, with two wins and two draws. Their most recent encounters came in qualifying for UEFA EURO 2016: a 0–0 draw in Wales in October 2014, followed by a 2-0 home victory for Bosnia and Herzegovina in October 2015.
- Wales ended a 64‑year wait for a return to the global stage by qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, and they are now aiming to reach back‑to‑back editions of the tournament for the first time.
- Wales reached the 2022 finals via the play-offs, defeating Austria 2-1 before edging Ukraine 1-0 to secure their place in Qatar.
- Wales have lost only two of their last 17 World Cup qualifying matches (W11 D4).
- Wales have lost only one of their last ten home World Cup qualifying matches (W7 D2) and have won five of their most recent six (L1).
- Wales have scored in their last 14 World Cup qualifying matches.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina are aiming to qualify for a second FIFA World Cup™, having made their debut on the global stage at the 2014 edition in Brazil.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina’s previous play-off appearance came in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, where they were beaten 2–0 on aggregate by Portugal.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina have lost only one of their eight previous matches in the current World Cup qualifying campaign (W5 D2).
- Bosnia and Herzegovina are unbeaten in their last ten World Cup qualifying matches away from home (W5 D5).
- Bosnia and Herzegovina have only failed to score in one of their last 14 World Cup qualifying matches.
- Haris Tabaković has scored in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s last three international matches.
Wales vs Bosnia-Herzegovina prediction
Craig Bellamy has done a good job in charge of Wales thus far. UEFA Nations League promotion to League A was achieved in 2024 and, in 2025, they continued to play some good football, narrowly missing out on Belgium at the top of their group, finishing their campaign with a 7-1 demolition of a previously strong North Macedonia side.
Bosnia-Herzegovina were heading to North America mid-way through their final game before eventually succumbing to defeat to Austria. The Bosnians, with 40-year-old captain Edin Dzeko, have only ever played at one tournament, the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and this impressive campaign has almost come out of the blue.
The Bosnians have done well to reach this stage and do have some talents to pose a threat but Wales, especially in Cardiff, really should set themselves up for a final against either Italy or Northern Ireland.
Wales vs Bosnia-Herzegovina tip: Wales to win
