How do Wales qualify for Euro 2025?
LLANELLI, WALES - 16 JULY 2024: Wales' Jess Fishlock celebrates scoring her sides first goal during the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 qualifier League B match between Wales Women and Kosovo Women at Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli on the 16th July 2024. (Pic by Lewis Mitchell/FAW)
After a very tough but quick group stage campaign, Wales now wait to learn their next steps in their bid to qualify for a major tournament.
After beating Kosovo at Parc y Scarlets on Tuesday night, Rhian Wilkinson’s side are now ready for their next task, as they try and reach the European Championships.
But what exactly happens next?
Where are we now?
Let’s deal with the here and now first of all. Wales have finished top of Group B4 ahead of Ukraine, Croatia and Kosovo.
As a result, Wales will be a seeded team in the first round of the playoffs.
Also, in the next edition of the Nations League, Wales will be back in League A, meaning they will be rubbing shoulders with some of the best players and managers on the continent.
So far so good!
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What happens next?
On Friday, the draw for the first round of the playoffs will take place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon at 12pm.
Wales will be a seeded team and will therefore play an unseeded team in a two-legged tie.
The unseeded teams are Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Slovakia, and Azerbaijan.
Wales will play the first leg away from home, before playing the second back on home soil, with the venue for that currently TBC.
The first leg will take place on October 23rd with the second leg being played on October 29th.
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If Wales win in the first round…
This is where it gets a little complicated!
If Wales win in the first round of the playoffs, they will enter the second and final round of the playoffs.
While Wilkinson’s side face off against fellow League B teams, in the other side of the playoffs, League A teams will face off against League C teams.
The second round sees the winners of both sides of the playoffs come together and face off against each other.
If seven of the eight League A teams win their ties, Wales will be an unseeded team in the final playoff round.
However, in the highly unlikely event that a number of League C teams defeat League A teams, Wales could find themselves as a seeded team.
The seedings are based on the 2024-25 European Qualifiers overall ranking.
As a result, Wales will most likely play one of these seven teams in the final round of the playoffs: Austria, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Finland, Czechia, Republic of Ireland.
In order for Wales to be a seeded team, they will need five League A teams to lose in their first-round playoff matches.
The first leg of the second round will take place on November 27th with the unseeded team playing at home, and then the second leg happening on December 3rd.
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So, what’s the possibility of Wales reaching Euro 2025?
The big question after all that is, just how likely are Wales to reach Euro 2025 in Switzerland?
Wilkinson’s side will be considered strong favourites in the first round, and many would consider it a failure if they don’t get through it, especially given their possible opponents.
It’s the second round that will cause more concern.
If Wales were to draw someone like Sweden, who are ranked sixth in the FIFA Rankings, then major doubts will start to kick in.
However, if it’s someone like the Republic of Ireland or Belgium or Finland, teams who Wales have had positive results against in the past two years, then confidence will certainly be boosted.
We will know Wales’ route to Switzerland in full on Friday afternoon, but the journey is very much just beginning!
