Wales suffered the agony of missing out on a second successive major tournament on penalties as they lost their World Cup semi-final at home to Bosnia-Herzegovina following a shootout in Cardiff.
Craig Bellamy’s side had looked on course to set up a play-off final against Italy as they led 1-0 in the second half, only to concede a late equaliser before losing on penalties, as they did to Poland exactly two years earlier in their Euro 2024 play-off final.
Wales controlled a cagey first half, dominating possession and coming closest to an opening goal as Harry Wilson’s beautiful bending effort cannoned off the post.
The home side took the lead in spectacular fashion six minutes after the restart, Daniel James latching on to a wayward backpass and smashing a swerving 25-yard strike into the roof of the net.
James then hit the crossbar as the game opened up, while Wales goalkeeper Karl Darlow produced a save for the ages to claw away a goalbound header from Ermedin Demirovic.
Bosnia grew in confidence and had chances to equalise before their 40-year-old captain, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, headed in from a corner in the 86th minute to send the game into added time.
Both teams looked exhausted in extra time, unable to create any opportunities of note, with Bosnia trying everything they could to run down the clock and force penalties.
Darlow denied Demirovic again from the first spot-kick, while Wilson, Haris Tabakovic, Mark Harris and Ivan Basic all scored before Brennan Johnson skied his to make it 2-2 after three penalties each.
Amir Hadziahmetovic converted Bosnia’s next penalty and Neco Williams saw his saved by Nikola Vasilj, handing Kerim Alajbegovic the chance to clinch victory as he sent Darlow the wrong way.
Bosnia will now host Italy on Tuesday for a place at this summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Wales, meanwhile, will return to Cardiff City Stadium on the same night for a match that nobody wants, a friendly against Northern Ireland, who lost Thursday’s other semi-final to Italy.
Analysis: Wales squander winning position
For a third successive campaign, Wales found themselves two home wins away from qualifying for a major tournament.
Having successfully navigated the play-off to reach the 2022 World Cup – their first for 64 years – they missed out on Euro 2024 at the final hurdle against Poland, two years ago to the day.
Contrasting as the emotions were on those occasions, the experiences all contributed to how familiar a game of this magnitude felt for Wales. They had been here before.
This was for large parts a mature performance but, having looked like putting the result beyond doubt as they chased a second goal when 1-0 up, it was alarming how quickly Wales allowed the game to get away from them.
Bellamy’s substitutions laid bare his squad’s lack of strength in depth, as Wales faded badly and struggled to regain momentum.
This defeat will hurt the head coach and his players, who will use this pain as fuel for their attempts to qualify for Euro 2028, which Wales will co-host with England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.
Before then, however, they must analyse this defeat and learn some harsh lessons from a qualifying campaign which promised so much but ultimately delivered nothing.
Strong Wales start, wild Bosnia celebrations
Amid a febrile atmosphere fanned by flares in the away end, Wales started encouragingly, albeit not at “full gas” as Bellamy had vowed beforehand.
The hosts enjoyed as much as 70% possession during the first half yet for all their probing, the closest they got to a first-half goal was Wilson’s wonderful curling effort that hit the post.
Bosnia were here to disrupt, as evidenced by their three yellow cards before the break, but they offered nothing in attack.
In fact, the visitors were more of a threat to themselves and contributed to the opening goal as Benjamin Tahirovic – the player at the centre of a pre-match controversy involving Steve Cooper, his Welsh manager at club side Brondby, and Bosnia boss Sergej Barbarez – misplaced a pass into James’ path.
The Leeds United player unleashed a thunderous strike which flew past Bosnia keeper Nikola Vasilj, whose slip proved costly as he backpedalled.
James had a glorious chance to double Wales’ lead but his shot inside the penalty area was deflected on to the bar.
At that point, the game was wide open, even ragged at times, and Bosnia sensed an opportunity.
Darlow made a miraculous save to deny Demirovic, and he was called into action again to palm away a shot from Kerim Alajbegovic.
The Leeds keeper was powerless to stop Dzeko’s equalising glancing header, which sparked an eruption in the vociferous Bosnian end.
The celebrations were even wilder after their shootout triumph, Bosnia’s first win in a play-off game at the eighth attempt, taking them one step closer to a first World Cup since 2014.
