Cymru are two victories away from securing their place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and success for Craig Bellamy’s side would follow a very familiar play-off path.
The right results would make Bellamy just the third Cymru head coach to lead his country to the World Cup finals after Jimmy Murphy in 1958 and Rob Page in 2022, and qualification for both his predecessors came through the same play-off route.
Cymru take on Bosnia and Herzegovina in Cardiff on Thursday, 26 March (KO 7:45pm) and a win would setup a winner-takes-all home match against Northern Ireland or Italy the following Tuesday night. The Cardiff City Stadium has witnessed some incredible Cymru moments in recent years, and home advantage with a capacity crowd could be a key factor once again.
Incredibly, there was a 64-year wait between those two previous appearances, with talented generations of Cymru stars missing out on their chance to compete on the world stage. Here we take a look back at those last two World Cup play-off successes and the story behind both.
Jimmy Murphy and the boys of 58
Cymru were selected to play Israel in a two-legged play-off for a place at the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden. A relatively comfortable 2-0 away win was repeated a few weeks later in Cardiff to complete a routine 4-0 aggregate victory. However, the political events to decide that fixture were complex, while the significance of the scheduling for the return leg would prove to be an extraordinary twist of fate for Murphy.
Cymru did not qualify directly for the World Cup having finished behind Czechoslovakia in Group 4. However, Israel had managed to qualify as the sole representative of Africa and Asia without kicking a ball as Turkey, Indonesia, Egypt and Sudan had refused to play them for variety of non-football related reasons. FIFA were not willing for them to take their place without achieving it on sporting merit, and a play-off was confirmed.
Belgium were the initial candidates selected but refused the offer, leaving Cymru to take their place with the fixtures to take place on 15 January and 5 February 1958. Murphy combined his Cymru role with that as assistant to Sir Matt Busby at Manchester United. Therefore, it was Murphy’s international commitments that meant he avoided the Munich air disaster that claimed 23 lives.
Ivor Allchurch and Dave Bowen were on target for Cymru in Ramat Gan in front of over 55,000 fans to hand Murphy’s side a healthy lead ahead of the return match in Cardiff. Allchurch and Cliff Jones then completed the scoring to ensure that Cymru would make their first-ever World Cup appearance in Sweden that summer. The journey would end through eventual winners Brazil and a teenage Pelé at the quarter-final stage.
Click here for the full story of Jimmy Murphy and the 1958 FIFA World Cup
Page, Bale and the end of a 64-year wait
No national team in the history of the game has had a longer wait between qualifying for the FIFA World Cup than Cymru. Generations of world class players had tried and failed to emulate what Murphy and his squad achieved back in 1958, but it was not until the talismanic Gareth Bale decided it was time to achieve his one remining career dream that Cymru would return to the world stage.
Rob Page would continue as interim head coach ahead of the start of the qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup. A defeat to top seeds Belgium in the opening round of games would set the tone for the group as Cymru would eventually finish as runners-up behind the Red Devils. The play-off draw would hand Cymru home advantage against Austria and either Scotland or Ukraine.
Bale, wearing the captain’s armband, scored twice for Cymru in the 2-1 win over Austria, the first a magnificent trademark free-kick. Although Austria would reduce the deficit, Cymru put in an exceptional performance on the night to move within one match of the World Cup finals. Ukraine would stand between them and a place at Qatar.
An intense and emotional night provided the backdrop for the much-anticipated final and it was Bale who once again to be the difference. Dafydd Iwan stirred the passion of the Red Wall by performing ‘Yma o Hyd’ before kick-off, and the special atmosphere inspired a memorable night as Bale’s deflected effort on 34 minutes sealed the 1-0 win.
Although Cymru would ultimately underperform in Qatar, it was fitting that Bale would score Cymru’s only goal at the finals as he converted from the penalty spot to earn a 1-1 draw with the United States. Shortly after the tournament, the five-time UEFA Champions League winner would announce his retirement.
