Cymru take on Ghana at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday, 2 June (KO 19:45) in what will be the first fixture between the two nations to mark the 150th anniversary of the Football Association of Wales.
Craig Bellamy’s side will then head to Bucharest to face Romania on Saturday, 6 June (KO 18:45 BST) for the second match of this international window. This will be the first time the two nations have met since the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Cardiff that saw Romania claim a 2-1 win and qualify for the finals.
Ghana – The Black Stars
This will be the first time that Cymru has ever hosted an African nation as the Black Stars continue their preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Although Cymru side missed out on qualification with defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina back in March, the match will provide valuable experience for Craig Bellamy’s side ahead of the next UEFA Nations League campaign.
Veteran Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz took charge of Ghana last month ahead and is expected to bring a talented squad to Cardiff for the match, including Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo, Iñaki Williams of Spanish La Liga side Athletic Club and striker Jordan Ayew. Queiroz was formerly assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and was also head coach of Real Madrid.
“Ghana is a nation of talent, pride and footballing soul,” said Queiroz in a recent interview with World Soccer magazine. “I arrive with respect for its history and belief in its future. Together, with unity, discipline and ambition, we will work to honour the expectations of a great football nation. This is not just another job – it is a mission.”
A coach with a wealth of World Cup experience, Queiroz was in charge of Iran when they defeated Cymru 2-0 in the group stages of the 2022 tournament in Qatar. He replaces Otto Addo, the former Ghana midfielder, who was sacked from his second spell with the national team in March following four straight defeats despite achieving World Cup qualification.
Ghana qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup by finishing top of Group I, winning eight of their ten qualifying fixtures to finish six points ahead of Madagascar. This will be their fifth appearance at the World Cup, with their best performance coming in South Africa in 2010 as they reached the quarter-finals, before suffering a controversial penalty shoot-out defeat against Uruguay in Johannesburg.
The Black Stars are four-time winners of the Africa Cup of Nations, but their last success in the competition was back in 1982. Although they last reached the final in 2015, they were defeated on penalties by Ivory Coast. Ghana are currently 74th in the FIFA World Rankings while Cymru have dropped down to 37th following the World Cup play-off defeat.
Ghana have been drawn in Group L alongside England, Croatia and Panama for the tournament, and while they will look to the attacking creativity of Semenyo and the goals of Ayew, their failure to qualify for the 2025 AFCON for the first time in over 20 years has raised concerns. Ghana has a proud international history, and their opening match against Panama could be crucial to their success this summer.
Although this is the first meeting between Cymru and Ghana, the two associations announced a strategic partnership agreement in December last year designed to strengthen coach development and share best practice. The partnership will also lead to future football collaborations between the two nations with Ghanaian coaches benefitting from the FAW’s coach education pathway.
In fact, this will be just the second match between Cymru and an African nation. The only previous fixture took place in June 1998 when Tunisia claimed a 4-0 victory over Bobby Gould’s side in Tunis. Bellamy started the match in a team that included Chris Coleman, John Hartson, Dean Saunders and the late Gary Speed.
To mark the 150th anniversary of the FAW, former players of the men’s national team have been invited to attend the match against Ghana. The players will be invited pitch side at half-time to be celebrated by the Red Wall in an initiative to launch the new former players association which is being delivered by FAW’s Head of Public Relations and Culture, Ian Gwyn Hughes.
Romania – The Tricolours
Cymru’s match against Romania in Bucharest will celebrate the return of the legendary Gheorghe Hagi. Considered their greatest-ever player, the all-time joint-leading goalscorer took charge of his country for a second time last month and will mark his return with an away match against Georgia before his side take on Cymru.
Hagi first took charge of the Romanian national team back in 2001, and he was a key part of the side that defeated Terry Yorath’s Cymru 2-1 in Cardiff in November 1993 to seal their place at the World Cup finals the following summer. Hagi scored the first goal in that victory, and his side would then progress to the quarter-finals in the United States, their best performance in seven World Cup appearances.
In fact, Romania qualified for the inaugural FIFA World Cup that was held in Uruguay in 1930. However, their last appearance at the tournament was in 1998, and like Cymru they missed out on a place at the finals this summer with defeat to Türkiye in the play-offs back in March. Mircea Lucescu resigned as head coach after the match and sadly passed away a few days later at the age of 80.
There have been five previous meetings between Cymru and Romania dating back to a 0-0 draw in Cardiff in November 1970 when the two teams were drawn together in EURO qualifying. Romania then won the return match in Bucharest a year later with Lucescu scoring the second goal against Dave Bowen’s side.
The next meeting between would take place in Wrexham in October 1983 as Cymru claimed a memorable 5-0 friendly victory. Ian Rush scored twice in the win with Mickey Thomas, Robbie James and Alan Curtis completing the scoring. Rush was again on target when the two sides met again in Bucharest in May 1992, but this time it was Romania who scored five goals, including two from Hagi.
Cymru return to competitive action against Portugal, Denmark and Norway in the UEFA Nations League later this year. Following the disappointment of missing out on a place at the World Cup, the target for Bellamy’s side now will be to retain their League A place and head into UEFA EURO 2028 qualifying as one of the host nations high in confidence.
