The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will begin on the 20th of November and Wales, along with England, will get things underway soon after the tournament opens. These guides are to let you know when games will be played, where you can watch them, and what each home nations’ route through the competition might look like.
If you’re looking for more on how, when and where to watch the England games, I’ve also got that covered.
Group B
Wales joined England in Group B after an impressive play-off campaign that was spearheaded by none other than Gareth Bale. He scored twice against Austria in the first match before putting in the dangerous free kick that was enough to edge past Ukraine and earn a spot at a World Cup finals for the first time since 1958.
Wales will face England in their final game of the group stages and the game will make history as the first ever ‘Battle of Britain’ at a World Cup finals. The Welsh will face the United States in their opening match and it’s a huge one as those two nations are likely fighting for second place.
When do Wales play their group matches?
Game 1: v USA, 21st November at 19:00 (ITV)
Game 2: v Iran, 25th November at 10:00 (BBC)
Game 3: v England, 29th November at 19:00 (BBC)
How to watch Wales’ world cup matches
All matches will be available on terrestrial TV and that’s one of the best things about major international tournaments and it’s a way to bring everyone together. There’ll be four matches per day during the group stages – at 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm – so fans will be able to watch football for close to an 11-hour period.
Back in the UK, ITV will televise Wales’ opening match against the United States on the 21st of November and then the BBC will take their games against Iran and England on the 25th and 29th respectively.
If you’re looking for a Welsh language broadcast, S4C will be broadcasting each of them.
Wales’ route to the final
I doubt Wales have any qualms about the group they’ve been drawn in as you’d have to argue that it’s favourable and they do have a chance of advancing. With that said, the United States are above Wales in the world rankings, so they’ve got work to do if they want to finish in that second spot with England most likely to win the group.
If England do win the group, and Wales take second place, the Welsh will face the winners of Group A in the last 16 which you would imagine to be Senegal or Netherlands. There’s an incredible number of permutations, but if Wales were to advance through that, they could face Argentina, Poland, France or Denmark in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
It’s one step at a time for Wales, they’ve achieved something incredible by reaching the final of this tournament for this first time in a lifetime for many fans, so I doubt they’ll be looking too far ahead. Things can always change, and quickly.
Wales are a nation who are more than capable of springing a surprise so never write them off. We saw what they did to a strong Belgium side in Lille in 2016, so if they were to meet Netherlands in the last 16, it wouldn’t be the biggest shock if Bale and Wales dumped them out.
