Wales' World Cup score to settle after Qatar 'nightmare'
2026 World Cup qualifying: Wales v Kazakhstan
Venue: Cardiff City Stadium Date: Saturday, 22 March Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Coverage: Watch on BBC One Wales, iPlayer, BBC Sport website & app, plus S4C via iPlayer. Text commentary and highlights on BBC Sport website & app. Listen live on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
Wales will start their World Cup qualifying campaign on Saturday looking to right the wrongs of history.
This is not the familiar tale of the many near misses that littered their painful distant past, but rather a recent triumph that turned into dismal failure.
By reaching the 2022 World Cup, Wales realised a dream; glorious catharsis after 64 barren years without playing on football's biggest stage.
But once they got to Qatar, that dream became a nightmare.
As one Football Association of Wales official in Doha put it: "We'd waited a lifetime, and then it was a disaster."
It was not simply Wales' first-round exit that was so dispiriting, but the manner of it. This was the opportunity of a generation, squandered - and it still rankles.
That is why this team view the 2026 World Cup as "unfinished business" according to midfielder Joe Allen, a chance to make amends for Qatar.
Wales not only want to secure their place at next year's tournament but make a meaningful impact when they get there, having failed so miserably to do so last time.
"It is something that sticks with me and I'm sure it sticks with a lot of the guys," says captain Ben Davies.
"The best moment of Qatar for us was probably just the Ukraine [play-off] game in getting there. It was disappointing out there and it was something that was tough to get over for a while.
"We didn't really show how good we can be on the world stage and that hunger to go and do it again is definitely there."
- 'For him, for them' - Williams' family inspiration
- Quiz: How well do you know Bellamy's career?
- 'That'll hurt forever' - World Cup pain drives Bellamy
'Undercooked, unsure and unhappy'
The significance of qualifying transcended football for Wales, a country which had never enjoyed the global attention that comes with a modern-day World Cup.
They had less time to prepare than other teams in Qatar, having only sealed qualification five months earlier with a play-off win over Ukraine - but the FAW understood the logistics of major tournaments having been to the previous two European Championships.
Euro 2016 in particular had been a transformative success for Wales, though a World Cup was on a different level.
The nation grasped the cultural and political value of this opportunity but, in terms of the football, there were reservations.
Manager Rob Page had performed admirably after stepping into the role in difficult circumstances following Ryan Giggs' abrupt departure in 2020.
Having led the team to the knockout stages of Euro 2020, Page etched his name into Welsh football history by becoming the first man to take Wales to a World Cup since 1958.
That can never be taken away from the former captain but, even by his own admission, this was a job he never thought he would have, considering his only previous managerial experience had come at Port Vale and Northampton Town.
Page was popular with the Wales squad but some performances during World Cup qualifying, such as a goalless home draw with Estonia – as well as the 4-0 thrashing by Denmark at Euro 2020 – had prompted criticism, with some questioning his credentials at this level.
"The players all liked Rob as a person but some were unsure about him as a coach," another FAW source tells BBC Sport Wales.
"When the squad met up in Cardiff before travelling to Qatar, the feeling seemed to be that they weren't as well prepared as they could have been."
Matters did not improve when they got to Qatar. The timing and location of training sessions had to be changed at the last minute because of the searing heat, while some staff felt team meetings were disorganised.
Some players were also unimpressed by the content of training sessions and, with the likes of Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Allen already lacking match sharpness due to limited game time at their clubs, there was a pervading sense that Wales were entering this tournament undercooked.
"Could we have gone with fresher legs from the start? It's easy to say now, in hindsight," Page said after returning home.
Page only realised in hindsight what many felt was obvious before and during the event; his lack of foresight would prove costly.
'We were just there'
Wales' World Cup campaign started to unravel at the very moment it began in earnest.
They were fortunate to draw against the United States in their opening game, Page admitting he got his selection and tactics wrong as his side were outplayed by dynamic, athletically superior opposition.
Bale's late penalty rescued Wales on that occasion but, with their all-time leading scorer's influence waning as retirement loomed, Page's side would have no such luck in their remaining two fixtures.
The manager said there were "lessons learned" against the USA but he proceeded to repeat the same mistakes against Iran as Wales were overwhelmed physically once again, hopelessly overrun as Iran won 2-0.
More than effectively extinguishing Welsh hopes of reaching the second round, this felt like the beginning of the end of their golden generation.
Bale, Ramsey and Allen were all key figures in Wales' dizzying ascent to the Euro 2016 semi-finals but, in the baking desert heat of Qatar, they had been reduced to shrivelled imitations of their former selves.
The final ignominy was a 3-0 defeat against England which could have been a far more severe drubbing had Gareth Southgate's men felt the urge.
Just a week after their first World Cup game for 64 years, Wales were heading home.
"Hopefully, next time we qualify it won't just be about being there," says defender Neco Williams, who started all three matches.
"Last time, we were just there."
Plenty wanted Page gone while others felt World Cup qualification had made him close to unsackable, or at least had earned him another chance.
However, he was soon under pressure after a humiliating 4-2 home defeat against Armenia derailed their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
Although he held on to his job despite missing out on qualification, Page was eventually dismissed last summer and replaced by Craig Bellamy.
Bellamy has started superbly, unbeaten in six games having led Wales to the Nations League's top division and instilled a bold new playing style in the process.
His ultimate aim, as he stated on his first day in the job, is to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
And more than that, having seen how Wales fared in Qatar and how that disappointment still burns in his players, Bellamy wants his team to do themselves justice if they get to next year's competition in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
"These boys have got to a World Cup. I understand the motivation to move that again because of what happened last time," he says.
"We always talk about 'us against the world' but we're not an underdog. I don't believe in that, and I won't have it. Now, at times you use it, but you can't live on it because it only lasts so long.
"For me, it's always 'no, we are more'. We think more of ourselves than anyone else thinks of us."
Topics
-
Wales sink Kazakhstan to get World Cup campaign up and running
It was not pitch perfect but Wales made a winning start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, the substitute Rabbi Matondo capping victory in stoppage time after Ben Davies and Daniel James ...The Guardian - 27m -
Wales ease past Kazakhstan to kick off World Cup Qualifying campaign
Wales kicked off their World Cup qualifying campaign with a victory over Group J rivals Kazakhstan. Scorers: James 9', Davies 47', Matondo 90+1' ; Tagybergen 32' (P)It was a rapid start from the ho...Yahoo Sports - 1h -
Wales survive scare to beat Kazakhstan in World Cup opener
Wales survive a scare against Kazakhstan to make a winning, if unconvincing, start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.Yahoo Sports - 1h -
Wales survive Kazakhstan scare to start World Cup campaign with victory
Wales opened their World Cup campaign with a 3-1 victory, but not before they were endured something of a scare by Kazakhstan.Yahoo Sports - 1h -
Wales open with win in World Cup qualifying, Haaland on target for Norway
Wales beat Kazakhstan 3-1 on Saturday to start their bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup with a win, while Erling Haaland was among the scorers as Norway swept to a 5-0 victory in Moldova.- ...Yahoo Sports - 1h -
Haaland helps Norway start its World Cup qualifying campaign with 5-0 rout
Erling Haaland helped Norway make a positive start to its World Cup qualifying campaign by scoring in a 5-0 rout at Moldova on Saturday. Now, Haaland leads a team featuring Arsenal midfielder ...Yahoo Sports - 4h -
Wales 3-1 Kazakhstan: hosts cruise to start World Cup qualifying campaign with win – live
Updates from the 7.45pm GMT time kick-off Live scoreboard | Read Football Daily | And ">mail Scott 2 min: Not long after the restart, Zhaksylykov chases a long pass down the left. The ...The Guardian - 1h -
Salah scores in Egypt World Cup qualifying win
Captain Mohamed Salah scored for Egypt as they eased to a 2-0 victory over Ethiopia in their 2026 World Cup qualifier on Friday, but 2022 semi-finalists Morocco needed a late winner from Bilal El ...ESPN - 6h -
Kluivert vows response after nightmare start to Indonesia reign
Patrick Kluivert vowed his side will show a reaction in next week's vital home World Cup qualifier against Bahrain after the Dutch great endured a nightmare start as Indonesia coach.The top two go ...Yahoo Sports - 1d
More from Yahoo Sports
-
March Madness: Rick Pitino's curious coaching decisions prove costly for St. John's in NCAA tournament loss
Pitino kept his best player on the bench in crunch time, and the Johnnies are out of the tournament after their loss to Arkansas. The St. John's coach wasn't exactly contrite about it after the ...Yahoo Sports - 14m -
Maryland women’s basketball avoids upset bid from Norfolk State, 82-69
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Maryland women’s basketball coach Brenda Frese stepped just beyond the coaches’ box along the sideline. She clapped furiously in the direction of her defense at the far end of ...Yahoo Sports - 19m -
'How good is Belal?': Fighters react to Sean Brady's finish of Leon Edwards at UFC Fight Night 255
Sean Brady entered the next tier of the welterweight title conversation Saturday when he beat former champ Leon Edwards in the UFC Fight Night 255 main event. Brady (18-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who has ...Yahoo Sports - 20m -
Viktor Hovland shares lead entering final round of Valspar Championship
Hovland is tied with Jacob Bridgeman and Nico Echavarria through 54 holes on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort.Yahoo Sports - 20m -
Who does Michigan State women's basketball play next round of the 2025 NCAA tournament
Here's a bracket update for game against NC State UniversityYahoo Sports - 21m
More in Sports
-
March Madness: Rick Pitino's curious coaching decisions prove costly for St. John's in NCAA tournament loss
Pitino kept his best player on the bench in crunch time, and the Johnnies are out of the tournament after their loss to Arkansas. The St. John's coach wasn't exactly contrite about it after the ...Yahoo Sports - 14m -
Men's March Madness Day 2 guide: Results, analysis, keys to second round
Whether you missed the action or simply want to relive it, here's a rundown of all 16 games from Friday.ESPN - 19m -
Maryland women’s basketball avoids upset bid from Norfolk State, 82-69
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Maryland women’s basketball coach Brenda Frese stepped just beyond the coaches’ box along the sideline. She clapped furiously in the direction of her defense at the far end of ...Yahoo Sports - 19m -
'How good is Belal?': Fighters react to Sean Brady's finish of Leon Edwards at UFC Fight Night 255
Sean Brady entered the next tier of the welterweight title conversation Saturday when he beat former champ Leon Edwards in the UFC Fight Night 255 main event. Brady (18-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC), who has ...Yahoo Sports - 20m -
Viktor Hovland shares lead entering final round of Valspar Championship
Hovland is tied with Jacob Bridgeman and Nico Echavarria through 54 holes on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort.Yahoo Sports - 20m