Wales have moved within one more win of a place at the European Championship finals this summer. Rob Page’s side took a huge step on the road to Germany with a thumping 4-1 victory over Finland in Thursday night’s Euro 2024 play-off semi-final tie in ‘Path A’. Southampton loanee David Brooks opened the scoring for Wales with an acrobatic volley after just three minutes at a raucous Cardiff City Stadium after Harry Wilson’s low strike was parried into his path by Bayer Leverkusen captain Lukas Hradecky.
Finland fought back and controlled long stretches of the first half, but fell further behind to a free-kick routine straight off the Welsh training ground as Wilson’s initial touch was followed by a gorgeous curled finish from Neco Williams. The visitors hit back just before the interval through Teemu Pukki, only for Brennan Johnson to sweep in from close range to restore the two-goal Welsh advantage straight after half-time.
It was a comfortable evening for Wales thereafter, with captain Ben Davies seeing a close-range header from a corner ruled out for offside against Joe Rodon before substitute Dan James added a fourth goal by seizing on a dreadful error from Miro Tenho. Poland now await in Tuesday night’s play-off final back in Cardiff after thrashing 10-man Estonia 5-1 in Warsaw. Follow Wales vs Finland reaction live below!
Wales vs Finland highlights
Live updates
Finland lineup
Finland XI: Hradecky, Alho, Tenho, Ivanov, Peltola, Kamara, Schuller, Pohjanpalo, Lod, Hakans, Pukki
Subs: Joronen, Sinisalo, R Jensen, Hoskonen, Suhonen, F Jensen, Soiri, Kairinen, Antman, Uronen, Kallman, Niskanen
Wales lineup
Wales XI: Ward, Roberts, Mepham, Rodon, Davies, Williams, Ampadu, J James, Wilson, Brooks, Johnson
Subs: Hennessey, King, Fox, Dasilva, Ramsey, Sheehan, Savage, Matondo, D James, Moore, Cullen, Broadhead
Wales will be sporting their brand new adidas home kits for the first time in Cardiff tonight...
Wales did not play at any major tournaments between 1958 and 2016, but will now try to reach their fourth in the last five attempts, having missed out on the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Finland, meanwhile, are trying to reach a major tournament this year for only the second time in their history.
They finished as runners-up behind eventual tournament winners Italy in qualifying for the delayed Euro 2020, where they opened with a win over Denmark in Copenhagen that was overshadowed by the on-pitch cardiac arrest suffered by Christian Eriksen.
They failed to advance from the group stages after back-to-back defeats by Russia and Belgium.
Rob Page: Favourites Wales won't underestimate Finland challenge
Rob Page has urged his Wales side not to rest on their laurels despite their status as firm favourites against Finland, a team ranked 31 places below them in the latest Fifa world rankings.
Wales have a formidable record in Cardiff and they could not have asked for better again than potential back-to-back home matches to reach their third successive European Championship, having famously reached the semi-finals in France in 2016 before being thrashed in the last-16 by Denmark in Amsterdam in the delayed 2020 tournament.
Wales’ 64-year wait for a World Cup finals berth did not prove worth it in the end, finishing bottom of their group in Qatar in 2022 after drawing with the United States and losing to both Iran and England.
"The biggest learning curve for me over the last 12 months, irrespective of who we are playing against, is we have to bring our A-game," Page said this week.
"We have to deliver the same values that gets us success, then the results will take care of themselves.
"Our record at home is exceptional and we're in good form at this moment in time.
"Most of the squad are out playing football for their clubs, training has been excellent.
"We have gone through similar experiences with the pressure of the (World Cup) play-off situations against Austria and Ukraine, and the difficulty surrounding that.
"We are all quite relaxed but not underestimating the challenge. There's everything to play for but we're fully prepared for it."
Tough challenge ahead for Path A winners
The winners of the ‘Path A’ route in these Euro 2024 play-offs will face a tough task in Germany this summer.
The nation that comes out on top in Tuesday night’s final will be placed in Group D at the tournament, alongside two-time winners France, 1988 champions the Netherlands and Austria.
Expect a familiar sea of bucket hats at the Cardiff City Stadium tonight...
Wales vs Finland prediction
Home advantage is crucial for Wales, who have proven time and time again that they are an incredibly difficult team to beat in Cardiff when the stakes are high.
Rob Page’s side produced a superb performance to beat Croatia in October and then picked up a point against Turkey, who topped that Euro 2024 qualifying group.
Finland were relatively solid on the road in their Group H campaign, beating Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland and San Marino, but this will be a step up.
We’re backing Wales to set up a play-off final against Poland or Estonia next week.
Wales to win, 2-1.
Finland team news
Finland have a key doubt over the fitness of versatile former Brentford forward Marcus Forss, who was forced off in the early stages of Middlesbrough’s goalless Championship draw with Blackburn last weekend due to a hamstring issue.
However, experienced Inter Miami midfielder Robert Taylor is definitely out after withdrawing from Markku Kanerva’s squad injured earlier this week.
Wales team news
From a Wales team news perspective, much of the pre-match focus has inevitably been on the fitness of Gareth Bale’s successor, Aaron Ramsey.
While still the captain and a hugely influential figure for his country, the former Arsenal stalwart, 33, has only played three times for Cardiff since mid-September due to injury woes.
He was not initially expected to be fit for these play-offs, but returned ahead of schedule with a late cameo off the bench on Saturday as Erol Bulut’s side were beaten 2-0 by fierce rivals Swansea in the Championship.
The likes of Tom Lockyer, Joe Low, Ben Cabango and Wes Burns are sidelined, the latter trio all pulling out of the squad injured and Lockyer yet to return to action following his on-pitch cardiac arrest suffered while playing for Luton in December.
