The 2022 World Cup Teams – Wales (Group B)
The Welsh national team competed for the first time in qualifying for the 1950 World Cup in Brazil. After two unsuccessful attempts, the Dragons won a ticket to the finals in Sweden in June 1958. There, Wales lost to the former Soviet Union in the quarter-finals, the first game of the knockout phase.
The Welsh team then failed to qualify 15 times in a row. This negative streak was broken in the spring of 2022, so the Dragons are celebrating their comeback at a World Cup finals after 74 years.
The Wales coach, Rob Page
After Ryan Giggs was arrested in November 2020 on charges of domestic violence, Rob Page took over the Welsh national team. The 47-year-old former centre-back initially served as interim coach for more than a year and a half before Giggs resigned permanently on 21 June.
Prior to that, Page’s coaching career began with current League One side Port Vale and current League Town club Northampton Town. The 47-year-old then moved to Nottingham Forest as an assistant. But a few weeks later, the Welsh FA signed the 41-time former team player as coach of the U19 side. Page then went on to coach the U17 and U21 national teams. A first promotion followed in August 2019 as Giggs’ co-coach.
The stars of the Welsh national team
The vast majority of Welsh team players earn their money in England’s top three divisions. Captain Gareth Bale, who is the record team player and scorer with 106 senior caps and 39 goals, is one of the exceptions. Bale moved from Real Madrid to Los Angeles Galaxy in the summer of 2022.
Vice-captain and central midfielder Aaron Ramsey is also on the books of Italian record holders Juventus. Leeds United attacker Daniel James is also among the players who will gain valuable experience in the English Premier League.
Wales’ qualification for the 2022 World Cup
Wales finished second in Group E of European World Cup qualifying on 15 points after four wins, three draws and one defeat. It took five points less than Belgium. Against the world number two, the Dragons suffered a 3-1 away defeat and a 1-1 home draw. The Page-led side then competed in path A of the play-offs. There they won 2-1 at home against Austria and 1-0 against Ukraine.
Wales’ chances of success at the 2022 World Cup
The Welsh national team will first face England, Iran and the USA in Group B at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. These are the number five, number 23 and number 14 teams in the world. In addition, the Three Lions are the heavy favourites to win the group.
Behind them we expect a duel between the Dragons and the Yanks. The Asian side is an unpleasant opponent, but all in all they have less experience at a certain level. If they finish second, Wales would most likely face the Netherlands in the round of 16.
Wales’ statistical peculiarities ahead of the 2022 World Cup
So Wales are contesting an intra-British showdown against England at the 2022 World Cup. The Dragons have faced the Three Lions 103 times so far, with 92 of those matches being Test matches. In their most recent competitive match at EURO 2016 in France, Wales lost 2-1, before suffering a 3-0 away defeat in October 2020. Wales drew 2-0 and 0-0 against the USA some 20 years ago. Before that, the Dragons won a friendly against Iran 1-0 in the late 1970s.
The odds for betting on Wales in the 2022 World Cup
- Overall winner 151.00
- Reach the final 41.00
- Make the semi-finals 15.00
- Group win 6.50
- Group qualification – yes 2.10, no 1.66
- Reaches the quarter-finals 7.00
- USA – Wales Win 2.87, Draw 3.20, Lose 2.50
We list here the odds offered by Bet365. All betting odds are snapshots and are therefore subject to change. Furthermore, all odds are without guarantee.
Other teams in World Cup Group B:
