Post by Webster on Mar 4, 2022 16:53:05 GMT
(The Guardian) Wales anticipate delay to World Cup tie v Austria
Wales’s World Cup play-off against Austria will be delayed should Fifa postpone Scotland’s clash with Ukraine, Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney has suggested. Fifa confirmed on Thursday that Ukraine have requested a postponement of their play-off semi-final in Glasgow on 24 March following the Russian invasion.
Ukraine or Scotland are due to visit the winners of the Wales v Austria game on 29 March to determine a place at the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
“We are planning to play against Austria on March 24 at the Cardiff City Stadium,” Mooney told BBC Radio Wales. “I spoke to Rob Page (Wales manager) yesterday and we are all set for that. But then news came through about Ukraine requesting postponement of the match to June.”
Football has been suspended in Ukraine and it is now expected that Fifa will grant the request for the play-off at Hampden Park to be postponed. Asked about the likelihood of Wales’s game being delayed to June should the Scotland v Ukraine semi-final be played then, Mooney said: “Until we get official clarification of that, you can surmise it. We can surmise that, but that’s not what we have at the moment. We know Ukraine have asked for a postponement until June, but these things change quite quickly.
“I have spoken to my Ukrainian counterpart and will speak to him again. We’ll definitely make the right decision for football and for our friends in Ukraine, and at the same time balance it against the fact we’d like to qualify for our first World Cup since 1958.” (PA Media)
Wales’s World Cup play-off against Austria will be delayed should Fifa postpone Scotland’s clash with Ukraine, Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney has suggested. Fifa confirmed on Thursday that Ukraine have requested a postponement of their play-off semi-final in Glasgow on 24 March following the Russian invasion.
Ukraine or Scotland are due to visit the winners of the Wales v Austria game on 29 March to determine a place at the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
“We are planning to play against Austria on March 24 at the Cardiff City Stadium,” Mooney told BBC Radio Wales. “I spoke to Rob Page (Wales manager) yesterday and we are all set for that. But then news came through about Ukraine requesting postponement of the match to June.”
Football has been suspended in Ukraine and it is now expected that Fifa will grant the request for the play-off at Hampden Park to be postponed. Asked about the likelihood of Wales’s game being delayed to June should the Scotland v Ukraine semi-final be played then, Mooney said: “Until we get official clarification of that, you can surmise it. We can surmise that, but that’s not what we have at the moment. We know Ukraine have asked for a postponement until June, but these things change quite quickly.
“I have spoken to my Ukrainian counterpart and will speak to him again. We’ll definitely make the right decision for football and for our friends in Ukraine, and at the same time balance it against the fact we’d like to qualify for our first World Cup since 1958.” (PA Media)