Wales vs Ukraine: World Cup play-off final preview, kick-off time, line-ups

Wales and Ukraine meet in the FIFA World Cup Path A play-off final on Sunday 5 June.

The winner will book Europe's 13th and final spot at the 2022 tournament in Qatar. England, Iran and the United States await in Group B.

Where to watch Wales vs Ukraine on TV

Fans can find their local broadcast partner(s) here.

How did the teams get here?

Wales lost just once during the qualifying group stage (their opening fixture) but still needed a point against table-toppers Belgium on the final day to seal a play-off spot. Captain fantastic Gareth Bale then inspired the Red Dragons to a 2-1 win at home to Austria in March to move within one game of the World Cup.

Ukraine made it through Group D unbeaten in qualifying but ended up six points adrift of section winners France, a final record of W2 D6 a measure of their resilience. They then put in an exceptional performance to win 3-1 in an emotional play-off semi-final against Scotland at Hampden Park on Wednesday.

• European Qualifiers: Fixtures and results
• World Cup draw: All the fixtures
• Download the European Qualifiers app

Line-ups

Ukraine applaud their fans after their semi-final win AFP via Getty Images

Wales: Hennessey; C.Roberts, B. Davies, Rodon, N.Williams; Ampadu, Ramsey, Allen, James; Moore, Bale

Ukraine: Bushchan; Karavaev, Zabarnyi, Matviyenko, Mykolenko; Stepanenko; Yarmolenko, Malinovskyi, Zinchenko, Tsygankov; Yaremchuk

Expert predictions

Mark Pitman, match reporter
Wales will have a passionate Cardiff crowd behind them for one of the biggest games in their history, but Ukraine's unique circumstances mean they have supporters all over the world. Wales will play to their attacking strengths and take the game to their opponents, but Ukraine's own offensive flair was key to their victory over Scotland. Both teams work from the premise that the best form of defence is attack, while their respective key men Gareth Bale and Andriy Yarmolenko could be the deciding factors.

World Cup pedigree

Wales
Final tournaments: 1 (1958)
Best: quarter-finals (1958)

Ukraine
Final tournaments: 1 (2006)
Best: quarter-finals (2006)

View from the camps

Rob Page, Wales coach: "We're one game away from living the dream, of getting to a World Cup. I thought Ukraine gave a great account of themselves against Scotland. They pose a real threat: they're here for a reason. We're sympathetic [to Ukraine's plight]; I'm a dad myself. I've seen the news and what's going on, it's appalling. But our focus has been on this game. We're all excited."

Connor Roberts, Wales defender: "June 5th is the biggest game, probably, I'll ever play in and I'm looking forward to it. I don't get nervous for any old games but... imagining what it's going to be like, a full stadium singing, fans, playing with Gareth Bale and the rest of the lads, it's going to be incredible and I just hope that we can do it."

Oleksandr Petrakov, Ukraine coach: "I do not feel the pressure from what's at stake and we are preparing the game in the usual way. We try to stay focused on what we have to do. We face a very strong team. Rob Page and his staff have done a great job and can count on world-class players like Ramsey, Bale and James. But we also have a good team. The World Cup is up for grabs. It will be a great game."

Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ukraine midfielder: "We have dreamed as a team of the World Cup, and now we have one more game; we have to win it. It's going to be a massive match for us. It's a final and every one of us has to give the best performance of our lives."