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11 hours ago
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Two years to the day since penalty shootout heartbreak against Poland, more agony from 12 yards for Wales, this time to deny them a shot at reaching this summer’s World Cup. Bosnia and Herzegovina prevailed 4-2 on spot-kicks after a typically absorbing night in the Welsh capital, one that went the distance, more than 133 minutes passed before Brennan Johnson spooned over and Neco Williams saw his penalty saved by Nikola Vasilj.
For so long it had seemed Daniel James, whose spot-kick was saved by Wojciech Szczesny to kill hopes of reaching Euro 2024, would be the match-winner but Edin Dzeko, who turned 40 this month, glanced in a corner to take the game to extra time. For the second successive qualifying campaign, the locals left the Cardiff City Stadium numb. The sobering reality is Wales now have to rouse themselves for a non-event against Northern Ireland here on Tuesday, when Bosnia host Italy for a spot in the finals.
Tarik Muharemovic made a preposterous headed block to prevent Harry Wilson from regaining Wales the lead four minutes into extra time but ultimately the game boiled down to penalties, the substitute Kerim Alajbegovic scoring the decisive spot-kick.
Craig Bellamy’s side lost control of the game but, while hurting, the Wales head coach was determined to clear one thing up. “It’s not the hard-luck Wales [story],” he said. “We expect to be at major tournaments, we really push ourselves to be there. I’m definitely proud, but disappointed we weren’t able to make it to back-to-back World Cups.”
At 1-0, James cracked a shot against the underside of the bar, via a deflection from Muharemovic but then Dzeko beat Karl Darlow to the punch to stun the hosts. Dzeko’s work was done, the former Manchester City striker withdrawn at the end of normal time. Now he was moonlighting as a masseuse, easing the cramp in the legs of Ermedin Demirovic and in the second period of extra time Dzeko was booked for confronting Bellamy in the home technical area. Wales made it clear they felt the visitors were time-wasting, eking the game towards penalties. “Our player had cramp and he was stretching, we put the ball out and I expected them to give us the ball back, because it’s fair play, the right thing to do,” Dzeko said. “That’s what I said to Craig.”
Bellamy vowed Wales would attack and his players followed through on his promise, flying forward at every opportunity and haring after the ball on the few occasions it was not in their possession. Wilson and David Brooks stood on the edge of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 18-yard box at every opposition goal-kick like greyhounds primed in the traps. Wales’s nimble attacking quartet – Wilson, Brooks, James and Johnson – caused problems and their opponents were fortunate only three of their players headed down the tunnel at half-time with bookings; the former Arsenal left-back Sead Kolasinac was fortunate he had only one, for blocking James.
Wilson has been Wales’s breakout star in this post-Gareth Bale era and it was no surprise he went closest to opening the scoring midway through a one-sided first half. The Fulham midfielder took Brooks’s pass on his left foot just inside the box and, with his next touch, wrapped his left boot around a bouncing ball, sending a smarting shot against the upright. Vasilj was beaten, wearing a resigned look as he swivelled his head towards the top corner.
Wales pined for the tangible reward that James’s stunning goal brought seven minutes after the restart. Dylan Lawlor, the 20-year-old Cardiff defender, headed the ball forward and Benjamin Tahirovic misplaced his pass on halfway. James headed the ball downwards and, without even raising his head, he had built a picture in his mind and had the awareness to know Vasilj was out of position and sent a billowing strike into the top corner from 25 yards.
James almost doubled his tally before the hour. Wilson drove forward 30 yards from Darlow’s goal, dribbling from one half into the other before slipping in James inside the box. James chopped inside Muharemovic and piled an effort at goal, which the visiting centre-back diverted on to the underside of the bar. All the while, Bosnia and Herzegovina remained alive in an enthralling contest.
Bellamy had warned Wales a chaotic game would not suit his players but that was exactly what ensued. Darlow improbably denied Demirovic with the fingertips of his left glove after Dzeko cushioned an Amar Memic cross. Then Demirovic somehow failed to latch on to Esmir Bajraktarevic’s dinked cross after Joe Rodon wrongly assumed the danger was clear. The Wales substitute Liam Cullen poked wide in the first of five minutes of stoppage time but neither team could prevent a nailbiting, tempestuous period of extra time.
Wales got off to a dream start in the shootout. Demirovic took the first penalty, which Darlow saved low down to his left. Then Wilson sent Vasilj the wrong way. But Johnson lifted his curled effort over and, after Amir Hadziahmetovic, the Hull loanee who replaced Dzeko, scored, Williams saw his spot-kick saved. Alajbegovic embraced Vasilj before securing a spot in Tuesday’s playoff final.
