Our prediction for this World Cup 2026 match:
Wales
Match Time & Date:
24/03/2022
20:45
Prediction: 1-1
Austria
All eyes will be on Cardiff City Stadium when Wales and Austria face each other in the World Cup playoffs semis. The Dragons continue to rely on Real Madrid ace Gareth Bale, but keep in mind that he missed Sunday’s El Clasico with a minor injury. Aaron Ramsey faces race against clock to be fit for the match as well, while first-choice goalkeeper Danny Ward has been ruled out with injury.
The Austrians, on the other hand, booked their place in the playoffs through Nations League. As always, men to watch in the away side will be David Alaba and Marko Arnautovic. Despite the lack of first-team football with Bayern Munich, Marcel Sabitzer made the cut as well. Anyhow, we believe that there is a big value in betting on draw as the two teams seem to be evenly matched ahead of Thursday’s showdown.
Highlighted Player (Gareth Bale):
Gareth Bale is a Welsh footballer who plays for Real Madrid as a winger. “Bailo” was born in Cardiff on 16 July, 1989 and, as expected, he played for his home-town club Cardiff Civil Service at the start of his youth career. He moved to Southampton’s football academy in 1999 and he made a great progress during his spell with the Saints.
Bale made 40 league appearances for the first team and it has to be noted that he played as a full back at the start of his senior career. In 2007 he signed a contract with Tottenham Hotspur and he was producing thrilling performances with the White Hart Lane outfit from 2007 to 2013. Real Madrid chiefs did well to sign him on 1 September, 2013 for a fee of €91 million.
The Welsh winger won two Champions League trophies with los Blancos (2013/2014, 2015/2016) and, speaking of his international career, he made it to the European Championship finals with Wales. The Welsh ace scored three goals at the showpiece tournament in France as the Dragons reached the semi-final.
Highlighted Team (Austria):
Austria is one of Europe’s oldest national football teams and they enjoyed plenty of success during the 1930’s, earning the nickname Wunderteam in the process. Das Team achieved a fourth-place finish at the second World Cup in 1934, before finishing in third place at the 1954 finals. However, Austria have since participated at another five World Cup finals, never getting past the first knockout stage.
Das Team were even more disappointing in the European Championship qualifying campaigns, failing to qualify for 12 straight tournaments before appearing at the 2008 finals as co-hosts. However, Austria made it to the Euro 2016 in style, winning nine of ten qualifiers to suggest the team may be on the path to return to old glory days.
Former Bayern Munich midfielder Andreas Herzog is the team’s most capped footballer with 103 appearances, whereas Toni Polster is the most prolific striker with 44 goals in 95 outings. Matthias Sinderlar, Ernst Ocwirk, Herbert Prohaska and Hans Krankl are some of the most notable players to have represented Austria over the years.
Man City 
Everton
Bournemouth
Crystal Palace 
Chelsea 
Fulham
Newcastle 
Aston Villa 
Nottingham Forest 
Tottenham
Southampton 
West Ham 
