Clear number for the Welsh Dragons?
In Group E of the 2022 World Cup Quali, the Belgian national football team is heading for group victory. Right behind them, however, the Welsh selection has a good chance of qualifying for the play-offs. Like the Czech Republic, the Dragons have eleven points on their account, but are likely to play two more games, while the Czech Republic have only one game left in the group of five.
But because the Welsh have to face leaders Belgium at home next Tuesday, they desperately need a win against the Belarusian delegation. In the run-up to the encounter between Wales and Belarus, the odds are swinging in the Dragons’ favour.
The Welsh side came from 2-1 down to win 3-2 away from home in the first leg, with all three goals coming from superstar Gareth Bale, who is set to make his 100th international appearance for Wales today. It will depend on him, too, whether the second leg brings victory. In view of the fact that the visitors have lost all of their last seven international matches and have failed to score three times in a row, the chances are good.
Moreover, since the Belarusian side’s goal is already not too likely, it makes a lot of sense to bet on a win for the Dragons in Wales vs. Belarus.
Wales – Statistics & current form
The Welsh national football team advanced in recent years to the beneficiary of the fact that European Championships were increased from 16 to 24 teams. The Dragons have successfully qualified for two European Championships in a row, even reaching the semi-finals in France in 2016.
The Welsh hope that they will finally be able to compete in a World Cup again is correspondingly high. Wales’ only previous appearance was at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.
At least the play-offs can be reached by their own efforts
With Belgium dominating Group E, the Welsh side’s route to the World Cup can only be via the play-offs. However, the Dragons will at least want to get into these play-offs, for which a home victory over Belarus is imperative.
With these three points, Wales would gain a cushion on the Czechs, which they will then have to defend next Tuesday. Just one point against the Belgians, who may already be certain group winners, would be enough. Otherwise, a home defeat against the Red Devils could theoretically also depend on the goal difference.
Unbeaten in five consecutive internationals
All the more important for the Dragons is not only a home win over the Belarusian national football team, but if possible also a high victory that does something for the not too good goal difference.
The Welsh go into the match with self-confidence. After all, they have not lost any of the five subsequent international matches since their elimination from EURO 2021 (two wins, three draws). The odds on Wales against Belarus are therefore clearly in favour of the number 19 in the FIFA world rankings.
Predicted Wales line-up:
Ward – Roberts – Davies – Gunter – Mepham – Ramsey – Allen – Wilson – Ampadu – Bale – James
Last matches played by Wales:
World Cup Qualification UEFA 1st Round Grp. E
10/11 2021 – Estonia 0 – 1 Wales
10/08 2021 – Czech Republic 2 – 2 Wales
09/08 2021 – Wales 0 – 0 Estonia
09/05 2021 – Belarus 2 – 3 Wales
Friendly match
09/01 2021 – Finland 0 – 0 Wales
Belarus – Statistics & current form
The Belarusian national football team has participated in World Cup and European Championship qualifying tournaments as an independent nation since the collapse of the Soviet Union. So far, however, the Bielyia kryly (in German: die weißen Flügel) have not been able to record any successes.
Never before has a team from Belarus successfully won a ticket to a major tournament. Most recently, they were unable to use the backdoor of the UEFA Nations League for EURO 2021. In the play-off tournament, Belarus was defeated by Georgia in the semi-finals.
Last in the league after six defeats in a row
It has also been clear for several months that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will not be the debut of a Belarusian team at a major tournament. Georgi Kondratiev, who was promoted to head coach after two years as assistant coach, only won the first group match at home against Estonia 4:2.
In the following six matchdays, there were six defeats with only two more goals (both, by the way, against Wales in the 3-2 home defeat from the first leg). The Bielyia kryly thus hold the red lantern in Group E.
The last seven international matches have all been lost with 3:19 goals
But it has been anything but successful for the Belarusian side this year, who have lost all of their last seven internationals and conceded a staggering 19 goals in the process, scoring just three of their own.
The odds on Wales vs. Belarus being a turnaround for Georgi Kondratiev’s team in Cardiff, of all places, are correspondingly poor. After all, the very young and inexperienced team also lacks quality. Only four of the 24 nominated players do not play in the little-noticed Vysshaya League.
Predicted line-up of Belarus:
Pavlyuchenko – Naumov – Yuzepchuk – Zolotov – Shvyatsov – Pyachenin – Klimovich – Bakhar – Yablonsky – Ebong – Lisakovich
Last Games of Belarus:
World Cup Qualification UEFA 1st Round Grp. E
10/11 2021 – Belarus 0 – 2 Czech Republic
10/08 2021 – Estonia 2 – 0 Belarus
09/08 2021 – Belarus 0 – 1 Belgium
09/05 2021 – Belarus 2 – 3 Wales
09/02 2021 – Czech Republic 1 – 0 Belarus
Wales – Belarus Direct comparison / H2H balance
Head to head: 5 – 0 – 1
Six times both nations have faced each other in an international match so far and with five wins the Welsh lead the direct comparison very clearly. In the first leg, the Dragons rallied from 2-1 down to win 3-2, with superstar Gareth Bale scoring all three goals.
Wales – Belarus tip
For Wales vs. Belarus, our prediction is also influenced by the fact that precisely those difference players like Bale, Ramsey or even Davies are completely missing in the Belarusian selection. If you don’t watch the small Eastern European leagues, you will hardly know any of the players in Georgi Kondratiev’s squad, with the exception of striker Lisakovich. Accordingly, the underdog role is clearly assigned to the Belarusians, who have lost all of their last seven international matches.
We therefore see a lot of value in betting that the Dragons will not only win their home match against Belarus, but that they will not let anything go to waste in a nil victory. After all, the Bielyia kryly have only scored three goals in their last seven international matches.
