Rob Page believes Wales have a “great opportunity” to reach Euro 2024 after being handed two possible home ties in the qualification play-offs.
Wales will welcome Finland to the Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday, March 21 following Thursday’s draw at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
Victory in that single-leg semi-final would see the Dragons take on either Poland or Estonia at the same venue five days later, with a spot at next summer’s tournament in Germany up for grabs.
Manager Page was relieved to avoid a rematch with Ukraine, who his side beat in a play-off to qualify for last year’s World Cup, and insists Wales fear no-one in Cardiff.
“We tried to forecast the draw beforehand and we weren’t too far away,” said Page, whose team could also have been paired with Iceland at the last-four stage.
“What’s important to us is that home draw in the final – we’ve got to get the job done (against Finland) first and foremost, of course we have.
“We were probably wanting to avoid Ukraine as well so I think it’s gone to plan for us.
“I don’t think any team in that group (Ukraine, Finland and Iceland) would have been wanting to play us. I was more nervous for the draw for the home tie for the final.
“The form we’re in at the minute and with the ‘Red Wall’ at home, we’ll take anyone on in Cardiff.
“It’s a great opportunity for us: we’re two wins at home away from another qualification to a major tournament. We’re hoping now for two big efforts.”
Wales enter the play-offs unbeaten in six matches, a run which includes a 2-1 victory over Croatia and a 1-1 draw with Turkey – the two teams who finished above them in Group D.
Finland sit 62nd in the FIFA rankings and are aiming to qualify for the European Championship finals for only the second time following their debut at Euro 2020.
They were third in Northern Ireland’s qualifying group – four points behind both Denmark and Slovenia – after winning six of their 10 fixtures.
“Of course they’re a threat, we’ve got to respect that,” Page said of Finland.
“They’re a good team, they’re here for a reason.
“But if we meet the standards we set against Croatia and Turkey, I’m confident the result will take care of itself.”
Influential midfielder Aaron Ramsey missed the final three matches of qualifying due to a knee injury sustained in September.
Page has already been in contact with the former Arsenal and Juventus player, who rejoined boyhood club Cardiff in the summer, and expects him to “do everything in his power” to be ready for the play-offs.
“To have someone of Aaron’s quality to join the squad again is going to be a definite bonus for us, absolutely,” said Page.
“There’s a lot of time from now until March to get himself in the right place and he’s done a bit of work with us on camp last week.
“We’ve just had a couple of (text) messages together and he said about the draw, straight away he’s on it and he’s looking forward to it.
“He will do everything in his power now to make sure he’s part of that squad in March.”
Wales are seeking to secure a third successive appearance at the European Championship finals.
They are also attempting to reach a fourth major tournament out of the last five after last year ending their 64-year wait to play at the World Cup.
Wales came through the play-offs to book a spot at Qatar 2022, defeating Austria and Ukraine in Cardiff, and Page feels that experience could prove invaluable.
“That will be really important for us,” he said.
“A large portion of the group had the experience, so we’ve already exposed them to those types of games and environments. It won’t be alien to them.”
Bristol City Women 0-4 Man City Women: Hosts relegated as Fowler double inspires WSL leaders
Mary Fowler scored twice to set WSL leaders Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 rout of Bristol City, who suffered relegation as a result, on Sunday.
With Arsenal having drawn with Everton earlier in the day, Man City knew a victory would be enough to take the title race down to two teams.
That victory duly arrived in emphatic fashion, with all four of Man City's goals arriving in the second half.
Fowler's fantastic strike opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with the Australia international doubling her tally soon after, paving the way for an Amy Rodgers own goal and Alex Greenwood's late header to seal a huge victory.
Arsenal are now out of the title race, with Chelsea - who have two games in hand on Gareth Taylor's team - the only side capable of catching Man City.
The Robins, meanwhile, will be playing in the second tier again next term.
Data Debrief: Bristol heading down with a whimper
Bristol City have failed to score in their last five games in the WSL, a run of 544 minutes without a goal.
They mustered just 0.09 expected goals (xG) to Man City's 3.4, with the visitors having now kept a clean sheet in nine of their 20 league games this season.
De Rossi demands more from 'tired' Roma ahead of crunch run
Daniele De Rossi acknowledged his Roma team may be tired, but he insisted they must not allow themselves to be embarrassed.
Roma fought back to draw 2-2 with last season's Serie A champions Napoli in a pulsating fixture on Sunday.
Tammy Abraham's late header secured a point for De Rossi's team, who took the lead through Paulo Dybala's penalty before going behind to goals from Matias Olivera and Victor Osimhen.
With Serie A set to have five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma occupy fifth spot with four matches remaining, but sixth-placed Atalanta are just two points behind with a game in hand.
There is also the small matter of a Europa League semi-final against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on the cards over the coming weeks, and De Rossi set the stall out.
"We drew, it is not a result to throw away, but it is not the result or the performance that we wanted," Roma coach Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
"At times you can steal the ball off Napoli, but we then gave it back again too many times. Napoli had a lot of chances in the first half, we did better in the second, but we have to do better.
"Look, we are tired, but we cannot start thinking that we’re tired and that means we can be embarrassed in the final few weeks of the season."
Roma host Leverkusen on Thursday before taking on Juventus on May 5, with a crunch clash against Atalanta – who are also into the Europa League semi-finals – set to follow after the away leg against Xabi Alonso's team.
Key to a successful end to the campaign for Roma will be keeping Dybala fit. The Argentine has been involved in the joint-most goals (12) in Serie A since the turn of the year, scoring nine and setting up three, level with Juve's Dusan Vlahovic.
PSG's latest Ligue 1 title arrives as Monaco lose to Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned as Ligue 1 champions after Lyon overcame Monaco 3-2 on Sunday.
A 4-1 midweek win over Lorient ensured that one more victory would be enough for Luis Enrique's team to get over the line, but PSG failed to get the job done themselves when they faced relegation-threatened Le Havre on Saturday.
That game was the 700th match of the QSI era at PSG, and the club's 1,900th in France's top flight.
However, PSG's wait to win their third straight title did not last long, as less than 24 hours later, Lyon – who will face the Parisians in the final of the Coupe de France at the end of May – came out on top in a topsy turvy encounter with second-placed Monaco.
Substitute Malick Fofana was the matchwinner for Lyon, and ultimately the player who handed the title to PSG.
Wissam Ben Yedder had put Monaco ahead in the opening minute, but quickfire goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma turned the match on its head before half-time.
Ben Yedder netted his second to restore parity on the hour mark, and thought he had sealed his hat-trick when he volleyed in from a free-kick, only to have strayed offside.
With only a win good enough for Monaco to stay in the fight, the visitors were then caught out in the 84th minute, with Fofana racing onto Lacazette's throughball and finishing calmly.
After a dismal start to the season, relegation looked a real possibility for Lyon, but they are now, with three games remaining, still in with a shout of qualifying for Europe.
PSG on the other hand now have 12 Ligue 1 titles to their name, with 10 of those coming under QSI's ownership. Aside from the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season, five of their last six league titles have been secured before the start of May.
It also means Luis Enrique remains in the running for a treble in his first season at the club, with PSG taking on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals next week.
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