Wales' World Cup score to settle after Qatar 'nightmare'

Wales will start their World Cup qualifying campaign on Saturday looking to right the wrongs of history.

This is not the familiar tale of the many near misses that littered their painful distant past, but rather a recent triumph that turned into dismal failure.

By reaching the 2022 World Cup, Wales realised a dream; glorious catharsis after 64 barren years without playing on football's biggest stage.

But once they got to Qatar, that dream became a nightmare.

As one Football Association of Wales official in Doha put it: "We'd waited a lifetime, and then it was a disaster."

It was not simply Wales' first-round exit that was so dispiriting, but the manner of it. This was the opportunity of a generation, squandered - and it still rankles.

That is why this team view the 2026 World Cup as "unfinished business" according to midfielder Joe Allen, a chance to make amends for Qatar.

Wales not only want to secure their place at next year's tournament but make a meaningful impact when they get there, having failed so miserably to do so last time.

"It is something that sticks with me and I'm sure it sticks with a lot of the guys," says captain Ben Davies.

"The best moment of Qatar for us was probably just the Ukraine [play-off] game in getting there. It was disappointing out there and it was something that was tough to get over for a while.

"We didn't really show how good we can be on the world stage and that hunger to go and do it again is definitely there."

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