I’ve been really impressed with Wales under Craig Bellamy, and think that they will have enough to get over the line here even if Bosnia are stubborn in the early stages of the contest.

Wales have won three of their four home matches during qualifying so far, netting 15 goals across these matches (3.75 per game). This is slightly skewed by Wales netting seven goals against North Macedonia in their final qualifying match before this knockout format.

Wales have recent experience of this format as well having battled to the final of the qualifying process for the European Championships back in 2024. They beat Finland 4-1 in the semi final at home on that occasion to set up a clash with Poland in the final, who went through on penalties.

Bosnia are an awkward task, which is why I've leaned towards Wales qualifying from this tie rather than winning outright. If the game does go the distance, I think Wales still have the advantage when it comes to fitness and overall quality to come through extra time or penalties

This match is massive for Italy in the context of how the national team have struggled over recent seasons. They’ve failed to feature at each of the last two World Cups, which is a disaster for a nation as football obsessed as Italy are.

It’s not down to a quality issue either, Italy have been a bit too complacent in the qualifying process and are banking on the weaknesses of their opponents rather than their own quality. Gattuso has come in to try and rectify this issue, and has made some notable changes which can help Italy get over the line here against a side that they are clearly better than.

Italy won six of their eight matches during qualifying, only losing to Norway during that process. Italy’s ability to navigate the rest of their opponents during that qualifying run with relative ease, suggests that they shouldn’t run into any major complications until the final stage.

Northern Ireland may prove to be an awkward opponent at times, but it is clear that they lack the quality of Italy. They won three and lost three of their qualifying matches, notably only winning one of their three away games which was against Luxembourg.

This is one of the closer semi final ties on paper with Sweden looking to break their recent record of falling short when it comes to qualifying for major tournaments. The bookmakers have Sweden at slight favourites here at 2.40 to win the game, while Ukraine are priced at 3.00 to take the victory - so there isn’t a massive amount between these sides.

Sweden have clear quality in forward areas with the likes of Elanga, Gyokeres and Isak (when fit), but the defensive side of their game is weak as shown by the fact that they’ve failed to keep a clean sheet in their last seven matches across all competitions. They’ve seen BTTS in four of these games, and this defensive weakness will be one that Ukraine are happy to exploit.

Ukraine had quite a difficult qualifying group, with France and Iceland being their main competitors. Their six matches during qualifying produced 21 goals (3.5 per game), with a fairly even split in the number of goals scored and conceded (10-11).

Poland will probably feel a bit hard done by to have to contest this qualifying tie, and not just because Anthony Taylor has been appointed as the referee for this game.

Poland only lost one of their eight qualifying matches yet still finished three points behind Netherlands who snuck through to the World Cup. Poland will feel a bit annoyed that they have to play two more games to reach the showpiece event, but have experience of this format having beaten Wales on penalties to reach the European Championships a few years ago.

Albania made a real breakthrough at the most European Championships, despite being drawn in an almost impossible group. That campaign raised the profile of Albania on the international stage, and they have built on that to see off Serbia to secure this qualifying spot with England topping the group.

Poland saw 20 goals across their eight qualifying matches (2.5 per game), and have seen 2+ goals in four of their last five matches across all competitions. These sides last met in 2023, with Albania running out 2-0 winners over Poland on that occasion.

This is one of the closer semi final ties on paper with Sweden looking to break their recent record of falling short when it comes to qualifying for major tournaments. The bookmakers have Sweden at slight favourites here at 2.40 to win the game, while Ukraine are priced at 3.00 to take the victory - so there isn’t a massive amount between these sides.

Sweden have clear quality in forward areas with the likes of Elanga, Gyokeres and Isak (when fit), but the defensive side of their game is weak as shown by the fact that they’ve failed to keep a clean sheet in their last seven matches across all competitions. They’ve seen BTTS in four of these games, and this defensive weakness will be one that Ukraine are happy to exploit.

Ukraine had quite a difficult qualifying group, with France and Iceland being their main competitors. Their six matches during qualifying produced 21 goals (3.5 per game), with a fairly even split in the number of goals scored and conceded (10-11).

I’ve been really impressed with Wales under Craig Bellamy, and think that they will have enough to get over the line here even if Bosnia are stubborn in the early stages of the contest.

Wales have won three of their four home matches during qualifying so far, netting 15 goals across these matches (3.75 per game). This is slightly skewed by Wales netting seven goals against North Macedonia in their final qualifying match before this knockout format.

Wales have recent experience of this format as well having battled to the final of the qualifying process for the European Championships back in 2024. They beat Finland 4-1 in the semi final at home on that occasion to set up a clash with Poland in the final, who went through on penalties.

Bosnia are an awkward task, which is why I've leaned towards Wales qualifying from this tie rather than winning outright. If the game does go the distance, I think Wales still have the advantage when it comes to fitness and overall quality to come through extra time or penalties

There wasn’t much to split the two sides when they met just a few weeks ago in the reverse fixture, and it finished 1-1 at the Crown Oil Arena. Scunthorpe come into this clash in solid form, off the back of three successive wins during which they have netted seven goals. That has lifted them up to 5th in the National League standings. 

However, they have only kept one clean sheet from their last 11 matches, which suggests a potential weakness at the back. Rochdale will hope to exploit that on Wednesday night, as they aim to increase their two-point lead at the top of the pile. 

Rochdale have only lost one match this calendar year, and they have bagged 77 goals from their 39 league games this season. This upcoming clash at Glanford Park is one between two of the strongest attacking units, so it promises to be an entertaining contest. 

Southend were beaten 1-0 by Altrincham last time out, which ended a six-game unbeaten run across all competitions. While that has put a dent in their top seven hopes, Southend are still just one point behind Halifax, so they have plenty to play for coming into this clash. Woking are only two league positions behind Southend, but they are trailing by nine points, so a play-off qualification spot is looking unlikely. 

Woking have won four and drawn two of their last six league matches. Their games have been entertaining to watch recently, as BTTS has landed in five of those matches. It finished 3-2 against Aldershot last time out, and both teams were on the scoresheet after just 30 minutes. Woking have seen 54 goals scored in their 19 away matches in the National League, with 28 goals for, and 26 against, highlighting how chances tend to be available at both ends of the field.

Tamworth’s form has taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks, as they have only won one of their last five league games - the other four have all ended in defeat. Luckily for them, there are no concerns of dropping into the bottom four, as they are 11 points above Gateshead. They also don’t have much of a chance of finishing in the top seven - Tamworth have little to play for in the middle of the National League standings, and they seem to have let their standards drop because of that. 

However, they have remained a potent attacking force, registering 15 goals in their last seven matches. Defensively, they have let themselves down, and BTTS has landed in six of those recent games. Forest Green are still fighting for a promotion playoff spot, so will have to be on top form at the Lamb Ground on Wednesday night. 

It has been a dismal season for Truro City so far, as they currently sit rock bottom of the National League standings with 28 points from their 39 matches. Their situation looks dire, as Truro are nine points adrift of safety. However, their fans were given something to cheer about last time out, as Truro beat Sutton United 3-0 on their travels, ending a nine-game winless streak. This upcoming clash against Solihull Moors promises to be a similar matchup, as they are just one point above Sutton in the league standings. 

Solihull have been in a dreadful run of form, without a win in their last nine league games. They have looked shaky at the back, and have been on the end of some heavy defeats recently, including a 5-1 loss against Wealdstone and a 3-0 defeat against Halifax last time out. Truro will fancy their chances of finding the back of the net, but keeping a clean sheet themselves remains a steep task.

Harry Wilson has emerged as Wales’ most important player over recent qualifying campaigns, and is set to be central to Craig Bellamy’s chances of coming through this semi final clash.

Wilson has netted five goals and registered two assists across his five appearances in qualifying for Wales, and has scored 17 goals across his 67 caps for his national side which is a very decent record for a player who hasn’t quite hit the heights expected from him domestically.

That being said, this selection is aided by Wilson being in very good form for Fulham this season. He’s netted 10 goals in the Premier League from 66 shots overall (2.61 per 90), with 24 of these attempts finding the target (0.95 per 90). 

Wilson has been very clinical for Wales during qualifying this term, netting five goals from just six shots on target - suggesting that backing Wilson to score may also be worth exploring as an option for this match.

You have to admire Dzeko’s longevity for his country, he’s still a key part of the side at 40 which is well beyond the service that most players give to their national sides.

He’s not lagging behind the rest of the side either, Dzeko has netted five goals across his six starts for Bosnia during qualifying - accounting for 29% of the goals that Bosnia have scored during the qualifying process. No Bosnia player has scored more goals than Dzeko during qualifying, making him a key player to watch in forward areas for the away side in this encounter. 

Dzeko has taken 25 shots across his six starts during qualifying, working out to an average of 4.46 shots per 90. It’s always worth backing players with such a promising shot average for an effort on target, especially if they are much shorter in the shot market which Dzeko is here.

Wales have developed into an entertaining team to watch under Craig Bellamy with Wales seeing 32 goals across their eight qualifying games (4.0 per game). 

Wales scored 21 of these goals (2.6 per game), suggesting that they can cover this line on their own in what is set to be a tough task against a stubborn Bosnia side. Bosnia surprised quite a few during qualifying, beating out Romania for second spot in their group behind Austria.

Bosnia saw 24 goals across their eight qualifying matches (3.0 per game), netting 17 of these goals themselves (2.1 per game). This suggests that they can offer an attacking threat to Wales, with this angle of our bet builder strengthened by the context that surrounds this tie with it being a straight shootout for a spot in the final qualifying round for the World Cup. 

Ethan Ampadu isn’t a massive standout when it comes to winning fouls for his national side, but this selection is more informed by how aggressive Bosnia have been during their qualifying campaign.

Bosnia are quite a bitty side and will look to break up the game as much as they can here. Bosnia averaged 17.40 fouls committed per game across their eight qualifying matches, which is a mammoth average to maintain over those games and suggests that they will come away with a high foul count again here given what is at stake for both nations.

Ampadu is maintaining an average of 1.01 fouls won per 90 in the Premier League for Leeds this season - and we can expect this to rise here when looking over his potential opponents and the general aggression of Bosnia. 

Ampadu will be faced up by Ivan Sunjic (3.54 fouls committed per 90) and Benjamin Tahirovic (2.34 fouls committed per 90), indicating that midfield tends to be a particular hotspot for Bosnia fouls.