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Wales must navigate the play-offs in March to reach the European Championship finals next summer.<\/p>\n
If they do so, it will be Wales\u2019 fourth major tournament out of the last five.<\/p>\n
Here, the PA news agency looks at their Euro 2024 story so far and what happens next.<\/p>\n
It has been a campaign of transition without talismanic captain Gareth Bale following his retirement in January and the loss of other key players such as midfielder Joe Allen.<\/p>\n
Wales began well with a bonus point away to World Cup semi-finalists Croatia \u2013 courtesy of Nathan Broadhead\u2019s stoppage-time equaliser \u2013 and a narrow home win over Latvia.<\/p>\n
But a sour summer \u2013 back-to-beat defeats against Armenia and Turkey \u2013 would cost them dear, despite bouncing back with a 2-0 success in Latvia and a sensational 2-1 home victory over Croatia.<\/p>\n
Wales had automatic qualification in their hands heading into the final two games, but ultimately fell short with closing 1-1 draws against Armenia and Turkey. Croatia and Turkey qualified as the top two in Group D.<\/p>\n
Wales will discover at 11am on Thursday morning who their semi-final opponents will be on March 21.<\/p>\n
Manager Rob Page will attend the draw in Switzerland to get a flavour of what stands in his side\u2019s way.<\/p>\n
It is a case of one from three countries as Finland, Iceland or Ukraine will be paired with Wales in Path A.<\/p>\n
The winners of that tie will play Poland or Estonia in the play-off final on March 26 for the right to play at Euro 2024.<\/p>\n
Wales will have home advantage for the semi-final, which will be played at Cardiff City Stadium.<\/p>\n
That is a huge boost for Wales who have had some special nights in Cardiff in recent times, and beat both Austria and Ukraine there in the 2022 World Cup play-offs.<\/p>\n
The Nyon draw on Thursday will also decide who gets home advantage for the March 26 final.<\/p>\n
Wales got the breaks in the 2022 World Cup play-offs with two home ties. Will they be as fortunate again?<\/p>\n
Ukraine are 22nd in the FIFA rankings, six places above Wales, and present the toughest test on paper.<\/p>\n
They were third in England\u2019s qualifying group and might already be preparing for Germany had they been awarded what appeared a certain stoppage-time penalty against Italy on Monday.<\/p>\n
Finland won six of their 10 qualifiers and finished four points behind Denmark and Slovenia, while Iceland won only three times in 10 games and were a distant fourth to Portugal, Slovakia and Luxembourg.<\/p>\n
Whoever they play, Wales enter the play-offs with confidence after an unbeaten six-game run of three wins and three draws.<\/p>\n