Wales' aspirations of qualifying for Euro 2025 suffered a setback following a 2-1 defeat in the first leg of their playoff semi-final against Slovakia in Poprad. Meanwhile, Scotland secured a 1-0 victory over Hungary in Budapest.
Slovakia seized control with two second-half goals from Martina Surnovska and Maria Mikolajova, leaving Wales trailing. However, Ffion Morgan's late strike in the 89th minute offered Rhian Wilkinson's team a glimmer of hope ahead of the second leg in Cardiff.
Wales began strongly, with Charlie Estcourt's volley blocked by Slovakia's goalkeeper, Maria Korenciova, and Ceri Holland's shot sailing over the bar. Despite their early efforts, Slovakia, ranked 51st in the world compared to Wales' 29th, took command of the game. Surnovska missed a close-range chance before forcing a save from Olivia Clark.
Slovakia's dominance paid off four minutes into the second half when Surnovska capitalized on Wales' failure to close her down, scoring from 20 yards out. Mikolajova then doubled the lead with a stunning 25-yard free-kick, exploiting another defensive lapse from Wales.
Jess Fishlock's introduction from the bench after her recent injury struggles significantly boosted Wales' performance. With time running out, Fishlock set up Morgan, who executed a superb finish to reduce the deficit.
The winners of this semi-final are likely to face the Republic of Ireland in the playoff final. Ireland secured a commanding 6-0 victory in the first leg against Georgia in Tbilisi, with Arsenal's Katie McCabe scoring twice.
Scotland's narrow 1-0 win over Hungary, courtesy of Martha Thomas' second-half strike, sets up a tense second leg at Easter Road. Thomas missed an early chance but later capitalized on a defensive error to score the decisive goal.
Pedro Martínez Losa's Scotland side will face either Finland or Montenegro in their playoff final if they advance, with Finland currently leading 1-0 after the first leg.
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