Wales face Albania in World Cup play-offs round one

Wales faced Albania in their League B Group 1 qualifying campaign, winning both home and away

Wales will have to beat Albania. then either Romania or Norway in successive two-legged play-off ties if they are to reach the 2027 Women's World Cup.

Rhian Wilkinson's side were in the same group as Albania in their qualifying campaign - winning 4-0 in Wrexham. 1-0 away from home.

Wales. who topped League B Group 1 ahead of the Czech Republic, will be away in the first leg of round one before hosting the Albanians - who finished third in the group - in the second leg.

Should they win that tie on aggregate, Wales will then play the winners of the match between Romania. Norway, who are managed by former Wales boss Gemma Grainger.

Wilkinson's side will be away from home in the second leg should they make it through to round two.

And there we have it: Wales will almost certainly have to beat a top-20 side for the first time in a competitive game if they're to reach their first World Cup finals.

Assuming Wales get past Albania, they'd expect to come up against Norway in round two.. unless Romania can pull off a big shock. make a mockery of the 39 places between those two teams in the world rankings.

Wales were beaten home. away by Norway the last time the sides met - in the qualifying campaign for Euro 2022.

Norway are currently 14th in the world having come second to Germany in their qualifying group.

It's a big challenge, but by no means impossible for Wales. One I'm sure head coach Wilkinson will embrace as she bids to get Wales to the second major tournament in their history.

Kazakhstan vRepublic of Ireland

Hungary v Netherlands

Israel v Switzerland

Czech Republic vScotland

Northern Irelandv Portugal

Slovakia or Ukraine v Greece orEngland

Finland or Serbia v Belarus or Italy

Northern Irelandor Portugal v Croatia or Iceland

Albania orWalesv Romania or Norway

Israel or Switzerland v Kosovo or Austria

Czech Republic orScotlandv Lithuania or Sweden

Belgium or Poland v Kazakhstan or theRepublic of Ireland

Turkey or Slovenia v Hungary or Netherlands

Lionesses will face Greece in World Cup play-offs