Hull City will face Southampton in the Championship play-off final at Wembley on May 23, 2026, after both sides came through tense semi-final ties over the weekend. Hull booked their place with a 2-0 win at The Den after a goalless first leg at the MKM Arena, while Southampton held Middlesbrough to 0-0 on Teesside before advancing on the strength of their earlier comeback.
Mohamed Belloumi and Joe Gelhardt scored for Hull at The Den, giving the visitors the result they needed after last Friday’s 0-0 draw in front of their home crowd. Southampton’s route was less straightforward. They were forced to overturn an early Middlesbrough lead in the other semi-final before goals from Ross Stewart and Shea Charles turned the tie around. That left both clubs one win from promotion and one afternoon from returning to the top tier.
The scale of what is on the line is clear enough. The winner at Wembley will join the Premier League next season, while the loser will spend another year trying to get back there. Coventry City have already secured the Championship title and will return to the top flight after a lengthy spell away, with Ipswich Town going up in second place behind them and avoiding the play-offs altogether.
For Hull, the timing is sharp. They came through two different kinds of pressure in four days: first the caution of a scoreless home leg, then the demand to finish the job away from the MKM Arena. Southampton, meanwhile, have reached the final while carrying a cloud that could yet change the shape of the contest. It remains to be seen whether they will be allowed to feature after accusations that a member of staff was caught spying on a Middlesbrough training session.
Reports have said any punishment could range from a fine to points deductions or even expulsion from the play-offs, a threat that hangs over a side already preparing for Wembley. The wider picture makes the final even heavier. Wolves and Burnley have already been relegated from the Premier League, and West Ham or Tottenham will join them in the Championship next season, meaning the division’s shape is already changing before the Wembley final is even played. Hull and Southampton will now wait for May 23 with very different routes behind them, but the same destination ahead.
