Wales can finally eclipse qualifying for the 1958 World Cup in a playoff against a Ukraine side every neutral will back on SundayAs I watched the Ukraine fans cavorting in the away end after Artem Dovbyk sealed a World Cup playoff final against Wales, Arrigo Sacchi’s observation that “football is the most important of the least important things in life” felt especially pertinent. The players raised their fists in relief at a job half done, and the Ukrainian fans embraced, their minds inevitably turning to Cardiff. On Sunday they go again and it is now Rob Page’s job to make Wales the most unpopular team on Earth.Oleksandr Zinchenko wept during the pre-match press conference on Wednesday, as he described what...
Robert Page picks an attacking lineup for Wales’s win or bust World Cup playoff and his leading man dazzles on centre stageWith 23 minutes gone there was a moment of uproar inside the Cardiff City Stadium as Harry Wilson was blocked off outside the Austria penalty area; uproar that gave way almost immediately as Szymon Marciniak blew his whistle for the free-kick.Suddenly the air was alive with a weird kind of buzz, like the moment in a storm just before the lightning bolt hits and things start to lift: the hairs on your arms, seats flipped up, people in the stands starting to raise their hands above their heads. Gareth Bale paced it out and waited, charging the moment a...
The achievement of reaching the last 16 must not be played down – this is a team who continue to find a wayI have lots of fridge magnets commemorating Euro 2016, which renew my vigour as I replace my son’s Petit Filous because he’s thrown the first one I got him against the wall. “You have lived your dream,” I think, staring at Ashley Williams acknowledging the Welsh fans in Lille, “and no one comes round because of Covid anyway, so why does it matter that we have historic yoghurt splashes on the ceiling?”I had fallen in love with the current group of Welsh players long before the tournament began, but they are constantly creating more fridge magnet moments. Aaron...
Returning midfielder added A-list class to the tournament’s standout team as they secured top spot against WalesWell, that was tense. Kind of. On a gruelling afternoon in Rome Wales qualified for the last 16 of Euro 2020. Thanks to the vagaries of the format they did so through a shifting fog of almost-drama, a whirl of semi-excitement, as Group A did its best to conjure some genuine final-round tension out of Uefa’s self-own of a 24-team Euros.Not that anyone in red cared. It is now two out of two for Wales: two European Championships and two knockout-stage runs, a wonderful achievement for this high-craft, brilliantly likable generation of players and for the caretaker manager, Robert Page. Related: Matteo Pessina ensures...
Watched by the presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan and a partisan crowd, Robert Page’s players refused to be cowedVisitors to Baku invariably depart Azerbaijan with unnerving memories of crossing roads in the face of kamikaze local motorists.Pedestrians hoping for longevity require the sort delicately calibrated balance of caution and aggression showcased so superbly on the pitch by Aaron Ramsey, Gareth Bale and the rest of Robert Page’s impressively streetwise side on Wednesday night. Related: Ramsey and Roberts sink Turkey to put Wales on verge of Euro 2020 progress Related: Robert Page hails Gareth Bale after captain drives Wales to victory Continue reading...