Page was without a number of key players as his side were relegated from the top division of the Nations League after losing 1-0 to Poland. Rob Page admits Wales’ squad needs to be at full strength to compete with international football’s elite. The Red Dragons were relegated from the top tier of the Nations League following a 1-0 defeat to Poland at Cardiff City Stadium in what was their final match ahead of the global showpiece in Qatar.
Brennan Johnson and Daniel James were among those to have chances to bulge the net for Wales against Poland, although captain Gareth Bale went the closest to scoring when he headed against the crossbar in injury-time. And the Los Angeles star admitted Wales need to be more clinical if they are to gain positive results against the big guns of international football.
Bale said it was a positive performance going into the World Cup and they will take a lot of positives from it. He also added that the campaign has been difficult because they had to concentrate on the World Cup play-off final and they had to prioritise that in the opening games. Wales now have just shy of two months to wait until they play in a World Cup for the first time since 1958. Page’s outfit take on the United States of America in their first group stage match on November 21 before facing Iran four days later.
They round off the group phase of the tournament against England on November 29, and Page said World Cup qualification was clearly the focus in the bigger picture as he thanked the Red Wall for their support during what has been a hectic period.