ROBERT PAGE believes Wales are stronger now than when Gareth Bale secured qualification for the World Cup 21 months ago.
Superstar Bale led the Dragons to a first global finals since 1958 with the play-off final winner against Ukraine in Cardiff.
But Page, who has lost key men Bale and Joe Allen to retirement since Qatar, is adamant Wales are in a better position to win Tuesday’s Euro 2024 play-off final with Poland.
SunSport assesses five key factors in Wales’ development since the World Cup…
1 – LIFE AFTER BALE
Wales were often accused of being a one-man team in talisman Bale – and rightly so.
The 111-cap star scored twice in the play-off semi against Austria and then netted the winning free-kick in the 1-0 success over Ukraine.
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Even at the World Cup, Bale netted the Dragons’ only goal and his last of his 41 tally for his country with a penalty against USA.
If Wales’ Plan A was Bale, now Page has a Plan A and B because of the competition for places.
Brennan Johnson, Harry Wilson and David Brooks started against Finland.
But the Dragons boss has the options of Kieffer Moore, Dan James and Nathan Broadhead if he wants to tweak it.
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When asked if Wales are now stronger than June 2022, Page said: “Yes, I’d say so. When you lose Gareth’s ability from the Ukraine game you are going to miss it.
“But you have to balance that out with the young lads who have come in and are learning and gaining experience.
“We’re in a healthy position because all the outfield players are playing and we’ve competition for places.
“H (Harry Wilson) is doing really well in the Premier League, same goes for Brennan. Brooksy has been outstanding in the Championship.
“DJ is playing really well at club level, scoring goals and full of confidence. That’s why he has the impact he does when he comes off the bench.
“It’s the same with Nathan Broadhead, who is playing well at the top of the Championship and scoring goals and then you have Kieffer.
“They are different profiles of player and give the opposition different challenges to deal with.”
2 – NEED FOR SPEED
Page’s buzz word following the dire showing at the World Cup was athleticism.
Midfield was a huge problem for Wales as USA, Iran and England all exposed their 3-4-3 system.
Aaron Ramsey was off the pace while Joe Allen came into the tournament with a hamstring injury which limited him to a cameo role.
Shining light Ethan Ampadu has grown since leaving Chelsea for Leeds, where he is captain.
The 23-year-old, who won his 50th cap against Finland, has been joined in the engine room by Jordan James.
Birmingham’s rising star, 19, has been a revelation since his debut in Croatia a year ago, impressing in each of his nine caps.
The new combination have the energy and aggression to protect the defence but also possess quality on the ball.
Up top, Bale’s lack of game time at LAFC caught up with him as his Wales career ended at half-time against England with a muscle injury. Replacement Johnson has pace to burn.
Johnson, Wilson and David Brooks provided a mobile front three against Finland and with the energy in midfield behind, Wales look a fresher team.
Page added: “We’re in a different position. The gap in the World Cup play-off suited and helped us because we had senior players who weren’t even playing at club level in Aaron and Gareth.
“If it had been four or five days later we might have struggled a little bit.
“Now we have a younger, fitter squad with players playing regularly. We like the threat with Brennan in behind with pace.
“There’s not a defence in Europe now who wants to play against Brennan with his constant threat.”
3 – NO RAM RAID
Ramsey remains Wales captain and the Cardiff midfielder, 33, fought off a calf injury to make Page’s squad for the play-offs.
But Page did not even need to bring the 84-cap star off the bench versus the Finns.
In the past, Wales relied on superstars Bale and Ramsey but the emergence of younger talent means there is no reliance on a star name anymore.
Page said: “The difference is the tides have changed now. We don’t need to get him on the pitch.
“It would have been nice but we don’t need to because we have others who are playing well.”
4 – CAP ACCUMULATION
International caps bring experience and Ampadu and Dan James both won their 50th caps last Thursday.
Page praised predecessors Chris Coleman and Ryan Giggs for their help in developing the next generation.
Page said: “Cap accumulation is really important to us. We have senior but young players if that makes sense.
“Ethan winning his 50th cap at the age of 23, DJ is a young lad at 26 and he’s on 50 too.
“I thank the previous managers for giving the likes of Ethan and Dan their debuts so many years ago. We are reaping the rewards of it now.”
5 – HOME RULE
Wales have lost just three of 22 home internationals under Page since he replaced Giggs in November 2020.
Home advantage was key in World Cup qualification and the Dragons hope the same factor in front of a passionate, sell-out Cardiff City Stadium crowd will roar them to Germany.
Page said: “The supporters play a massive part but it’s also our level of performance.
“When we play like we did against Croatia and Turkey in Cardiff and replicate that performance – the result will take care of itself.
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“There’s no more motivation needed than a win to qualify for the Euros in Germany.
“We’ve been there, picked the hotel, we’ve got the training ground and we’re ready to go. We’ve got one more game to get across the line.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
