Wales are one match away from making a fourth international tournament in eight years, and their first without Gareth Bale this century.
It has been just over a year since Gareth Bale announced his retirement from football after fulfilling Wales’ wish of returning to the World Cup finals when the Dragons descended on Qatar in 2022.
In January 2023, Bale, who at the time was playing for MLS side LAFC, called an end to his playing career, which in turn has led Wales into a footballing revolution ahead of their Euro 2024 play-off final.
Having dispatched Finland 4-1 in their play-off semi-final match last week, Rob Page’s side face Poland tonight with another opportunity of playing at an international tournament on the line. Since Bale’s retirement, and Aaron Ramsey taking a back-seat role in the squad now, Page has been quick to get his contingency plan in order.
The age of the squad has dramatically reduced, with the reliance on youth becoming more apparent. That has not done any damage to the quality within their squad, with a plethora of stars at the top of their games in the Premier League and the upper regions of the Championship.
A fighting mentality is what this Welsh side have come out with this international break, and Page suggested nothing less than a fight against Poland in his post-Finland press conference:
“We don’t care who comes to see us. We will go toe-to-toe and have a go,” Page said. “It will be a tough test, but what more motivation do you need? The boys will be ready on Tuesday.
“We have a younger squad, a fitter squad, players that are playing regularly. We will be back on the grass on Sunday with a game-plan ready to go on Tuesday.”
Wales are a team no longer reliant on its two biggest stars to claw out the results. Instead, they are a unit, galvanised by their own vision of success and creating more history.
The likes of Harry Wilson, Kieffer Moore and Brennan Johnson spearhead the attack, with Johnson in particular acting as the main man. Plying his trade at Tottenham, Johnson is having a fairly productive first season with ten goal contributions. Wilson appears revitalised once again under Fulham manager Marco Silva with 12 goal contributions for the west London side this season.
Former Chelsea youngster Ethan Ampadu won his 50th cap against Finland, an incredible feat considering the Leeds midfielder is only 23-years-old, whilst 19-year-old Birmingham City midfielder Jordan James looks like a star in the making.
Chris Mepham, Joe Rodon, Neco Williams and Ben Davies cover the backline, a mix of blossoming youth and well-drilled experience. Wales have a platform to express themselves going forward, which has seen the team score 14 goals and concede just four in their last seven internationals, with a 2-1 win over Croatia the biggest highlight.
One issue of concern is the goalkeepers, however. Page brought along four keepers for the squad, and so far this campaign their combined club appearances does not even reach ten. The lack of efforts on target for Finland meant first choice Danny Ward was not tested, which might be of some concern when Robert Lewandowski and co arrive in Cardiff.
But nothing seems to scare this Wales side. Despite the revolution within the squad, that passion and fight to represent the country is still there. The thought of making a third consecutive European Championships burns bright, and once Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau begins, the Red Wall is going to war to make even more history. Maybe now a new golden boy will rise.
