Rob Page believes Wales are reaping the rewards of evolving into a more athletic side since exiting the World Cup with a whimper.
The manager insists “lessons were learned” after their group-stage departure in Qatar and said that group, captained by Gareth Bale, who retired at the beginning of this year, would be unable to match the running statistics of his current squad.
The experienced quartet of Bale, Joe Allen, Chris Gunter and Jonny Williams stepped down from playing for Wales after the World Cup, and the youngsters Jordan James and Luke Harris have been integrated. Wales will go top of Euro 2024 qualifying Group D if they beat Armenia in Cardiff on Friday, with Croatia tied up in Nations League action. Wales are behind Croatia on goal difference after securing a stoppage-time draw in Split in March.
“There was a lot of hype and anticipation but the running stats that we had from Croatia, we wouldn’t have got anywhere near that at the World Cup,” Page said. “You learn from experiences and draw a line under it and make the changes we felt we needed to make. We showed in March we are progressing nicely. Hopefully we can back that up with two performances now like in March.”
Page also revamped his staff after Qatar, with Nick Davies, a fitness coach at West Ham, arriving as head of performance and Eric Ramsay, an assistant to Erik ten Hag, joining the coaching team. The sports psychologist Ian Mitchell, part of the Wales staff at Euro 2016, also returned to the setup from England. “We have no egos in the changing room,” Page said. “That is what makes it incredible, the environment; we are a team. I think it is getting stronger every camp.”
Page has a full squad to choose from, with the full-back Neco Williams available after a broken jaw. Brennan Johnson and Ben Davies are back after missing March’s double header against Croatia and Latvia. David Brooks, in the squad for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer in October 2021, could feature as a substitute. “It’s incredible what he’s been through,” Page said. “For us as a group he epitomises everything. To show the courage and determination to get back to the level he’s at is incredible.”
Johnson was the subject of a £30m bid from longstanding admirers Brentford on Wednesday that was rejected out of hand by Nottingham Forest, but Page is adamant the player will be unaffected. Forest value the 22-year-old forward closer to £50m. “He’s a level-headed lad, he’s sensible,” Page said.
