Rob Page has insisted Wales fear nobody at home and promised his side will go toe to toe with Poland in Tuesday’s crunch Euro 2024 qualifying playoff final in their bid to “get across the line”. Wales teed up a home date with Poland after an emphatic 4-1 semi-final victory over Finland in Cardiff and Page believes the game being in the Welsh capital next week is a major advantage.
Wales overcame Finland courtesy of goals from David Brooks, Neco Williams, Brennan Johnson and the substitute Daniel James. Page warned it is only “half-time” in their attempt to reach a third successive European Championship but feels Wales should head into the tie full of confidence.
Poland are 30th in the Fifa rankings, a place behind Wales, but boast one of the world’s most prolific strikers in Robert Lewandowski. “I said to the players before, in the most respectful way, we don’t care which team is outside,” the Wales manager said. “At home I think that is 20 out of 23 games unbeaten. We don’t care who comes to see us. We’ll go toe to toe and have a go.
“We’re up against a tough team on Tuesday night. We’ll respect them, we’ll do even more analysis tomorrow and we’ll have a plan ready, but it is about our level of performance. When we play like we did against Croatia and Turkey here, if we can replicate those levels, then the result takes care of itself. It is a big ask for the lads to go again but we’ll have a plan in place.
“There is no more motivation needed than a Euros in Germany. We’ve been there, we’ve picked the hotel, we’ve got the training ground, we’re ready to go. We’ve just got one more game to get across the line.”
Ethan Ampadu and James won their 50th caps for their country on another memorable night in Cardiff, the former reaching that milestone at the age of 23, faster than any other Welshman. “Ethan was immense,” Page said. “I thank the previous manager [Chris Coleman] before that gave Ethan his debut so many years ago and we’re reaping the rewards of it now.”
The Finland manager, Markku Kanerva, bemoaned his side’s sloppy start to both halves, with Johnson’s strike two minutes into the second half restoring Wales’s two-goal lead after Teemu Pukki had scored on the verge of the interval. “We had a disastrous start in both halves and conceded key goals,” Kanerva said. “The dream was to qualify for the Euros, but it is not happening.”
