Rob Page: "It's a big ask for anybody to play again just four days later. I'm going to pick a team that's competitive against England, whether it's with or without Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey"; Wales need to beat England on Tuesday to have any chance of progressing from their group
Tuesday 29 November 2022 19:25, UK
Rob Page says he will select a team to compete with England - but stopped short of revealing if Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey would start for Wales' in their final World Cup group game on Tuesday.
Defeat to Iran has left Wales' chances of progressing to the round of 16 hanging by a thread, with their hopes of reaching the knockout stages out of their hands.
Page's side must beat England at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday night to have any chance of reaching the last 16, but they will also require Iran and USA to draw the other game in Group B.
Both Bale and Ramsey failed to have an impact during the 2-0 loss to Iran, and on the eve of the encounter with England, Page refused to rule out opting to use the pair off the bench.
"It's a big ask for anybody to play again just four days later," said Page.
"I'm going to pick a team that's competitive against England, whether it's with or without Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey.
"If they don't start, they can make an impact off the bench. Whether they come on or whether they start and last, we're all getting criticism now and rightly so.
"That's the industry we're in. We're big enough to take it. We put our big-boy pants on and we will take it."
"We have to give the supporters a performance to be proud of.
"We've worked so hard to get into this position. My frustration for the players is that we've shown nowhere near the level of performance to get to this World Cup.
"We've got to draw a line under it. We want to react in a positive manner and I'll pick a team who will go out and give everything to the cause."
Bale says Wales have spotted weaknesses in an England side which began with a 6-2 win over Iran but were then held goalless by the US.
He said: "For sure every team has weaknesses. There have been a few shocks already in the World Cup and hopefully we can make another one
"We'll fight again. You could see how devastated we were on the pitch when Iran scored, and no one can ever question our commitment.
"Of course we would have loved to have been winning but the reality is football is hard."
Sky Sports' Gary Neville on ITV:
"That kick off they had the other day, the 1pm (10am UK), it's a shocker. For British players it's a shocker. The heat is beating on you, you don't cope with it well. The next thing is you've got a few older players in the team and older players don't need more older players alongside them.
"They need younger players. I know that from experience. You need legs around you. Joe Allen coming on for experience - they needed the opposite of that because it was so hot out there, the players were dying on their feet.
"I think it will be completely different tomorrow night playing against England. Those three (Allen, Bale, Ramsey) I suspect have come together in the last couple of days, thinking 'this is it, this is our big moment left in our careers'.
"The England thing, they'll get up for this last game and it is a 10pm at night kick off here when it's less warm."
Sky Sports senior reporter Geraint Hughes in Doha:
"Let's not beat around the bush here. Wales require something extraordinary. They need to be extraordinary.
"A performance and ideally a result that fully represents Wales' form, character and ability to grind out a result when needed. That hasn't happened so far at this World Cup.
"So what's the problem? Has the stardust that is Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey dried up?
"Are they just not fit enough or have the match time in their legs to have the impact needed? Has Rob Page got his tactics wrong? Has the intensity of their opponents so far come as a shock? So many questions could be asked.
"However, just for now, it's about one thing - finding a way to beat England. That's it. I just cannot see Wales getting a 4-0 win over England so the other option for progression in Qatar involves the help of USA and Iran, that is they draw.
"Wales then require just a win over England. Just a win over England! Sounds easy on paper! It's a daunting task."
