Manager Robert Page believes Wales are in a stronger position for Tuesday’s Euro 2024 play-off final against Poland than when they qualified for the 2022 World Cup via the same route. Wales beat Finland 4-1 in Thursday’s semi-final to set up the Poland tie.
They defeated Ukraine in a play-off final to reach the World Cup despite several players not playing regularly. Asked if Wales are in a better position now that issue has been resolved, Page said: “I’d say so.” He added: “We are in a healthy position because we’ve got everybody playing.
“The gap in the World Cup play-offs [between the Austria semi-final in March and Ukraine final in June] suited us because we had senior players who weren’t playing club football, in Aaron [Ramsey], in Gareth [Bale]. “That gap helped us. If it had been four or five days later, we might have struggled a bit.
“Now we’re in a different position because we’ve got a younger squad, a fitter squad, we’ve got players who are playing regularly.”
