There was to be no joyous World Cup exit for Wales as Karol Swiderski’s second-half goal meant Rob Page’s side joined England in suffering relegation from from the first part of Europe.
Wales will be alongside Gareth Southgate’s men in Nations League B for the next edition of the tournament. Needing a win to stay in the A-League, Wales were denied by Karol Swiderski’s superb goal early in the second half, a rare moment of class in a poor game. The closest the home side came was when Gareth Bale’s header hit the crossbar in injury time.
Wales’ campaign was complicated by their World Cup play-off against Ukraine, which went down during the Nations League games. Page was keen to preserve his best players for that game, and his decision was vindicated in a 1-0 victory.
Poland’s Karol Swiderski celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal against Wales
Swiderski finally broke the tie midway through the first half as his team cruised to victory
Wales captain Gareth Bale looks dejected after his side fell behind in Nations League clash
But the second string teams did not achieve the required results and two defeats against the Poles have been decisive. Wales are now five games without a win, hardly the preparation they were looking for as they prepare for their first World Cup since 1958 and only their second in their history.
Bale has completed 90 minutes for the first time in over a year, but the skipper has had a quiet game and still looks a long way from his best. Wales must hope he achieves this in the next two months playing for Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer.
Whatever has happened here, Wales fans know that truly exciting football is yet to come. In two months’ time, they will open their World Cup campaign against the United States, before their second game against Iran and a ‘Battle of Britain’ against England on November 29.
His qualification for Qatar is a testament to Page’s outstanding work, despite his recent career. Key men were missing here, with Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen and Harry Wilson injured and Chris Mepham and Ethan Ampadu suspended. And to put his achievement into context, how about a statistic: the last goal Wales conceded in the World Cup final was scored by a 17-year-old Pelé with his first international goal.
Swiderski applied a brilliant finish after Robert Lewandowski had seen him very well
Lewandowski waves to the Polish fans after helping his side take the lead on the night
Bale was included from the start and the Polish team included Robert Lewandowski, one of the great European strikers of the last decade.
Despite his presence, the first part was formless and highlighted by moments of farce rather than quality.
The first was when Bale’s tape came loose and he spent the next minute trying to tie it back up while trying to close down the Polish defenders at the same time. How the home crowd laughed at that, although they didn’t laugh when Wayne Hennessey almost scored a ridiculous own goal five minutes before the break.
The keeper moved to control Joe Rodon’s back pass but took his eye off the ball, which bounced off his cleats and rolled towards the goal line. Hennessey managed to claw back just in time, and was clearly still rattled moments later when he almost made a hash of Piotr Zielinski’s rising effort.
Earlier, Connor Roberts and Nicola Zalewski clashed in a running battle down Wales’ right, with Poland annoyed by Roberts’ physical approach, with Roberts convinced the Roma player was looking to send him off.
The fans had to wait 25 minutes for the first clear chance. Jakub Kiwior should have done better from Zielinski’s free-kick, but he guided a free header straight at Hennessey. Then, just after the half-hour, Dan James ran onto Ben Cabango’s promising forward and was twice denied by former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
The game was opening slightly and Szczesny again rescued his side after Poland fell asleep on a throw-in and Roberts found Bale unmarked. Just after Hennessey’s mistake, Brennan Johnson cut in from the right and fired towards goal, only for his shot to clip James and go behind.
Wales manager Rob Page crosses the pitch after the full-time whistle
Lewandowski had endured a frustrating night but showed his class in one of the game’s few high-quality moments. Szymon Zurkowski, who had failed to capitalize on a good chance in the first half, threw a ball into his path and with his back to goal, Lewandowski guided the ball delicately to his left.
He was perfectly placed to take on the career of Swiderski, who ran it confidently under Hennessey. Loud away fans greeted the goal by lighting flares and setting off a firework, which is likely to result in a penalty from UEFA.
Wales looked to respond instantly and almost did when Johnson worked a shooting position into the corner, forcing Szczesny into another big save. After the goal, Wales sent on Kieffer Moore to add presence to their attack and switched to a back four, but the move did not save them.
Szczesny was having an excellent game in goal and made another fine save with 13 minutes remaining from a misplaced cross from James, which tricked Poland’s backline and almost snuck into the corner . Wales pushed as the game wore on and almost equalized in the dying seconds when substitute Sorba Thomas crossed for Bale to plant a header against the woodwork.
Catch the game at Cardiff City Stadium with live coverage from Sportsmail.