Wales players and staff salute the Red Wall of their fans after their exit from the World Cup. Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app. Day by Day TV Listings – Full coverage details
As Wales players and staff shared a moment with their supporters after Tuesday’s 3-0 defeat by England sealed their exit from the World Cup group stage, there was a sense of a deeper ending than the usual closure that comes with the conclusion of a team tournament.
This was, after all, Wales’ first World Cup for 64 years, the culmination of a nation’s long-held dream.
And when that dreamlike state faded to black under a deserted night sky in Qatar, it felt like the end of an era – or at least the beginning of its end – unlike any other in the country’s history.
Simply put, Wales had never had it so good. For generations, Welsh football had been synonymous with, at best, narrow misses and tales of anguish, and at worst, long periods of abject failure and utter apathy.
The longer the wait to qualify for a major tournament dragged on, the more the 1958 World Cup felt like a curious relic from a past too distant to comprehend.
After the woes of Scotland in 1977 and 1985, Romania in 1993 and countless false dawns, the golden generation emerged, first as teenagers under John Toshack in the late 2000s, before blossoming under the tutelage of of Gary Speed and come of age with Euro 2016. Chris Coleman in charge.
That summer in France was gloriously cathartic, not only ending Wales’ 58-year wait for a major tournament but taking the country to new stratospheric heights with a first ever semi-final.
Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen and the rest went on to qualify for a second European Championship in a row, but still a second World Cup proved elusive, until this year.
Now, after three group games in Qatar, the adventure is over.
World Cup 2022: I’ll go on while I can – Gareth Bale
As Robert Page and his players applauded the Red Wall and savored a final rendition of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, the love and respect for each other was as amazing as ever. Nothing could dampen the swell of national pride to see Wales back on this grandest stage of all.
And while nothing will change that fact, as well as taking time to look back, Wales must now consider what comes next.
Wales can be immensely proud to have qualified for a first World Cup for 64 years, and at the same time deeply disappointed by their performances in Qatar.
The build-up was justifiably epic given the historical significance, but while Wales have risen to the challenge in their three previous major tournaments to reach the knockout stages, they proved beyond that here.
“They’ve given it their all” – Rob Page
There were many reasons for their failures, one of the most striking being the fading luster of an aging golden generation.
Bale, his country’s record goalscorer and cap-holder in men’s football, has been the face of Welsh football for more than a decade, regarded by many as the best player to ever come from Wales.
Ramsey and Allen may not be seen in the same exalted light but, as their selection in the official Uefa team of the tournament for Euro 2016 illustrated, they have been integral figures in the Welsh renaissance .
At this World Cup, however, all three were pale imitations of themselves.
In fairness to Allen, his involvement was limited by a hamstring injury and while Bale and Ramsey started all three games, their waning club form and lack of match fitness put them in the day in Qatar
World Cup 2022: What’s next for Wales – analysis
A tight hamstring forced Bale off at half-time against England after touching the ball just seven times, while Allen limped off towards the end with what appeared to be a recurrence of his injury. For two icons of Welsh football, these seemed undignified ways to leave what was almost certainly their only World Cup.
Bale, 33, has already expressed his desire to continue playing for Wales, while Allen, 32, and Ramsey, 32 next month, have yet to declare their intentions either way.
They are all young enough to influence Wales’ hopes of qualifying for Euro 2024, but even if they can help Wales play in a fourth major tournament out of five, their country cannot count on them forever
“I’m not going to make a call on that right now,” Page said after the England game.
“The good thing is that we have games in March, qualifiers for the Euros, difficult games. We will see the squad, the players we have and if there are young players we need to push and promote, now is the time to do it.”
Page must also consider his own role as Wales fell short in Qatar.
The former centre-back has been deservedly praised for the work he has done since succeeding Ryan Giggs in difficult circumstances, guiding Wales to the second round of Euro 2020 and leading his country to a first World Cup during 64 years
The performances, however, have been in doubt for some time. Wales have won just two of their 12 games this year and even in those wins – in the World Cup play-offs against Austria and Ukraine – they were far from convincing.
England dominate Wales 3-0 in a thrilling match
As long as Bale kept conjuring his moments of brilliance and Wales kept getting results, those underwhelming displays were tolerated, but a World Cup is not so forgiving.
Page got his team’s selection and tactics wrong in the first half of the opener against the USA, but rectified those errors at half-time to help Wales grab a late equaliser.
He said “lessons had been learnt” after that run-out, but Page went on to start the next game against Iran in the same line-up with just one personnel change, and Wales fell to a disappointing defeat by 2-0 that ended their hopes of reaching. the elimination phase.
Page said he took responsibility for that result and, for Tuesday’s final group game against England, he late ditched his preferred three-at-the-back system for a 4-2-3-1. The change helped Wales keep the game goalless until the break, only for their tired players to succumb to a 3-0 defeat.
“Of course we look back with frustration, but it’s an amazing achievement for this group of players to get here in the first place,” Page said.
“We build on that. There’s a bigger picture here. We have to put things in perspective. We don’t have the group of players that England have.
“And I think they’ll do well in the tournament. For us, it’s an incredible accomplishment to get here.”
Little could dampen the joy Wales felt at qualifying for a first World Cup after such an absence.
But to not scrutinize the performances in Qatar and simply enjoy the subsequent fading of previous successes would be doing Wales a disservice.
As a nation in a sporting context or not, Wales have never enjoyed a global audience like they have at this World Cup and, as we’ve heard from players, fans and politicians, this is a country that wants to project a vibrant country. and a confident image of oneself in the world.
So with that in mind, these new historic standards should be required to be maintained, that qualifying for Worlds should be something to aim for on a regular basis.
Wales fans may be disappointed by the way their team were eliminated in Qatar; I shouldn’t repeat how proud they were to see their team finally play in a World Cup.
For that, and for what has gone before in this golden age, Wales will be forever grateful. Now there remains a hope or, better, the belief that there will be more to come.
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