Rob Page: Wales boss 'proud' of players despite 'cruel' shoot-out defeat to Poland in Euro 2024 play-off

Manager Rob Page insists "the nation should be so proud" of his Wales players, despite their failure to qualify for Euro 2024.

The Red Dragons missed out on a place in Germany in heartbreaking fashion, after being beaten on penalties by Poland in Cardiff.

The play-off final tie had originally finished 0-0 after 120 minutes, with the hosts having Chris Mepham sent off deep into extra-time.

That paved the way for a shoot-out, only for Daniel James to see his spot-kick saved by former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.

Page admits it is a galling way to be beaten, especially given how well he thought his side played.

"It is a cruel game,"

. "That's what I've said to the players. We were one kick away from qualifying. It hurts.

"I thought we were the better team. My message to the players at half-time was 'we're the better team. We will go on to win this game.'

"Alright, we made a couple of changes, we brought David Brooks on and we had to take him back off, he's not trained for two days since last Thursday, he's had an illness. We needed fresh legs on again.

"I've just said to the group in there 'look how far we've come that we're that disappointed that we've not qualified for a major tournament.' There's something good happening with this group, absolutely. I'm just so, so proud of that group."

Wales had never qualified for a European Championships before 2016, when they went all the way to the semi-finals.

They also reached Euro 2020, only to be eliminated in the round-of-16, before being knocked out of the group stages at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

Despite not making it to Germany, Page insists there is a bright future ahead for the country.

"The nation should be proud of them," he added. "They put a shift and then some in tonight to try and get us there. We're disappointed, but we'll be bigger and stronger for having gone through his horrible experience.

"I've just said to the group 'we're going somewhere'. This group is going somewhere. They're so disappointed that they've not qualified. They're hungry for it.

"We were nearly there tonight. We were one kick away from qualifying. There's a lot more to come; a lot of good times ahead."

Page has been in charge of Wales since 2020, when he replaced Ryan Giggs, originally on a temporary basis.

This is therefore the first time he has failed to qualify for a major tournament.

However, questions over his future may now be asked, as supporters turn their attentions to the 2026 World Cup.

Midfielder Joe Allen has dismissed any thought of a new manager being brought in, though.

"The two things you have to look for is, are the players supportive of the manager? That's very evident," he said. "Does the future look bright and is the team improving and that is also evident.

"He deserves the chance to carry on and the chance to prove himself again."

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