Robert Page insists Wales will forget about the World Cup on Sunday to try and stay in the top tier of the Nations League. Wales remain bottom of League A4 after losing 2-1 to Belgium on Thursday. But Poland’s 2-0 home defeat to Holland means Wales can climb off the bottom by beating the Poles in Cardiff on Sunday.

By Gareth James Wales manager Robert Page admits he is “dreading” selecting his World Cup squad because of the competition for places. Page’s side play their final games ahead of the World Cup this week, with their Nations League programme ending with fixtures away to Belgium on Thursday night and at home to Poland on […]

JOE Rodon has revealed he had to get away from Tottenham and the Premier League in order to fully grasp his World Cup dream with Wales. The Wales defender – who will form a central pillar for his country at the tournament in Qatar in November – will play his first international as a French-based player on Thursday night. Rodon left Spurs in the August transfer window to join Rennes on loan, but will now pull on a Wales shirt to earn his 29th cap against Belgium in Brussels on Thursday night in a Nations League match that is live on S4C.

Cardiff City often appear a strange club and the sacking of Steve Morison only seems logical when viewed through a lens adjusted for all those peculiarities. Why now? What now? Who now? Where now? It’s a club where there always appears to be more questions than answers. Get a new man in less than a year ago, brief him to completely revamp the squad and sign 17 new players, and then dismiss him 10 games into the season.

Matty Jones has been announced as the new Wales U21 head coach. The former Wales midfielder, who has worked with the FAW at U18 level and with manager Gemma Grainger and the women’s national side, will take up the role immediately and be in charge for a friendly against Austria later this month. Jones is a is a UEFA pro licence holder who has also worked for Swansea City as their U23 academy team manager.

Russell Martin admits Swansea City’s injury time weakness is costing them any chance of climbing the Championship table. For the fifth time already this season, the Swans conceded a goal beyond the 90th minute as they went down to a 1-0 home defeat to Sheffield United on Tuesday night. The 94th minute winner scored by Reda Khadra – conceded within seconds of a Swans’ attack breaking down near the Blades’ goalmouth – leaves Martin’s side in 21st place, just one spot above the relegation zone.

Steve Morison insists Cardiff City took just rewards with their victory at Middlesbrough, claiming the first away win of the season was build on solid form. The Bluebirds repelled Middlesbrough’s second-half comeback to claim a 3-2 victory at the Riverside. Morison’s side looked to be strolling to all three points as they claimed a three-goal lead at the interval thanks to strikes from Callum O’Dowda, Mark Harris and Perry Ng.

Luke Harris has been told the door is open for him to cap an incredible rise by going to the World Cup with Wales The 17-year-old Fulham star has been named in manager Robert Page’s squad for the first time for the upcoming Nations League games against Belgium and Poland next week. But such is the precocious talent of the teenage midfielder – who has only one senior Carabao Cup appearance to his name – that Page reckons the youngster could yet force his way into the squad for the tournament in Qatar in November.

Wales manager Rob Page plans to recruit Michael Sheen to his World Cup campaign after the Hollywood actor’s rousing team talk went viral on social media. Page has revealed he intends to invite Sheen into camp after being urged to do so by his players, who were among the 13 million viewers of the clip. The star of football movie The Damned United gave a thunderous motivational speech at the weekend on the Sky TV sport quiz panel show, a League Of Their Own.

Cardiff City are preparing for a week from hell with more than 1,000 miles and 18 hours of travelling in a bus to take in games at Middlesbrough and Huddersfield in the space of five days. Steve Morison’s men may have had a few unexpected days off due to the death of The Queen last weekend, but they face their two biggest journeys of the season back-to-back as they seek to climb out of the Championship relegation zone. There was a time when the club’s finances ran to chartering flights to head that far north, but those days are now long gone.

Robert Page has pinpointed qualification for the 2024 Euros and 2026 World Cup as his targets after being confirmed as the long-term manager of Wales. The man who took over from Ryan Giggs has signed a new four-year contract to continue in the job, two months before the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when Wales will make just their second appearance at the finals. The new deal means Page will be in charge for Wales’ 2024 European Championship and 2026 World Cup qualifying campaigns.

Michael Obafemi is set to be left out again by Swansea City head coach Russell Martin for Tuesday night’s home game against Sheffield United. The Republic of Ireland striker – who was hopeful of a deadline day move to Burnley – is described as “getting there, slowly” by Martin, when asked if Obafemi was ready to return. The former Southampton player – who was hopeful of a £10m move – was not in the match day squad for the club’s 1-0 win over QPR which followed the closing of the transfer window after his head coach claimed the forward was not in the right frame of mind to play.

With no EFL or Premier League football going ahead this weekend, Daniel Parker considers recent activity at Swansea City – the Welsh club who seem to have the best chance of a successful season. It will require something special from their head coach, however, and the chances of him receiving much help from the club’s owners are remote. It’s been a mediocre start to the season for Wales’ big three. Newport County have shown glimpses of promise – particularly in the League Cup – but have struggled to build up any kind of consistency in League Two.

Wales will have to overcome Bosnia-Herzegovina and then Switzerland if they are to reach the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup finals. The play-offs draw – which took place on Friday in Switzerland – is a favourable one for Wales, with a home tie first against the Bosnians on October 6. Should they win that semi-final game, they would then travel to Switzerland for the final five days later to face the Swiss for a possible place at next year’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

Swansea City have cancelled their pre-match press conference ahead of their planned fixture at Birmingham City on Saturday as clubs await a decision on whether this weekend’s games will go ahead following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Swans head coach Russell Martin was due to host a briefing on Friday morning, but the club announced late on Thursday evening it would not go ahead. The EFL games scheduled for this evening – Burnley v Norwich in the Championship and Tranmere v Stockport in League Two – have already been postponed.

Angharad James achieved two milestones this week – both of which underline how youth is powering the surge of interest in women’s football in Wales. Firstly, she won her 100th cap for her country and become the youngest to reach that landmark when Wales drew 0-0 with Slovenia to make the World Cup play-offs on Tuesday night. Secondly, the 28-year-old was part of a team that smashed the record for an attendance for a women’s football match in Wales, with over 12,741 turning up for the game at Cardiff City Stadium,

Gemma Grainger insists Wales still have plenty of hard work ahead of them before they reach their goal of World Cup qualification. The national team manager felt Wales deserved their play-off place after a goalless draw with Slovenia saw them through to next month’s knockout stage. Wales had to survive some scares on a nervy night at the Cardiff City Stadium but, in the end, Grainger’s side managed the game superbly to book their play-off spot.

Jess Fishlock is not going to sit back and applaud those who have finally come around to the quality of women’s football. But Wales’ most experienced player believes the record crowd at the crucial World Cup qualifier against Slovenia on Tuesday night can be yet another catalyst for change in Wales.  Fishlock has long been a trailblazer in women’s football. 

Michael Obafemi has been told to clear his head and let his feet do the talking. The sage advice has come from his Swansea City captain Matt Grimes, who knows what it is to have cluttered head space. Obafemi was left out of the Swans’ squad for the weekend 1-0 win over QPR by head coach Russell Martin after the striker’s hopes of a £10m deadline day move to Burnley evaporated.

Steve Morison has told his Cardiff City players to harden up after they fell to their third defeat in four matches at his former club. The Bluebirds manager was angered by another punchless display in a 2-0 loss at Millwall. Cardiff have now scored one goal in their last five games and picked up just two points – relegation form that has seen them fall to one place above the relegation zone.