Join us live as Wales 24-man squad is announced for Croatia and Latvia clashes later this month
ROB Page has named his squad for the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Croatia and Latvia.
This is Page’s first squad announcement since the World Cup and the retirement of Gareth Bale, Chris Gunter, Joe Allen, and Jonny Williams.
Four uncapped players make the 24-man squad: Birmingham City’s Jordan James, Fulham’s Luke Harris, Ipswich Town’s Nathan Broadhead, and Swansea City’s Oliver Cooper.
You can follow reaction and Rob Page speaking at St Fagan’s below as it happened.
14:00
That’s all from Rob Page for the mean time. Thank you for joining our live coverage – follow The Cardiffian for more coverage.
13:55
Captain Rambo
So it is Aaron Ramsey that will take the captain’s armband heading into the Euro 2024 qualification campaign.
Wales start off against Croatia in Split on March 25 before hosting Latvia in Cardiff the following Tuesday.
Also in their group are Armenia and Turkey.
The top-two teams in the group will qualify for the tournament in Germany.
13:46
The new talent
“What I like about JJ [Jordan James] is: he’s a bit different to what we’ve got. 6ft 3, box-to-box midfielder.”
(On Ethan Ampadu): Without giving the team away… it’s good when you’ve got a player that can play a couple of positions. Deep down, I think he’s a better centre back.”
13:45
“We fell short of the standards we set [at the World Cup]. With that group, I believe there will be success because there were lessons learned from that World Cup… what more motivation do we need?”
13:43
A revolution
“I’ve always inherited teams, now this is a fresh start. We no longer hope to qualify for tournaments. We believe.”
(On those who missed out): “Rubin [Colwill] is still growing, believe it or not. It’s no shame to go back in the under-21s for two or three games. We did it with Harry Wilson a few years back.”
13:39
On Brennan Johnson:
“He’s had an accumulation of fatigue. We need to be sensible with it.”
13:38
Rob Page: ” I do see Ben [Davies] as a captain in the future. His time will come.”
On Aaron Ramsey: “He’s relishing it… he’s been on the phone every day. He’s really enjoying it. He sent me a lovely message saying how proud it made him and his family.”
13:36
Aaron Ramsey is the new captain of Wales
13:34
Rebuilding a new Wales team
“We’ve reset, we’ve had a look, lessons learned. So we’ve brought in new additions to the backroom… we knew this evolution was gonna happen and it’s gone exactly how I expected to.”
13:30
Life without Gareth Bale
“Life goes on. There’s gonna be retirements. It gives us an opportunity to sympathetically introduce these players… the bench will look a little different. You’ve got to be sympathetic to introduce these young players.” Rob Page
“From a playing point of view absolutely not. He’s a young man still. I’ve had conversations with him on an off the pitch. As long as I’m here I’d like Gareth to be a part of it.”
13:28
Rob Page speaks
We are in position in St Fagan’s ready for Rob Page to speak about his squad announcement
13:06
Who are the new faces?
With their collective retirements from international duty, Page has lost 228 caps worth of experience from the camp.
Four other players lost their place from the World Cup squad – Matt Smith, Dylan Levitt and Cardiff City pair Rubin Colwill and Mark Harris.
In their place, Page has called up four uncapped players – Luke Harris (17), Jordan James (18), Ollie Cooper (23) and Nathan Broadhead (24).
Read more here: Wales’ next generation: the four uncapped players in Rob Page’s squad – The Cardiffian (cardiffjournalism.co.uk)
12:35
Who will be captain?
Rob Page is expected to announce his new captain at 1:30pm when he speaks to the media. Let’s have a look at the contenders:
Wayne Hennessey: The goalkeeper is the most experienced member of the squad, but is not guaranteed to be on the pitch at all times, given Danny Ward’s form at Leicester City.
Ben Davies: Plays regularly for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and has been a key part of Wales recent success.
Aaron Ramsey: has played 25 times for Nice this season and looks to be the key player after Gareth Bale’s retirement.
Or, Page could opt for a long-term option. Ethan Ampadu already has 41 caps at the age of 22, or Joe Rodon who has starred on loan at Rennes this season.
12:21
Luke Harris
The youngest squad member is Fulham’s Luke Harris at just 17-years-old. He was in the Wales squad for The Nations League games in September 2022, but did not appear. He has made five first-team appearances for Fulham this season.
12:16
The full squad
Wayne Hennessey (Nottingham Forest), Danny Ward (Leicester City), Adam Davies (Sheffield United)
Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest), Ben Cabango (Swansea City), Tom Lockyer (Luton Town), Joe Rodon (Rennes, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur), Chris Mepham (AFC Bournemouth), Connor Roberts (Burnley)
Ethan Ampadu (Spezia, on loan from Chelsea), Sorba Thomas (Blackburn Rovers, on loan from Huddersfield Town), Jordan James (Birmingham City), Oliver Cooper (Swansea City), Wes Burns (Ipswich Town), Aaron Ramsey (OGC Nice), Joe Morrell (Portsmouth), Harry Wilson (Fulham)
Nathan Broadhead (Ipswich Town), Dan James (Fulham, on loan from Leeds United), Kieffer Moore (AFC Bournemouth), Brennan Johnson (Nottingham Forest), Tom Bradshaw (Millwall), Luke Harris (Fulham)
Four uncapped players make the squad: Nathan Broadhead, Luke Harris, Jordan James, and Oliver Cooper
12:10
The scene is set
A sunny St Fagan’s is the setting for the first Wales squad announcement since the World Cup. Rob Page will be speaking shortly.
12:01
Here is the squad
ROB Page has named four uncapped players in his first Wales squad since the World Cup and the four retirements that are triggering a new era.
The squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Croatia and Latvia this month also include some notable changes with four World Cup squad members not making the cut.
The four uncapped players are Luke Harris (Fulham), Jordan James (Birmingham City), Ollie Cooper (Swansea City) and Nathan Broadhead (Ipswich Town).
The quartet who have lost their place in the squad since the World Cup are Cardiff City pair Rubin Colwill and Mark Harris, Matthew Smith (MK Dons) and Dylan Levitt (Dundee United).
Championship Player of the Month Tom Bradshaw (Millwall) will have the chance to make his first Cymru appearance since 2016.
You can read the full story here: Robert Page reveals Wales’ first squad since World Cup brings EIGHT changes – The Cardiffian (cardiffjournalism.co.uk)
11:58
We’re on the scene
Our man Sam Portillo is at St Fagans to get reaction and speak to Rob Page following the squad announcement at 12pm.
