Rob Page is confident the power of collectivism can not only subdue the individual brilliance of Poland's Robert Lewandowski and transport Wales to Euro 2024 but prove there really is life after Gareth Bale.
Tonight's playoff in Cardiff will dictate whether Wales qualify for a third successive European Championship and a fourth major tournament in five attempts and quite possibly determine Page's chances of remaining in the role. Leading his country to Germany this summer without the now retired Bale around to destabilise opponents would certainly be a feather in the head coach's cap.
"Poland have some individuals but, collectively, as a team, we're more than capable of giving a level of performance to get the job done," said Page as he finalised plans to frustrate the visitors' talismanic striker.
"Lewandowski is a fantastic player, we'll respect that, of course. But it stops there. We've done some analysis on him and shown the defenders what he's capable of doing. But it's about us imposing ourselves on them. We know Poland have an abundance of quality. They've a new manager [Michal Probierz], they've had some positive results. But it's about the best we can play. If we do that the result takes care of itself."
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 26, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 26, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian.
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