ECQ: Wales miss out on automatic qualification
Wales 1 - 1 Turkey
Following a fiery draw at home to Turkey, Wales will have to reach Euro 2024 via the play-offs in March.
Wales had to secure a victory against Group D leaders Turkey and cross their fingers for Croatia to stumble against Armenia. Throughout Tuesday night, it appeared that Robert Page's team might hold up their end of the bargain when Neco Williams scored in the seventh minute, putting them in the lead.
However, Croatia's triumph over Armenia meant that even a Welsh victory wouldn't be sufficient. To add to their woes, Turkey levelled the score in the second half through a contentious penalty converted by Yusuf Yazici. Referee Matej Jug's decision to award the penalty seemed unfair to Wales captain Ben Davies, as his contact with Kenan Yildiz was minimal. The frustration among the hosts increased as the referee dismissed three Welsh penalty appeals in the first half.
The initial anger among the Welsh team was replaced by a disheartening sense of disappointment when the final whistle blew. Despite the letdown of the evening, the most significant regret for Page and his players in this campaign will be the two matches against Armenia.
The most damaging blow came in June with a 4-2 defeat in Cardiff, shattering Wales' hopes of securing automatic qualification. Although they revived their chances by stunningly beating Croatia in October, putting their fate in their own hands, Wales squandered that opportunity with a 1-1 draw in Yerevan last Saturday.
This left them relying on a favour from Armenia on Tuesday, but Croatia showed no mercy in Zagreb, dashing any hopes of a dramatic turnaround for Wales. Despite the lingering disappointment from the matches against Armenia, the Welsh team can find solace in the fact that they still have a second chance at qualification.
More Welsh football news can be found here
What's next for Wales?
In March, Wales will host either Ukraine, Finland or Iceland in a one-legged play-off semi-final. If they win that match, they will face Poland or Estonia - with home advantage to be decided via a draw this Thursday. The winner will secure their place at Euro 2024.
Some initial fan reaction
Dave Ryan was at the match, he said: "This qualifying journey has been a bit of a rollercoaster, with some ups and downs. The standout moment was definitely our impressive performance against Croatia, which got fans really excited. However, expectations rose, and unfortunately, we had a pretty lacklustre showing in Armenia. For me, that defeat was the big letdown of this qualifying campaign. That performance probably stands out as the moment where things slipped away, especially when you contrast it with the amazing game we had against Croatia. We really showed our stuff and convincingly beat them with a fantastic performance on our home turf."
