There will be no second chances tomorrow after today

Wales’ World Cup fate will be sealed tonight when the final fixtures in Group B take place.   Wales will meet up with England knowing that nothing less than a win will do to have a chance of progress and, even then, we are likely to end reliant on a draw between Iran and USA to seal a qualification.

A four goal victory over England of course will change all of that but for a side that has scored just one penalty in their 180 minutes to date, four in ninety minutes seems unlikely although – of course – not impossible.

There was much criticism thrown at Robert Page and his side after Friday’s defeat to Iran but we should also not lose sight of the fact that England were booed off by their own fans after a 0-0 draw with the USA just a few hours later.   Neither of these sides did themselves justice it is felt on Friday and both will surely be looking to improve that this evening as the final group places are established.

The odds are very much against a Wales progression but football had a habit of occasionally turning out the unexpected so we can hope that is the case this evening and our World Cup journey – a first for 64 years – continues just a little bit longer.

Robert Page was very coy yesterday on his potential team selection for this evening and hinted that we could even see Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey start from the bench as they contemplate a third game in eight days.

“It’s a big ask for anybody in this environment to go four days later,” said the Wales boss.

“I’m going to pick a team that I think can go out and compete against England, whether that’s with or without them. I’m not going to give that away.

“If they don’t start, can they can make an impact? That’s always been my dilemma playing games in quick succession.

“If they start one game, can they start the next? My thought process won’t be any different.

“Whether they come on and have an impact or start and last an hour or 90 minutes, they are talented footballers.

“We’re all getting criticism now and rightly so because results aren’t going our way and that’s the industry we’re in.

“We’re big enough to take it – it’s not a problem. We put our big boy pants on and get on with it.”

Wales journey to get to this World Cup has been more than a generation in the making and there is more than one school of thought that wonders if this will be the final international swansong for several members of the current squad.

If that is to be the case then simply tonight nothing less than 100% effort will do.  Friday’s performance fell short of those levels and that is what hurts and makes tonight much more difficult but this is football’s biggest stage and, for some, it will be their only chance to be here.   And that means that we simply have to go out with a win.   And hope that the win is good enough on the night.

We are – after all – still here!