Ahead of their EURO2024 qualifying fixture on Monday, Rob Page’s Wales welcomed South Korea to the Cardiff City Stadium. Having won just one of their previous twelve fixtures, recording a positive result against the Asian side would be crucial for Cymru, who travel to Latvia next week.
WAL: Ward; Williams, Davies, Rodon, Mepham, Roberts; Broadhead, Ampadu, James, Wilson; Johnson
KOR: Seung-gyu; Ki-je, MIn-jae; Seung-hyun, Young-woo; Jae-sung, In-beom, Yong-woo; Hyeon-seok, Heung-min
While it was the visitors that enjoyed the majority of the possession in South Wales, Rob Page’s side were able to fashion better chances – thanks in part due to the surprisingly strong squad selected by the Welsh manager.
Counterattacking moves looked to be Wales’ preferred method of finding a breakthrough, with Broadhead sending Wilson through on goal – only for the winger to see his effort saved well by Seung-gyu.
With Page evidently feeling the pressure that has arrived as a consequence of Wales’ poor form, the manager made numerous changes throughout the match. Moore squandered the best chance of the game as his headed effort struck the post from Mepham’s cross to the back post.
Seung-gyu was called upon once more as he kept Rodon’s header from settling in the back of the net, securing a draw for Jurgen Klinsmann’s side on the road. Much like Page, the German has found himself heavily criticised by the media after failing to win a game with the Asian side since taking charge in February.
Wales’ attention now turns to Monday’s crucial clash against Latvia, where anything less than a win would almost certainly bring an early end to hopes of qualification for next summer’s European Championships. Failure to pick up three points is also likely to bring an end to Page’s tenure as Head Coach.
