Wrexham striker on standby as Rob Page names Wales squad for Gibraltar and Croatia
Wales head coach Rob Page ahead of kick off. Wales v Armenia in a UEFA EURO 2024 Qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium on the 16th June 2023. Credit: Lewis Mitchell
Rob Page has announced the Wales squad ahead of the upcoming friendly fixture against Gibraltar (11th October) and the all important European Championship Qualifier against Croatia (15th October).
The Gibraltar friendly will see men’s Welsh International football return to Wrexham with the STōK Cae Ras set to host a fixture for the first time since March 2019 where a solo Ben Woodburn goal helped Wales beat Trinidad and Tobago.
Speaking on the fixture manager Rob Page said
“Ive got nothing but respect for the supporters of North Wales, Ive done the journey a couple of times myself and it is a trek. That’s our way of rewarding our supporters, just to come up and let them see the squad, even some of the younger players that we’ve got coming through. I think it’s important that our supporters see what we’ve got coming through.”
“We’ve got a lot of time for the North Wales supporters and its about us showing some love back to them.”
The crucial fixture against Croatia will be played at the Cardiff City Stadium with Wales needing a positive result to maintain their hope of reaching the 2024 European Championships hosted by Germany.
Speaking on the fixture Page said
“We know it’s all about the qualifying game again, we know that. We’ve had a couple of injuries but whatever eleven go out on that pitch they’ll be playing for the three points absolutely. It’s a big game for us, it’s in our hands again now. The way the boys reacted in September was incredible to get us back in the fold and there’s no bigger chance now than to do it on Sunday against Croatia.”
The squad sees Luke Harris and Dylan Levitt return to the squad after missing out in the previous squad. Reading midfielder and Liverpool fullback Owen Beck who is on loan at Dundee make the senior squad for the first time stepping up from the under 21’s. Portsmouth defender Reagan Poole makes his first senior squad since 2019.
Captain Aaron Ramsey, Brennan Johnson and Morgan Fox all miss out on selection due to injury. Wrexham striker Paul Mullen is on the standby list for Wales.
The friendly against Gibraltar is sold out. There are a limited amount of tickets available for the fixture against Croatia available on the FAW ticketing website, with prices starting from £5 for juniors (16 and under).
Wales Squad: Wayne HENNESSEY (Nottingham Forest), Danny WARD (Leicester City), Adam DAVIES (Sheffield United), Ben DAVIES (Tottenham Hotspur), Joe RODON (Leeds United- On loan from Tottenham Hotspur), Tom LOCKYER (Luton Town), Chris MEPHAM (AFC Bournemouth), Regan POOLE (Portsmouth), Ben CABANGO (Swansea City), Neco WILLIAMS (Nottingham Forest), Owen BECK (Dundee- On loan from Liverpool), Connor ROBERTS (Burnley), Wes BURNS (Ipswich Town), Ethan AMPADU (Leeds United), Charlie SAVAGE (Reading), Jordan JAMES (Birmingham City), Dylan LEVITT (Hibernian), Josh SHEEHAN (Bolton Wanderers), Dan JAMES (Leeds United), Nathan BROADHEAD (Ipswich Town), Harry WILSON (Fulham), David BROOKS (AFC Bournemouth), Liam CULLEN (Swansea City), Luke HARRIS (Fulham), Kieffer MOORE (AFC Bournemouth), Tom BRADSHAW (Millwall).
