An update looking at the recent international break that proved heartbreaking for Wales who fell at the very final hurdle and leaves England in a precarious position ahead of the summer, with a bright squad that will expect to go far but could all sound too familiar.
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00:00 The final ticket to Euro 2024 went to Poland after a tense playoff final with Wales,
00:08 which was decided by the tightest of penalty shootouts in Cardiff.
00:12 A goal of some 120 minutes led to nine spot kicks scored in a row,
00:17 until Dan James' effort was saved by Wojciech Czesny to deny the Dragons a third consecutive trip to the European Championship.
00:25 So what were the expectations like before the playoff tie of this group of players?
00:31 Is it a comp... you know, when it first came around, was it a tournament that Wales will have their eyes on
00:36 and thought that fans alike are really thinking that, yeah, we should be getting there,
00:41 we should be making a good show of ourselves at one of these major tournaments again?
00:47 We were looking at these major tournaments like we should be qualifying for.
00:50 We've got the players to be qualifying. Obviously Gareth Bale dragged us to some of these competitions in the past,
00:56 and we don't have Bale now, but I think people expected us to step up.
01:01 Manager Rob Page insisted he will take Wales forward after their Euro 2024 dream was ended by a penalty shootout heartbreak.
01:10 With young players flooding the side, boasting experience in the top two divisions of English football,
01:15 are there positives to take moving forward?
01:19 Like Danny James, I just feel like he should be in his early 20s, but he's not, he's 26.
01:24 So, yeah, we're on the... you've got to say that there's a lot of positive signs, like players are filling those gaps.
01:33 But we're relying on players like Aaron Ramsey, who's injured every week, who's into his 30s now,
01:40 who's not a player he was, but he's still a phenomenal player.
01:43 So, you know, it's not easy, but there's signs of life in the future moving forward for Welsh football.
01:52 England had enjoyed an almost perfect record at Wembley under Gareth Southgate until the recent international break.
02:00 England have two games left before the Euros, where Southgate's talented squad is widely expected to challenge.
02:07 So where does this leave the side and manager Southgate ahead of the tournament?
02:12 I think most fans would probably want him to stay.
02:14 I think obviously it's... I think there will be ones who obviously get annoyed that ultimately they might have made,
02:19 you know, a semi-final, sorry, a quarter-final in the World Cup and obviously the Euros final,
02:23 and a semi-final in the World Cup that preceded it, but sort of think, well, yeah,
02:27 that's all very well and good making the latter stages of competitions, but ultimately, you're not winning anything.
02:32 And I think there will be a lot of people that think that. And I kind of think that myself.
02:35 But the thing I would say is they're evidently close to getting somewhere.
02:38 I think that's what I'd like to see happen, really, have him stay at least for the Euros.
02:42 I'm not sure about after that in terms of another World Cup. That would be a third World Cup, wouldn't it?
02:46 So and that's when it then becomes difficult in terms of, well, if he is going to stay, then, you know,
02:50 does he sign a contract after the World Cup in 2026 as well?
02:54 So he might sort of think, well, do I really want to step away when we're evidently quite close?
02:59 You know?