Wales show there is life after genius Gareth Bale with emotionally charged displays | Elis James

Euro 2024 qualifying performances did not set pulses racing but results were positive after Rob Page saw cult heroes retire

The Wales men’s football team have sidled into their transitional phase with a disarming, suspicious ease over the past five days, causing supporters to look over their shoulders uneasily, trying to find the catch. The performances won’t set pulses racing but an unexpected four points from the opening two games have left Wales joint top of Group D having played their most difficult fixture. Gareth Bale is irreplaceable. But there may be life after him.

The qualification campaign for Euro 2024 began in Split last Saturday night, as a new-look Wales squad travelled to a country who have never lost a European Championship qualifier at home, in a record that stretches back to 1994, and the 29-year-old goalkeeper Danny Ward’s earliest dalliances with solid food. Bale had retired in January, to be followed by more cult heroes from the class of 2016. Joe Allen, a player’s player; the shrewd, perceptive, metronomic presence in our midfield who allowed a succession of Wales managers to get the best out of Bale and Aaron Ramsey decided in February that his time at the highest level was over, followed shortly after by Jonny Williams and Chris Gunter.

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