Pole with the goal to send Wales down
Bale & Co crash out of Nations League top tier as Karol stinger seals their fate
THERE was to be no joyful World Cup send-off for Wales as Karol Swiderski’s second- half goal means Rob Page’s team joined England in suffering relegation from the Nations League’s top tier.
Needing a win to stay in League A, Wales were denied by Karol Swiderski’s excellent goal early in the second half — a rare moment of class in a poor game.
The closest the home side came was when Gareth Bale’s header hit the bar in stoppage time
Wales’ campaign was complicated by their World Cup playoff against Ukraine, which fell during the Nations League.
Page was understandably keen to preserve his best players for that game, and his decision was justified by the 1-0 win.
But the second string sides could not get the results required and two defeats against Poland have proved decisive. Wales have now gone five matches without a victory — hardly the build-up they were looking for as they prepare for their first World Cup since 1958.
Bale was included from the start as he tries to build match fitness for the World Cup but the skipper had a quiet game and still looks some way short of his sharpest. Wales must hope he gains it in the next two months playing for Los Angeles FC.
Whatever had happened here, Wales fans know that the really exciting football is still to come in two months’ time.
Their qualification for Qatar is testament to the outstanding work from Page, their recent run notwithstanding. They were missing key men here, with Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen and Harry Wilson injured and Chris Mepham and Ethan Ampadu suspended.
And to put their achievement into context, how about this for a statistic: the last goal Wales conceded at the World Cup finals was scored by a 17-year-old Pele, with his first international goal.
Bale was included from the off and in the Poland team was Robert Lewandowski, one of Europe’s greatest strikers.
Despite their presence, it was shapeless first half notable for moments of farce rather than quality. The first was when Bale’s hairband came loose and he spent the next minute trying to tie it again while attempting to close down the Poland defenders at the same time.
How the home crowd chuckled, though they were not laughing when Wayne Hennessey nearly scored a ludicrous own goal five minutes before half-time.
The goalkeeper moved to control Joe Rodon’s backpass but took his eye off the ball, which flicked his studs and rolled back towards the goalline. Hennessey managed to retrieve the situation just in time, and was clearly still shaken moments later when he nearly made a hash of Piotr Zielinski’s rising effort.
Fans had to wait 25 minutes for the first clear chance. Jakub Kiwior should have done better from Zielinski’s free- kick, but guided a free header straight at Hennessey. Then, shortly after the half-hour, Dan James ran on to Ben Cabango’s hopeful ball forward and was twice denied by former Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
The game was opening up slightly and Szczesny again rescued his team after Poland fell asleep at a throw-in and Roberts found Bale unmarked.
Lewandowski had endured a frustrating night yet he showed his class in one of the game’s few moments of high quality. Szymon Zurkowski, who had failed to make the most of a good chance in the first half, fizzed a ball into his path and with back to goal, Lewandowski guided the ball delicately to his left.
It was perfectly placed to meet the run of Swiderski, who steered it confidently under Hennessey. The noisy away fans greeted the goal by lighting flares and letting off a firework, which is likely to bring punishment from UEFA.
Wales sent on Kieffer Moore to add presence to their attack and switched to a back four, but the move did not save them. The excellent Szczesny produced another fine stop with 13 minutes remaining from James’ misdirected cross, which nearly crept into the far corner.
WALES (3-4-2-1): Hennessey 5; Cabango 7, Rodon 6, Norrington-Davies 6 (Moore 58, 6); C Roberts 6 (Thomas 85), Morrell 6, Levitt 6.5 (Colwill 72, 6), N Williams 6; Johnson 6.5, D James 6.5; Bale 6. Booked: Norrington-Davies, N Williams, Moore, Johnson. Manager: Rob Page 5.5. POLAND (3-5-2): Szczesny 7; Bednarek 6.5, Glik 6.5, Kiwior 6; Bereszynski 6 (Gumny 90), Zurkowski 6 (Szymanski 83), Krychowiak 6.5, ZIELINSKI 7.5, Zalewski 6.5; Swiderski 6.5 (Piatek 65, 6), Lewandowski 6.5.
Scorer: Swiderski 58.
Booked: Krychowiak, Bereszynski, Glik.
Manager: Czeslaw Michniewicz 6.5.
Referee: Andris
Treimanis 4.
Attendance: 31,520.