Rob Page hails ‘fresh energy’ in Wales setup after squad and staff changes

Wales will give Gareth Bale a warm send-off before hosting Latvia on Tuesday with the manager, Rob Page, hailing the “fresh energy” that has swept into his team thanks to changes to the squad and staff after the World Cup.

Bale will be in attendance for the Euro 2024 qualifier at the Cardiff City Stadium, the first game to take place there since the 33-year-old announced his retirement. Bale, who is Wales’s all-time leading male goalscorer and widely considered to be his country’s greatest player, has since played golf at Pebble Beach on the PGA Tour.

The former captain will be the subject of a pre-match presentation and will address what is expected to be a sold-out crowd. Bale’s final appearance came as Wales exited the World Cup against England in Qatar in November.

Page stressed the importance of securing victory against Latvia after salvaging a point in Croatia in their opening qualifying game last Saturday. “It’s an eight‑game season so you try to forecast as many points,” he said. “Some go your way, some don’t.

“That was a bonus point for us the other night. The plan going into it [these games] was: ‘If we can get four points, great; six, we’ve won the lottery, brilliant.’ We will take four points going into the June camp.”

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Bale, Joe Allen, Jonny Williams and Chris Gunter, who joined the Wales staff on a part-time basis this month, all retired from playing for their country after the World Cup. Eric Ramsay, first-team coach under Erik ten Hag at Manchester United and Nick Davies, a fitness coach at West Ham, have been added to Page’s backroom team after the departures of Kit Symons and Tony