Wales held to disappointing goalless draw in Gibraltar

Wales suffered one of the most embarrassing results in their history against Gibraltar as opponents ranked 203 in the world held them to a 0-0 draw.

Only seven teams in the 210-strong international football family are worse than Gibraltar, according to FIFA, yet Wales failed to beat a side who had lost their past 13 games by an aggregate score of 50-0.

Although this was a low-key friendly played at Gibraltar’s temporary home in Portugal, this result will do few favours for Dragons manager Rob Page.

The Football Association of Wales were quick to back Page after the Dragons failed to qualify for Euro 2024 this summer.

But those grumbling voices among Wales’ fan base will get louder as Gibraltar avoided defeat for the first time since beating Andorra in November 2022

Page named a youthful side boasting only 44 caps and Wales ended a frustrating afternoon at the Estadio Algarve with Brennan Johnson, Daniel James and Kieffer Moore on the pitch desperately seeking a goal.

Liverpool’s Lewis Koumas was also sent on from the bench for the final 17 minutes and the teenager almost marked his debut with a winner six minutes after his arrival, but Gibraltar goalkeeper Jaylan Hankins reacted well to push his effort wide.

The two sides had met as recently as last October – their only previous contest – when Wales coasted to a 4-0 win in Wrexham.

Bolton midfielder Josh Sheehan took over the armband, winning only his sixth cap and first as a starter, and full-backs Fin Stevens and Jay Dasilva made debuts.

Koumas and 17-year-old Leeds midfielder Charlie Crew would also win first caps on a day when none of Wales’ starting line-up had played in the Premier League in the season just finished.

The pace of Rabbi Matondo, Wales’ most