Wales ‘raring to go’ after holding meeting to address Armenia defeat

Rob Page has revealed the Wales squad held a meeting to address “what needed to be said” after the Armenia debacle and discuss how to get their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign back on track against Turkey.

Wales endured a shock heavy 4-2 defeat at home against Armenia on Friday but Page is adamant it was nothing more than a “massive bump” in the road for a young squad. Wales face Turkey in Samsun, on the Black Sea, on Monday as Page seeks a reaction from his players and a much-needed victory.

“We had a group meeting yesterday [on Saturday] and addressed what needed to be said, we’ve put it to bed and full focus is on the challenge tomorrow evening and we’ll all be ready for it,” Page said.

“We have to bounce back straight away and all stick together. As long as we don’t get too carried away with positive performances and results like against Croatia [a 1-1 draw], too disappointed with defeats and keep a level head we’ll come through the other side and be OK. What I want is a reaction from the players, and that is in the performance. If they do that the result will take care of itself.

“We showed our potential in March [by taking four points from a possible six], we are still a young group so there are going to be inconsistencies, there are going to be bumps along the way. Friday was a massive bump, but now we stick together as a group. We will look to put it right tomorrow, but if we can’t get the win I want a level of performance that the supporters can be proud of and build on it.”

Wales are third in Group D, behind leaders Turkey and Croatia, who have played a game fewer owing to their involvement in the Nations League final. Page has conceded Wales probably need to win in Turkey to keep maintain their hopes of