Wout Weghorst heads late winner as Wales slip to defeat by Netherlands

With 165 days to go until Wales kick off their World Cup campaign against the United States at the Al Rayyan Stadium in Qatar, every game counts as preparation. Gareth Bale entered for the final 18 minutes as a much-changed team to the one that overcame Ukraine on Sunday were edged out by the Netherlands, who won after a topsy-turvy finish in which Wout Weghorst headed in a stoppage-time winner seconds after Rhys Norrington-Davies had cancelled out Tuen Koopmeiners’s smart opener. This was Wales’s first home defeat since November 2018, but there is a much bigger picture now at play.

The atmosphere was always going to be muted in comparison to the feverish scenes here on Sunday, but fans on the concourses were still revelling in stories from an unforgettable night – for many this game served as an extension of the celebrations. Before kick-off Wales supporters serenaded Danny Ward, one of seven changes from the team that edged past Ukraine, but Leicester’s goalkeeper was replaced by Stoke City’s Adam Davies at the interval.

Gareth Bale started on the bench, while Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen and Neco Williams were among those rested and omitted from the squad altogether. Ben Davies, who performed heroically last time out, wore the captain’s armband. The Netherlands, fresh from destroying Belgium in Brussels, made wholesale changes. Virgil van Dijk was absent after being granted leave by Louis van Gaal but Memphis Depay and Frenkie de Jong were among the substitutes.

Wales began on the front foot and in the third minute Daniel James sped forward but was blocked off on halfway by the Netherlands debutant, Jordan Teze of PSV Eindhoven. James was on the end of a similar incident in an almost identical position against Ukraine,