Euro 2024 agony for Wales trio - but it's not over yet...
Wed 22 November 2023, 09:30|
Tottenham Hotspur
Ben Davies, Brennan Johnson and Joe Rodon found their direct path to Euro 2024 closed on a tough night in Cardiff - but they can still reach next summer's showpiece in Germany via play-offs.
Wales needed results to go their way in the final round of qualifying matches in Group D.
First up, the Red Dragons needed to beat group winners Turkey and then hope that Croatia dropped points against Armenia. In the end, it wasn't to be though as Wales were held 1-1 by Turkey and Croatia struck late to beat Armenia 1-0 in Zagreb.
That meant Turkey stayed top on 17 points, Croatia joined them in Germany after clinching second place in the group on 16 and Wales finished third on 12.
Wales will host Ukraine, Finland or Iceland in a one-legged play-off semi-final on 21 March. If they win that, they will face Poland or Estonia - with home advantage to be decided via a draw this Thursday - in another one-off tie five days later, with the winner securing their place at next summer's tournament in Germany.
The scoreline doesn't really tell the full story of events at Cardiff City Stadium.
Needing that win, Nico Williams gave Wales the perfect start with the opener on seven minutes. Brennan was then bundled over by Samet Akaydin but penalty appeals were waved away by referee Matej Jug. Brennan then forced substitute goalkeeper Altay Bayindir into smart saves either side of half-time.
It was still 1-0 when Turkey were awarded a penalty - a cross came in from the left, collected by Danny Ward. Kenan Yildiz had gone down as he ran past Ben to try and get to the cross and the referee decided this time there was enough contact to point to the spot. Yusuf Yazici made no mistake from 12 yards to level it at 1-1. Brennan then went through on 84 minutes and clipped home off the post, only for the offside flag to go up, correctly - it wasn't his, or Wales', night.
