With confirmation that Rob Page has now left his post as Wales manager, attention now turns to who will be in the dugout at Cardiff City Stadium for Wales’ opening Nations League fixture against Turkey on September 6^th.

However, plenty of fans will spend the day reminiscing about the good times in Page’s four years in charge of Wales.

And yes, there were plenty! 45 games in charge, 26 as a interim and 19 since he was made permanent manager in September 2022, including a EUROs and a first World Cup since 1958.

Page’s record for Wales ends with an neat 15 wins, 15 draws, and 15 losses in his 45 games, with the highs of Ukraine and Finland obscured by the lows of Armenia and Iran.

Here’s a few of the very best of Cymru under Rob Page:

Wales 2-0 Turkey – EURO 2020, June 2021

After taking over the job as interim head coach in November 2020, Page had only managed eight Wales games prior to leading his country to EURO 2020.

After an obviously nervy opening performance against Switzerland that was rescued by a Kieffer Moore header, Wales comprehensively out-played Turkey in Baku, scoring at the end of both halves, through Aaron Ramsey and Conor Roberts.

Both goals, though, were owed to the magic of Gareth Bale (shock!), as the Wales captain played a glorious ball over the top for Ramsey’s opener, before then beating two Turkey defenders from a short corner and laying the ball off for Roberts to sweep home.

Wales would lose their next two games against eventual champions Italy and semi-finalists Denmark in the round of 16, but for the fans who made the long, arduous journey out to Baku, the Turkey result will stay with them for a long time.

Wales 2-1 Austria – World Cup Qualifying Play-Off, March 2022

Having placed second behind Belgium in qualifying, Wales were drawn in a qualifying bracket with Austria, Scotland, and Ukraine.

With a favourable draw and a home final to come, Page went for broke. He picked a midfield three of Ramsey, Harry Wilson, and Joe Allen in by far Page’s boldest selection of his tenure.

Wales were once again indebted to the brilliance of Bale, whose freekick in the 25^th minute lifted the roof off of the Cardiff City Stadium, before he belted in a second just after halftime to seal the result.

Marcel Sabitzer’s deflected effort could not stir visitors into a comeback, as Wales celebrated and dreamt of a second ever World Cup. Speaking of which…

Wales 1-0 Ukraine – World Cup Qualifying Play-Off, June 2022

Another tight game separated by a moment from Bale. After a cagey opening twenty minutes or so, Wales were starting to purr. Kieffer Moore had come into the side from the Austria win and his link up with Dan James and Gareth Bale was causing the Ukraine defence problems.

When Bale lined up a freekick from 30 yards, many instinctively knew what would happen next. But this was not a freekick in the mould of Slovenia and England at EURO 2016 or even Austria the previous match, this one was deflected off Ukraine captain Andriy Yarmolenko.

Somehow, this goal embodied that Page team: not exactly pretty, but gritty, effective, and able to get a result at all costs.

Wales 1-1 USA – World Cup 2022, November 2022

So, onto to Qatar and a first World Cup for 64 years. Page’s team were drawn in a very tough group: England, Iran, and the United States.

Their first match against USA was a memory to last a lifetime for the thousands of Wales away. Timothy Weah’s first half goal put a dampener on things, but Wales came out firing in the second period.

Attacking the Wales end, Ben Davies and Moore went close with headers before Bale was fouled by Walker Zimmerman with ten minutes to go.

There was only ever one man to take the penalty and score a first World Cup goal for Wales since Terry Medwin in 1958. Bale slammed the ball into the top right corner and the Red Wall erupted.

Defeats to Iran and England spelt the end of Wales’ World Cup campaign, but the joy of that Bale goal will never be forgotten.

Wales 4-1 Finland – EURO 2024 Qualifying Play-Off, March 2024

Wales suffered a post-World Cup hangover, needing a the latest of equalisers from Nathan Broadhead to draw with Croatia, before losing 4-2 at home to Armenia and 2-0 in Turkey.

They showed character to rally, however, beating Latvia and Croatia before draws with Armenia and Turkey gave them a spot in the play-offs.

The semi-final against Finland was perhaps the most free-flowing Wales ever looked under Page. Much of the build-up centred around whether Moore would start up-front, but Page gambled with a fluid front three of Brennan Johnson, Harry Wilson, and David Brooks.

Brooks opened the scoring after just three minutes, sweeping home a rebound, before Nico Williams’ freekick sent the Canton stand into raptures. Teemu Pukki gave Wales a scare before Johnson and James sealed the result for Wales in the second half.

Unfortunately for Wales, and Page, the final against Poland a week later was lost on penalties, with Dan James the only man to miss. After failing to qualify for EURO 2024, every poor result would be followed by questions about Page’s role, and it appears the dismal draw with Gibraltar and pitiful 4-0 loss in Slovakia was the last straw.