Rob Page was honest about his side’s performance yesterday, saying that he was “disappointed” by his side’s laboured display in their 0-0 draw with Gibraltar in Portugal yesterday.

“They are entitled to their opinion, absolutely. I get it, I completely get it,” Page said when asked about him and his side being booed at halftime and the final whistle

“I’m a Welsh supporter as well as the manager, I’m disappointed. But I have to keep saying about the bigger picture and I’ll probably get criticised for that.

“It’s the bigger picture and we’re not going to lose focus on what we’ve done.”

There were some positives: five new caps for Tom King, Fin Stevens, Jay Dasilva, Charlie Crew, and Lewis Koumas.

After failing to qualify for the 2024 European Championships, thanks to penalty heartbreak against Poland, this latest result heaps more pressure on Rob Page.

 “If you’ve got a business plan and a long-term plan you can’t be emotional,” Page added.

“That’s a question you should ask the board or the chief exec or the president, not myself. I’m not going to lose focus on the long-term plan we’ve got.

“It’s a draw against a Gibraltar team that we’re really disappointed with and our focus is on getting the team and squad ready for September to win Nations League games.”

Whatever Page says, fans will point towards some pretty damning stats that outline Wales’ recent struggles. Sportin Wales have compiled some of them below:

203rd

The top line is that Wales failed to beat Gibraltar, who are the 203rd ranked team in the world, compared to Wales, who are 29th. Not only that, but this same Wales side beat yesterday’s opponents 4-0 at Y Cae Ras last October.

There were four debuts that day, one less than yesterday, with the likes of Joe Low, Wes Burns, Charlie Savage, and Liam Cullen appearing from the start in both games.

15

Wales had fifteen corners against Gibraltar and struggled to create much from any of them. Even with the introduction of Kieffer Moore – by far Rob Page’s biggest aerial threat – Wales failed to create a clear chance from set pieces.

In fact, the closest Wales came closest to a goal, not from a headed chance, but when captain Josh Sheehan’s corner hit the inside of the post, having looped over everyone in the six-yard box.

50

Before yesterday, Gibraltar had never avoided defeat against any team ranked inside the top 50 teams in the world. Ouch.

78.8%

Wales had 78.8% possession against Gibraltar and, for a team that tends towards a counter-attacking style under Page, their lack of ideas showed.

With Rabbi Matondo, Burns, Cullen, and Rubin Colwill playing across a fluid front four, Wales were not able to get the ball to them in dangerous areas nearly enough for the amount of possession they had.

Sheehan and Savage in the middle of the park had plenty of the ball but often passed sideways to Stevens and Dasilva on the flanks, rather than finding forward, penetrative passes forward.

4

Despite all the possession at 17 shots, Wales only managed to get four on target. Second half substitute Lewis Koumas came closest with his turn and shot shortly after coming on, but Gibraltar ‘keeper Jaylan Hankins needed to be tested far more than he was for Wales to win in a manner befitting their stature in international football.

1.13

From their 17 shots, Wales accumulated an xG of 1.13. That means each of Wales’ shots had an average likelihood of going in of just 6%.

Wales struggled to enter the Gibraltar box at all and especially through the middle of the pitch. They missed a target forward in the mould of Kieffer Moore to swing crosses into the box – their usual method for generating shots.