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Rob Page reveals the reason for Gareth Bale’s half-time substitution.
Wales boss Rob Page revealed that Gareth Bale was withdrawn at half-time in the World Cup defeat to England due to a hamstring injury.
Bale came into the World Cup with very little recent football under his belt, and that appeared to catch up with him in the 3-0 defeat.
Brennan Johnson took over after he left the action at halftime, although Page claimed that was not his choice.
“Five minutes before half-time, Gareth felt his hamstring,” Page told BBC Sport about Bale’s substitution. “Joe Allen and Ben Davies had to come off as well. It was a massive effort from all the group and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Wales‘ poor World Cup was capped off by the loss; throughout Qatar, they exuded the feeling of a team at the end of an era.
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For Page, however, qualifying was the actual accomplishment, and he claims the current issue is to ensure it is not an isolated incident.
“It’s very tough to take at this moment in time,” he said. “I thought in the first half we were outstanding – the effort we put in without the ball was exceptional.
“We could have kept the ball better but I won’t have a bad word said about that group of players; they’ve given everything today. The second goal disappoints me a little bit, but I don’t want to talk about negatives today.
“My message is: don’t do disappointed. We’ll build again for the future now, and to get to the World Cup is an unbelievable achievement for that group of players.