Wales is set to play its second World Cup in 64 years. The architect behind this miracle is coach Robert Page, who played for Cardiff City, Coventry City and Huddersfield Town. He made 41 appearances for Wales and retired in 2006.
Page hails from Tylorstown, Pentre, a former mining village of Jimmy Murphy, a key member of Wales’ 1958 World Cup campaign.
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Starting his coaching career with Port Vale, he went on to manage lower-division teams like AFC Wimbledon, Northampton and Vale Park. In March 2015, he took up a coaching assignment with the Wales U-21 team. After that Page worked his way up to being appointed as the assistant manager of Ryan Giggs.
A former defender, Page became a caretaker manager of Wales after Giggs was arrested in November 2020. Beginning his full-fledged managerial career, Page was given responsibility for three international matches in March 2021. In April, he was formally appointed as the head coach of Wales. His preferred formation is 4-2-3-1.
A hugely respected man among the players, the 48-year-old guided Wales to Euro 2020 pre-quarterfinals but lost to Denmark 0-4.
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In June 2022, Wales beat Ukraine 1-0 in the playoff to qualify for the Qatar World Cup, its first since 1958.
It will be interesting to see if Page can inspire Wales to pull off an upset in the World Cup, where the team is clubbed in Group B along with the USA, Iran and neighbouring England.
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