Pressure mounts on Rob Page as Wales thrashed by Slovakia

Wales boss Rob Page remains under huge pressure after his side were hammered at the hands of a rampant Slovakia on Sunday night.

Juraj Kucka put the hosts in front just before the interval, before a second-half collapse saw the hosts extend their lead through Robert Bozenik, before Ethan Ampadu’s own goal and Laszlo Benes’ late strike completed another miserable evening for Wales.

Missing out on the upcoming European Championships meant this summer was already shaping up to be a disappointing one for Welsh football. But after blundering through a desperately poor stalemate against minnows Gibraltar, this thumping in Trnava will have undoubtedly provided Page’s critics with further ammunition.

The Wales boss unsurprisingly made seven changes for his clash against a Slovakia side currently preparing for Euro 2024. Fin Stevens, Jay Dasilva, Josh Sheehan and Ben Cabango the only survivors from Thursday’s fiasco in Faro.

But Wales remained worryingly lacking in cohesion or effervescence for much of the evening, and simply made it too easy for their far superior hosts, who were seldom troubled.

Page may once again turn to his line that this is a Wales side in transition after this latest challenging night. But it increasingly feels like an assertion that is falling on deaf, or at best unsympathetic, ears.

The deeply problematic idea that this side was a penalty kick away from joining Sunday’s opponents in Germany next week feels a similarly tired soundbite. A half-hearted attempt to divert attention away from the obvious shortcomings that manifested during the qualifying campaign.

The boos that greeted the conclusion of what many would consider to be one of the most straightforward assignments in international football in Portugal, suggested many had already made up their mind on Page, and this result will have done little to win the boo boys over. Indeed, many of the travelling contingent once again voiced their frustrations at the away dugout.

And yet, for what it’s worth, Wales actually started quite well here, although it was Danny Ward who was the first goalkeeper to be called upon, getting down neatly enough to deny Bozenik after just four minutes.

But otherwise, it was a fairly decent opening gambit. Ampadu, captaining the side on his return to the starting XI showed plenty of poise alongside Cabango in defence. Daniel James showed some energy out wide. Kieffer Moore was his usual combative self inside the box.

It was a quietly positive start, albeit one that still didn’t really leave the hosts too troubled. Indeed, Slovakia actually thought they’d taken the lead on 26 minutes when Hancko headed home, only for the offside flag to come to the rescue for the visitors.

Bozenik perhaps should have done better with his effort just a few moments later, somehow conspiring to send a header high and wide after ghosting past Cabango.

But after surviving a flurry of Slovakian corners, Wales did start to show a little urgency. In fact, they would have surely taken the lead shortly after half an hour had Moore’s brilliant header not been tipped over the bar by Martin Dubravka

A series of corners followed, and suddenly it was Wales who seemed to have a bit of momentum.

But they would ultimately head into the interval behind, as the hosts conjured up a goal seemingly from nothing on the stroke of half-time.

A smart move down the left allowed Kucka to line up a shot from 25 yards, and Ward, wrong-footed, could only watch as the ball nestled into the net.

Wales had the crossbar to thank just after the break, after Vavro’s header was denied following Ondrej Duda’s corner, but they were nevertheless unable to prevent the collapse that was to come.

Indeed, Slovakia’s baffling level of dominance of the opening 15 minutes of the second half meant there was an odd sense of inevitability when Bozenik turned home the second with a smart near-post finish.

Four minutes later, it was three. A high ball into the box dropped for Lukas Haraslin, who attempted a spectacular volley that then fell kindly for Bozenik inside the six-yard box, although the Slovakian number nine was seemingly relieved of his goalscoring duties by the onrushing Ampadu, who appeared to get the final touch and bundle the ball past Ward.

Page responded by hauling off anonymous duo Nathan Broadhead and Brennan Johnson for Lewis Koumas and Wes Burns, the latter of whom managed to force a smart save from Dubravka at his near post on 68 minutes.

But Wales never really looked serious in their attempts to get back in it, and when Benes rattled home a fourth from 25 yards with the final kick of the game, there were few complaints.

It’s been a chastening summer for Wales and Page. What’s perhaps most worrying is that it’s not entirely clear where they go from here. A team in transition? Perhaps. But having seen his side back up the stalemate with Gibraltar with their heaviest defeat in three years, Page is clearly in real danger of losing his bid to show that this transition is a positive one.

Slovakia: Dubravka; Pekarik, Vavro (De Marco 77), Skriniar, Hancko (Obert 71); Kucka (Bero 82), Lobotka, Duda (Benes 71); Schranz (Suslov 71), Bozenik (Tupta 77), Haraslin

Subs: Rodak, Ravas, Rigo, Gyomber, Hrosovsky, Strelec, Duris, Sauer, Kosa

Wales: Ward; Stevens, Ampadu (c), Cabango, Dasilva; J. James, Sheehan; Johnson (Koumas 62), Broadhead (Burns 62), D.James (Cullen 71); Moore

Sub: King, Davies, Low, Baker, Crew, Savage, Colwill, Matondo

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