FIFA WC: Rob Page hails players' efforts against England

Wales head coach, Rob Page appreciated the effort his team's players put in and termed them outstanding for playing their hearts out against England.

Page refused to talk negatively about the Welsh players and commended them for their extraordinary effort while labelling the loss a tough pill to swallow.

"It's very tough to take. In the first half, we were outstanding, the effort the players put in off the ball was exceptional. We could have been a little bit better on the ball, but I won't say a bad word about those players, they have given everything today," said Page, quoted by ESPN as reported by BBC.

He lauded the team's first-half performance where they did not concede a goal and expressed his disappointment over Wales's early exit from the World Cup.

"I don't want to talk about negatives, the boys put a shift in. we're disappointed to leave the tournament but if we're going to go out, that's the way to go out, our first-half performance was excellent," mentioned the head coach.

The coach informed about Gareth Bale's injury and said, "Five minutes before half-time [Gareth Bale] felt his hamstring. Joe Allen threw everything at it in his first 90 minutes in ages. Ben Davies had to come off with an injury. It was a massive effort from all the group. To get here is a massive achievement. I couldn't be more proud of them."

Marcus Rashford scored a brace to guide England to a thumping 3-0 victory over Wales at the Al-Rayyan Stadium in a Group B clash on Wednesday.

Wales' first-ever World Cup campaign in 64 years ended with a defeat as England are set to face Senegal in the round of 16 encounters.

England came out all guns blazing in the second half and found the back of the net through Manchester United star Rashford in the 50th minute of tyhe game. The forward delivered a perfect freekick as he managed to get past the Wales goalkeeper with the perfect trajectory on the ball.

Foden dealt another blow in the 52nd minute as he tapped the ball into the goal after receiving a beautiful cross from England captain Harry Kane.

Rashford displayed his superb football skills in the 68th minute as he went past a group of Welish defenders to score his second goal of the match, piling on the agony for Wales.

The English team hardly dropped a beat after the third goal as they went on to clinch the game, knocking Wales out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.