Owen Farrell is criticised unfairly and should receive greater acclaim after leading England into the World Cup semi-finals, according to attack coach Richard Wigglesworth.

Farrell vindicated his selection ahead of George Ford at fly-half with a man-of-the-match display in Sunday’s 30-24 victory over Fiji, landing a crucial drop-goal and penalty as part of a 20-point haul.

England’s captain kicked and passed with accuracy throughout and had a hand in Manu Tuilagi’s opening try – all in defiance of the booing that greeted his name being read out on the pre-match tannoy at Stade Velodrome.

The fans’ response was typical of a player who divides opinion, but he was outstanding as England dug themselves out of trouble against Fiji and Wigglesworth feels he does not get the credit he deserves.

“We are lucky to have Owen. As ever, the tallest trees catch the most wind and he seems to catch a fair bit of it,” Wigglesworth said.

“He’s proven time and time and time again and I don’t understand why in England we feel the need to not celebrate that, not enjoy it, just because he’s not sat in front of social media or the media lapping all that up.

“He is incredibly serious abut his career, he is an incredibly proud Englishman. He affects any team he is in and he was brilliant for us – as we knew he would be.

“That was the maddening part of any noise. We knew what was coming from him.”

South Africa await in the last four and enter the rematch of the 2019 final as strong favourites following their monumental victory over France in Paris on Sunday night.

The tournament has lost its magic with the demise of France, Fiji and Ireland, but England will not care as they continue to surpass expectations, progressing as the only unbeaten team.

A fifth appearance in the final appears an unlikely prospect, however, with Wigglesworth aware of the challenge ahead.

“How special is it to be able to beat France, with the form they are in and in their own backyard? That was a special performance from an incredible team,” Wigglesworth said.

“We are probably talking about one of the best rugby teams to ever do it aren’t we? The strength of their game and how they play is well known, but in the last year or so you’ve seen a massive evolution in what they do.

“They’ve started adding things to their game with how they move the ball and how they exit, all different things so they’ve now got more variety.

“They’ve got multiple threats now and that’s probably why they are aiming to be one of the best ever.”

England are hoping to have a clean bill of health against South Africa with players undergoing medical checks on Monday morning.

Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith has revealed he was not surprised to see Frankie Dettori extend his riding career and is relishing the prospect of locking horns with the Italian again when he relocates to California.

Dettori was due to hang up his saddle following a year-long retirement roadshow which started in America last winter and has taken in far-flung places such as Hungary and Sweden during the height of the European summer.

His last day riding in the UK remains scheduled to be Qipco British Champions Day before taking to the road for the Breeders’ Cup, Melbourne Cup and Hong Kong’s valuable international meeting in December.

However, the 52-year-old has U-turned on his decision to retire completely and will head to America to be based out of Santa Anita, as he was during a successful spell earlier in the year which saw him finish second in their jockey standings.

Having seen first hand how well Dettori was riding and enjoying his time in the US, the man who partnered Justify to Triple Crown glory in 2018 is delighted to see his long-time weighing-room rival return Stateside.

“I chose to ride a little longer and if he has done as well then that’s wonderful,” said Smith.

“He was welcomed here with open arms when he came last time and he was an amazing addition to American racing.

“He came in and adapted well and was winning races left and right and was having a really fun time doing it.

“So I can’t say I am shocked and you could say the writing was on the wall a long time ago maybe.

“I say that just because he was having such a good time here and I thought if you stay healthy and in good shape, which he is, then you can keep riding for a good few more years.”

Dettori has highlighted winning the Kentucky Derby as one of his main ambitions for making the switch to America permanently.

And although admitting it may be a tough ask, Smith – who has partnered two winners of the Run for the Roses – believes there is no reason why Dettori can not stumble across a Churchill Downs candidate while still riding at the peak of his powers.

He added: “Winning the Derby is hard and whether that is winning the Derby here or a Derby in Europe.

“It’s extremely hard, but it can be done and for a rider with his talent, it’s not like you need to get to know him. He’s already proven he rides the dirt every bit as good as he rides the grass and all it takes is one good opportunity on a really good horse – and we all know what a good horse can do for a jockey.”

The 58-year-old Smith is also embracing the chance to ride against his slightly younger rival once again and cannot wait to welcome him back into the US weighing room.

He explains how he understands Dettori’s decision to continue riding, admitting he has no desire to hang up his own saddle while still enjoying the thrill of competition.

“There’s nothing like great competition with great, wonderful people. It makes you rise to the occasion and makes you a better rider yourself. I look forward to him coming,” continued Smith.

“He always brings excitement to the jocks room wherever he goes, he’s fun to have around. It’s going to be great and I’m happy for him. As long as he’s happy and it’s what he wants to do, then I’m all for it.

“At my age, and I’m older than he is, I’m enjoying it every bit now as I did back then.

“I don’t ride as many as I used to, but you can still ride quality and there’s just nothing quite like riding a wonderful horse – and the only way you will get that feeling is to be on one and doing it.

“When you do hang it all up, you will never feel that again, so I’m going to hang on as long as possible myself.”

Wales hero Harry Wilson has backed manager Rob Page and says he has the full support of his players while taking an apparent swipe at the Association’s chief executive Noel Mooney.

Page’s position came under the spotlight before Wales’ stunning 2-1 home win over Croatia in Euro 2024 qualifying on Sunday.

Mooney revealed that Page’s future will be reviewed next month should Wales fail in their bid to qualify automatically for next summer’s tournament.

Captain Ben Davies said on the eve of the Croatia game that Mooney’s comments were “not helpful”, a point picked up on by Wilson after the Fulham forward had scored twice to lift Wales into the second automatic qualifying spot in Group D.

“We’re 100 per cent behind the manager,” Wilson told S4C after Wales’ win over the world’s sixth-ranked team.

“We know there’s been a lot of noise from the outside and some comments that weren’t helpful for us in our preparation from people we didn’t really expect the comments to come from to be honest.”

Wilson marked his 50th Wales appearance with a first brace for his country, a deft chip over Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic and a glancing header from Daniel James’ cross taking his goal tally to eight.

It came 10 years to the day since Wilson made his debut against Belgium to become Wales’ youngest-ever player at the age of 16 years and 207 days.

Wilson said: “It was a big night for me personally, representing my country 50 times is something I couldn’t have dreamed of. I’m super proud of that.

“But it wasn’t about me, it was about the team and putting on the performance we all wanted.”

Wales’ victory over the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists puts automatic qualification for the European Championship in their own hands going into the final two group games.

They meet Armenia in Yerevan on November 18 before hosting group leaders Turkey in Cardiff three days later.

Turkey’s 4-0 win over Latvia on Sunday secured qualification for next summer’s showpiece in Germany.

Wales will join them by winning their final two games, even if Croatia do likewise against Latvia and Armenia next month.

Teams are ranked according to their head-to-head performance if level on points.

Wales drew 1-1 away to Croatia in March and took four points from them – and would actually top the group by winning their final two games.

Wilson said: “We watched their game on Thursday night (Croatia lost 1-0 at home to Turkey) and the result went against us. So we knew we had to produce something special and thankfully we’ve done that.”

John Quinn has confirmed Highfield Princess will sidestep a trip to the Breeders’ Cup in favour of a tilt at the Hong Kong Sprint in December.

The popular mare won three times at Group One level last season – landing the Prix Maurice de Gheest, the Nunthorpe and the Flying Five Stakes – before rounding off her campaign with a creditable fourth place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland in November.

She was beaten in her first three starts of this season and had to make do with the runner-up spot behind the Breeders’ Cup-bound Live In The Dream when defending her Nunthorpe crown in August, but was last seen adding to her top-level tally in the Prix de l’Abbaye at ParisLongchamp a fortnight ago.

Connections considered a possible second tilt at Breeders’ Cup glory, but Highfield Princess will instead be readied for a first assignment in the Far East.

“All being well, we’re going to go to Hong Kong with her,” said Quinn.

“It gives the mare a bit longer, which is probably the main thing. It’s six furlongs in Hong Kong and the ground can be rattling hard in America – at Santa Anita it can be like the road. We just thought all in all we’d plump for Hong Kong.

“She’s come out of the Abbaye well, she’s in great nick so we’re happy. We just want to keep her in good form and have her in good nick and we’ll give it a twirl.”

Charlie Longsdon’s much-loved staying chaser Snow Leopardess has been retired.

The mare was a unique figure amongst National Hunt horses as she had a foal in the earlier stages of her career and then returned to training.

The grey was owned by the Fox-Pitt family and bred by Marietta Fox-Pitt, mother of event rider William and mother-in-law to broadcaster and former rider Alice Plunkett.

Snow Leopardess won nine times throughout her career, including in bumpers, over hurdles and fences.

Those victories included a Listed win in the Virgin Bet Mares’ Chase at Exeter and a memorable Grade Three triumph after a fantastic round of jumping in the 2021 Becher Chase.

She was also narrowly beaten in both the Haydock Grand National Trial and Wetherby’s Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase, as well as latterly turning her hand to the cross-country course at Cheltenham.

“She’s retired now, she’s back home and she just didn’t owe us anything,” Longsdon said.

“She had a few soundness issues at the end but she’s just been the most amazing servant.

“She’s with Mrs Fox Pitt, Alice’s mother-in-law, and she’ll go to stud in the spring.

“All good things have to come to an end. They were amazing days, a lot of fun.”

The foal Snow Leopardess had during the break in her career was a filly by Sir Percy named Red Panda, who is in training with Longsdon and will make her bumper debut in the early stages of the season.

“We’ve got her daughter in training now and hopefully we’ll have more of her family in years to come,” the trainer said.

“Red Panda is only a youngster and she’ll probably start in a bumper in a month or six weeks’ time.”

When lacrosse made its Olympic debut in St Louis in 1904 the bronze medal was won by a team of Mohawk Indians whose names included Snake Eater, Rain in Face and Man Afraid Soap.

Well over a century later, the sport is preparing to return to the official Games programme in Los Angeles in 2028 in a form that would have been wholly unrecognisable to its Native American pioneers.

What is said to have started as a game involving hundreds of participants who chased a ball wrapped in deer-hide over miles-wide courses, often for days on end, has been compacted for Olympic purposes into a fast-paced, half-hour, six-a-side showpiece.

Lacrosse sixes, which was developed as a variant of the established 10-a-side format, featured in last year’s World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, and has been confirmed as one of five new sports by the International Olympic Committee.

Great Britain’s men’s and women’s sides both finished fourth in the World Games, raising the prospect of real medal potential, and the kind of improved profile and potentially also funding that until recently would have seemed unthinkable for generations of domestic lacrosse players.

“It’s an immense moment for the sport and Olympic inclusion will give the sport the kind of global recognition we as players have always felt it deserves,” England’s Emma Oakley, who plays for Hawks Lacrosse Club in Richmond, west London, told the PA news agency.

“Since the sixes game has been introduced everyone has got fully on board with it. It is such an exciting version of the sport, it condenses all of its best elements and it is exceptionally viewable for people who are new to lacrosse.”

Sixes is played over four, eight-minute quarters and continues the evolution of the game, which was dropped as a full Olympic sport in 1908 but subsequently made three more appearances as a demonstration event, most recently in 1948, when England and the United States played out a 5-5 draw at Wembley.

Despite its changes, the sport retains huge popularity among Native American communities. The Haudenosaunee, a team representing the Iroquois Confederacy, regularly competes in international tournaments and is currently ranked inside the world top 10 in both men and women.

“As a young girl when I started in the sport I always knew lacrosse had been in the Olympics but I never dreamed it would be back, and it is lovely to have that legacy from so long ago,” continued Oakley.

“I loved the sport from the moment I started and it is great to think that along with the Lionesses and the Red Roses, who have allowed girls to see women competing on a global stage, lacrosse can become another option.”

Although Canada and the United States tend to dominate over the more traditional format, sixes has created realistic opportunities for other nations, with Japan and Australia pipping Britain to bronze medals in Alabama.

British Lacrosse chairman Leslie Rance described Olympic inclusion as a “watershed moment” for the sport in this country and the end of a “long, long wait” to return to the programme.

“We know there is a lot of work to do over the coming years, firstly to qualify for the Games and then to ensure we are prepared to compete for medals,” said Rance.

“But I know that our team of coaches, support staff and players are ready for the exciting challenges which lie ahead.”

Cricket, squash, baseball/softball, lacrosse and flag football will all be included in the Olympic programme at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

The proposal was approved at the IOC Session in Mumbai on Monday, with only two delegates voting against the new events.

Cricket returns to the Games for the first time in 128 years in the form of six-team men’s and women’s T20 tournaments, lacrosse for the first time as a medal sport since 1908 while baseball has featured at the Olympics several times.

Flag football, a non-contact format of American football, and squash are included for the first time.

What the papers say

Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe is catching the eyes of Premier League rivals. According to the Daily Mirror, Newcastle are keen on the 23-year-old England international.

Manchester City could benefit if Liverpool make a move for their former winger Leroy Sane, 27. A sell-on clause means City will make more than £8 million if the German international makes the mover from Bayern Munich to Anfield.

Eric Dier could be handed a way out of his Tottenham exile in January, according to The Sun. The England defender, 29, has not played under new manager Ange Postecoglou but could head to Roma for a reunion with former boss Jose Mourinho.

Scott McTominay appears to be going nowhere in January. The Manchester United midfielder, 26, came close to a £50 million move to West Ham in the summer, but the Daily Star reports manager Erik ten Hag has ruled out any new-year deal.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Tomas Soucek: Inter Milan are being linked to the Czech midfielder, 28, but West Ham are looking to step up talks on a new contract.

Florian Wirtz: Barcelona and Bayern Munich are both keen on the 20-year-old Germany midfielder at Bayer Leverkusen.

The last perfect records vanished in the NFL as the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles both fell to surprise defeats.

Brock Purdy suffered his first defeat as a starter as rookie Jake Moody’s 41-yard field goal miss saw the 49ers go down 19-17 at the Cleveland Browns.

The end of a 15-game regular season winning streak also saw star running back Christian McCaffrey – who earlier made it 15-straight games with a touchdown – injure his oblique and rib, wide receiver Deebo Samuel leave with a shoulder injury and tackle Trent Williams suffer an ankle injury.

PJ Walker, who came off Cleveland’s practice squad to replace the injured Deshaun Watson at quarterback, outplayed Purdy as Dustin Hopkins kicked four field goals for the Browns, capped off with the winner one minute and 40 seconds from full-time.

The Eagles fell to their first defeat in 13 meetings against the New York Jets as Breece Hall ran for an eight-yard touchdown with one minute and 46 seconds left on the clock – topped off with Zach Wilson finding Randall Cobb on a two-point conversion to make it 20-14.

Hall’s score came a play after Tony Adams had intercepted Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and returned it 45 yards.

Josh Allen engineered two lengthy scoring drives as the Buffalo Bills battled to a 14-9 victory over the New York Giants.

Quinton Morris caught a 15-yard touchdown pass to put the Bills ahead with just under four minutes remaining, the Giants failing from first and goal with the final drive of the game.

The Miami Dolphins are 5-1 and top of the AFC East after they came from 14 points down to beat the winless Carolina Panthers 42-21, Tua Tagovailoa throwing for 262 yards with touchdown passes to three different receivers.

Trevor Lawrence threw for two touchdown passes and Travis Etienne ran for two more as the Jacksonville Jaguars beat AFC South rival the Indianapolis Colts 37-20 while the Houston Texans beat the Orleans Saints 20-13.

The Detroit Lions have made their best start to a season since 2011 after Jared Goff threw for 353 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 20-6 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, improving their NFC North-leading record to 5-1.

Kyren Williams ran for 158 yards and a touchdown while Cooper Kupp grabbed his first touchdown of the season as the Los Angeles Rams scored 23 unanswered points in the second half to beat the Arizona Cardinals 26-9.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder was intercepted three times as they went down 24-16 to the Washington Commanders, while the Las Vegas Raiders overcame the loss of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to beat the faltering New England Patriots 21-17.

The Cincinnati defence intercepted Geno Smith twice as the Bengals edged past the Seattle Seahawks 17-13, and the Chicago Bears lost quarterback Justin Fields as they went down 19-13 to the Minnesota Vikings.

Jordan Montgomery outpitched Justin Verlander with 6 1/3 shutout innings as the Texas Rangers took Game 1 of the American League Championship Series with Sunday's 2-0 win over the rival Houston Astros.

Leody Tavares backed Montgomery with a solo homer off Verlander as the red-hot Rangers improved to 6-0 during these playoffs after ending the regular season with an 18-24 finish.

That late slump enabled the defending World Series champion Astros to overtake Texas for the AL West title and home-field advantage for the series. Houston also won nine of 13 meetings with its fellow Lone Star State inhabitants during the regular season.

The Rangers got to Verlander in the second inning to take an early lead, as rookie Evan Carter legged out a double and crossed the plate on Jonah Heim's single. Tavares made it 2-0 by taking Verlander's offering over the right-field wall with one out in the fifth. 

Houston had its chances in between as it put two on in the third and loaded the bases in the fourth. Montgomery fanned All-Star slugger Yordan Alvarez to end the first threat, then struck out Martin Maldonado to put out the second after the Astros strung together three consecutive two-out singles.

The Astros didn't have another runner reach base off the left-hander, who retired the final eight hitters he faced while scattering five hits and a walk with six strikeouts. Three of those strikeouts came against Alvarez, who had gone 7 for 16 with four home runs in Houston's four-game dispatching of the Minnesota Twins in the Division Series.

A base-running blunder by Jose Altuve in the eighth ended the Astros' final good chance of the night.

Altuve drew a leadoff walk off Josh Sborz to prompt Rangers manager to summon reliever Aroldis Chapman, who was greeted by Alex Bregman's deep fly to left that was caught by Carter at the warning track. Altuve rounded second base on the play, but was called out after a replay review showed he failed to re-touch the bag while racing back to first.

Chapman finished off the inning without further damage before Jose Leclerc retired the Astros in order in the ninth.

Verlander lasted 6 2/3 innings and allowed six hits along with both Texas runs.

Game 2 of the series will take place Monday afternoon in Houston, which will send Framber Valdez to the mound opposite Nathan Eovaldi in a matchup of 2023 All-Stars. 

Damian Lillard scored 14 points in his first appearance in a Milwaukee Bucks uniform to help his new team to a 108-97 preseason victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

Lillard added three assists and three steals in 22 minutes in his first NBA game for any team other than the Portland Trail Blazers, who traded the seven-time All-Star guard to Milwaukee on Sept. 27.

The 33-year-old spent 11 seasons with Portland and finished his tenure with a franchise-record 19,376 points, while his 5,151 assists rank second in team history.

Lillard requested a trade from the rebuilding Trail Blazers in July and was eventually sent to the Bucks, where he joined two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and a well-stocked veteran roster in a deal that has Milwaukee the preseason favourite to win the Eastern Conference.

Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and grabbed eight rebounds in a game Milwaukee never trailed in the second half against a Lakers team playing without a resting LeBron James.

Anthony Davis paced Los Angeles, which also played without 2023 postseason star Austin Reaves, with 16 points and seven rebounds in just 19 minutes. The eight-team All-Star added five assists. 

 

Peter O’Mahony believes Ireland’s beaten World Cup squad have “left Irish rugby in a better place” as he left question marks hanging over his own Test future.

Saturday evening’s heartbreaking 28-24 quarter-final defeat to New Zealand in Paris crushed the dreams of Andy Farrell’s men to mark the end of an era.

Captain Johnny Sexton and wing Keith Earls are confirmed as heading into retirement, with O’Mahony one of 17 members of his country’s 33-man squad aged 30 or over.

The Munster captain, who won his 100th cap against Scotland last weekend, is excited by the potential of the next generation but is unsure whether he will continue at international level.

“There’s a great group of young players there,” said the 34-year-old.

“Lots of players who aren’t here but who were in our squad can step up to the plate as well. I’ve no doubt this team will have left Irish rugby in a better place.

“We’ve achieved a huge amount – there’s no other way of putting it. There’s disappointment, obviously, but I think we can be proud of where we’ve left the jersey.

 

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“It’s about honouring the jersey and I think this group have left it in a good place.

“Will I come back? We’ll see. It’s tough one to take, as a lot of my friends won’t be back so I’ve a contract to the end of the year and we’ll see how we go after that.”

Ireland looked to have their best opportunity of World Cup glory.

Farrell’s side had topped the global rankings since securing a historic tour success over the All Blacks last summer, a period which included a Six Nations Grand Slam and a 17-match winning run.

But once again they fell at the quarter-final hurdle.

Speaking of Sexton and Earls, flanker O’Mahony said: “It’s tough to lose these guys in these tough circumstances. I’ve spent a lot of time with himself (Earls) and Johnny obviously.

“Probably every one of my caps had one or two of them in it, if not all of them. It’s tough to lose fellas like that – big characters, big players for us.

“Most importantly, big people, the best type of people, fellas who have your back all the time, good friends of mine, so it’s tough to say goodbye to them.

“It is the end of an era. You’ve a group of senior players who are moving on. There’s no other way of putting it.

“There’s a group of guys who won’t play for Ireland again who’ve had an incredible impact on Irish rugby.”

O’Mahony, who won the first of his 101 Ireland caps in 2012 and represented the British and Irish Lions in 2017, felt the dejected post-match atmosphere was the “toughest” he has faced.

Yet he also put the disappointment into perspective.

“Andy spoke really well, about how proud we should be of the last few years,” he said.

 

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“I thought he was very professional and very positive to be fair. It’s a tough dressing room, probably the toughest I’ve been in, to be honest.

“It’s a terribly tough pill to swallow. But look, there’s worse things going on in the world. We’ll understand that over the next 24 to 48 hours.

“I’m sure there’s lots of kids who we’ve inspired to take up the game and who might be in this position in 15 to 20 years’ time and you can look back and be proud of that.”

Antoine Dupont criticised the standard of refereeing after France crashed out of their home World Cup with a heartbreaking single-point defeat to reigning champions South Africa in Paris.

The Springboks edged an epic contest at Stade de France 29-28 to set up a semi-final showdown with England.

Les Bleus captain Dupont suffered major disappointment on his highly-publicised return from a fractured cheekbone and felt substandard officiating was partly to blame.

Asked about the performance of New Zealand referee Ben O’Keefe, the scrum-half replied: “Well, what did you think of it?

“It’s hard to talk about things because there is a lot of disappointment, a lot of frustration.

“There were a few clear things where the whistle wasn’t blown.

“I don’t want to be a bad loser and moan about the refereeing but I’m not sure the level of refereeing was up the level of the game today.”

A disconsolate Dupont was pictured with his hands on his head at full-time and was later in tears as he was embraced by his parents.

The 26-year-old was back in action just 24 days since sustaining the serious facial injury which threatened to prematurely end his tournament, donning a scrum-cap for added protection.

France flew out of the blocks and led 22-19 at the end of one of the most exhilarating opening 40 minutes in World Cup history in which the two teams shared six tries.

Eben Etzebeth returned from the sin-bin to help South Africa over the line with the only touchdown of a tighter second period, while Les Bleus were left to rue one of Thomas Ramos’ three conversion attempts being charged down by Cheslin Kolbe.

France head coach Fabien Galthie revealed prop Uini Atonio and lock Romain Taofifenua, the two oldest members of his squad, will retire and confirmed he intends to remain in his role.

French President Emmanuel Macron provided solace to his country’s players in the dressing room after the match.

“For four years we wrote a beautiful page of French history that the players can be proud of,” said Galthie.

“We can also be sad tonight because of the result.

“No regrets. You’re allowed to lose like we did today. We did everything to optimise our potential.”

Asked if there was a chance he may step down, the 54-year-old replied: “Well, no, I’ve got a contract to June 2028.”

Rob Page welcomed Wales putting automatic qualification for Euro 2024 in their own hands after admitting he had been “fighting fires” before the stunning 2-1 victory over Croatia.

Harry Wilson, winning his 50th cap, scored twice as Wales climbed above the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists in to second place in Group D.

The two teams are tied on 10 points, six behind group leaders Turkey who secured qualification by beating Latvia 4-0 on Sunday. Wales are second by virtue of having a better head-to-head record against Croatia after also drawing 1-1 with them in Split in March.

Wales’ win over Croatia, ranked sixth in the world and 27 places above the Dragons, came after pre-match reports that manager Page’s job could be in jeopardy.

Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney had said earlier in the week that a “serious review” would take place on Page’s position following the final group games against Armenia and Turkey next month. Page is currently just over 12 months into a four-year deal.

Page said: “I would say it’s the best performance (of his three-year reign), I am immensely proud.

“There was unnecessary noise coming into it, with me fighting fires. I didn’t need any player to speak, I see the players want to play for me.

“I had a text from the chief executive today, before that, not for five weeks.

“I just want to concentrate on the football, we are two games away from qualifying for another major tournament, a fourth in five.

“We believe we can do it. We need to do the same (in November) as we did in this camp.”

Wales had never beaten Croatia in seven previous attempts, drawing three and losing four.

But Wales had the better first-half chances – Dominik Livakovic denying Wilson and Neco Williams with smart saves – and took control after the break.

Wilson raced on to David Brooks’ pass to score with a splendid chip and then converted Daniel James’ cross with a glancing header.

Mario Pasalic ensured home anxiety 15 minutes from time with a close-range header, but Wales held on for a famous victory.

Page said: “In all aspects, how we defended against an excellent team with one of the best midfields in the world was outstanding.

“We are in a transition period where we’ve lost one of the best players in the world (Gareth Bale). We are introducing young players to strengthen us and improve us.

“Seven of our 11 are not starting for their club. Chris Mepham’s last game was against Latvia. Kieffer Moore isn’t playing for his club.

“But when they turn up for Wales they produce a performance like that. I am really proud of them as a group.

“The players are an incredible bunch and it’s in our hands now.

“I understand not everyone is going to be a fan of mine, but when you have a group of players playing like that for you, it makes you immensely proud.”

Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic believes the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists face a tough task to qualify automatically after successive defeats to Turkey and Wales.

Dalic said: “It is going to be difficult. We understand it is not all in our hands any more. We have to believe that we are going to be able to turn this around.

“We just played both games without energy, we didn’t play well, we didn’t create any chances. Our opponent was more aggressive, tougher than us and we deserved to lose.”

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