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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Ian Mitchelmore

Today's World Cup headlines as pundit baffled by Wales tactics and Jamie Carragher tears into Gareth Southgate decision

Your latest World Cup headlines on Saturday, November 26.

Tactical approach concerns Euro 2016 hero

Hal Robson-Kanu admits he's been disappointed by Wales' tactical approach to their World Cup campaign to date.

The Red Dragons were far too sloppy and passive in the opening half against the USA but battled back to clinch a point. However, they failed to build on that display and suffered a hugely disappointing 2-0 loss to Iran in their second group fixture.

It leaves Rob Page's side rock bottom of Group B with just one game left to play against England on Tuesday night, and Robson-Kanu could not hide his frustrations over the way Wales have been set up so far in Qatar.

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"Fundamentally, it's disappointing," he said on ITV Sport. "They had the opportunity after securing a 1-1 draw in the first game to really capitalise on that going into the second game.

"From my perspective, I've been disappointed in terms of the tactical approach in games. When we've had the success we've had as a nation, it's really been around approaching every single game at international level understanding how you can affect the opposition.

"Sometimes that might be having a low block and hurting teams on the counter. Sometimes that can be about pressing high up the pitch, being aggressive and really looking to control the game. I haven't really seen any of that in either of the games.

"From that perspective, it's really disappointing and Welsh fans will be devastated. But, they still have a chance of qualifying. It's a long shot, but they now need to regroup, get together and ultimately go into that final game."

Southgate responds to boos

Gareth Southgate admits the boos heard following England's 0-0 draw with the USA will not affect his players further on in the tournament.

The Three Lions were off colour as they failed to find a way past Gregg Berhalter's impressive side. Following the conclusion of England's latest fixture at Al Bayt Stadium, boos could be heard - with the England faithful seemingly displaying their frustration at the nature of their side's performance.

The result means all four sides in Group B can still qualify for the knockout stages going into the final round of matches on Tuesday night.

“Of course I want our fans to go home happy and I want our fans at home to have a smile on their faces," said the England boss. "We haven’t quite managed to achieve that.

“People are going to react how they are going to react. I can’t let that affect how I feel about the team or how the team feels. I’m sure there will be a lot of noise. This is the tournament of external noise. We are on track with a bit to do."

Carragher: Baffling Foden remained on the bench

A number of notable pundits have voiced their frustration over Gareth Southgate's decision not to play Phil Foden in England's bore draw with the USA.

Foden is arguably England's most creative player and, with the game calling out for a creative force, Southgate refused to bring on the Manchester City star and instead opted for the likes of Jordan Henderson, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish.

And former Liverpool defender turned sharp-tongued pundit Carragher wrote on Twitter: "It was baffling that he remained on the bench when the game was crying out for his creativity. If you had told me before the tournament that Foden would only feature for 19 minutes of the first two World Cup games, my initial thought would be he must be injured... He is too much of a special talent."

Gary Lineker tweeted: "Interesting substitutions." He later added: "Poor performance from England, but that happens at a World Cup at some stage. The big question, even with such a talented bunch, is whether the manager can change things positively with his tactics and substitutions when it’s not working."

Michael Owen, meanwhile said: "Astonishing that we've used 14 players so far, yet our most talented player is still sat on the bench."

During the coverage, Gary Neville said on ITV: "I’ve got lot of respect for Gareth and what he’s achieved - he’s achieved the most since Alf Ramsey. But we’ve got a couple of talents sat on the bench in the form of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Foden who are capable of opening up the game.

"Alexander-Arnold has some of the best deliveries you’ll ever see from full-back and on that right side when Rashford came on, he had Henderson and (Kieran) Trippier so he was blocked from getting that delivery in. I think those two coming off the bench is a little bit disappointing, if you’re trying to win the game, they’re world class talents."

Southgate defended the decision after the match, saying: "We thought it was the right thing to keep the team from the start and then the wide players we went with Jack and Marcus ahead of Phil on the changes.

"We thought Jack would keep the ball well for us and get us up the pitch and Marcus' speed we also thought would be a threat coming into that last part of the game."

Neville slams 'rogue' FIFA

Gary Neville slammed FIFA as a "rogue" governing body and says England should have worn the One Love armband at the World Cup.

Both Wales and England backed down from their decision to wear the One Love armband - which aims to promote inclusion and send a message against discrimination of any kind - at the tournament after concerns that their respective captains would be booked. The English FA and the FAW were also threatened with fines.

And Manchester United legend Neville slammed FIFA for some of the decisions they have made at Qatar 2022.

"It doesn't surprise me that FIFA have acted like that," Neville said on ITV Sport. "They're a rogue organisation who in this particular tournament we've seen them at their worst.

"They don't need to be that way. They represent world football and I don't think they're a great face for world football.

"What's an armband going to do to harm FIFA? I accept the fact that ultimately they've got rules and laws against political protests. Players can't pull shirts over their heads.

"The reality is [England] should've seen it through as they'd spoken so much about it and had backed themselves into a corner on it.

"It's always footballers who put themselves at the forefront but every other sector in the country are OK just to carry on. I'm proud of the players. They've done more for English football and for England in the last four or five years than most.

"However, I think they should've seen it through."

Qatar become earliest host nation to exit

Qatar have set the unwanted record of becoming the earliest eliminated hosts in the history of the World Cup.

The Maroon were beaten 2-0 by Ecuador in their opening match on November 20 and then lost 3-1 to Senegal in their second group stage fixture. And as a result of the Netherlands' 1-1 draw with Ecuador, Qatar can no longer finish in the top two of Group A.

It means they will play just one more fixture - against Netherlands - at their home tournament.

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