Wales manager Rob Page said relegation from the top tier of the Nations League on Sunday is softened by the prospect of looking forward to his country’s first World Cup since 1958 in two months’ time.

A 1-0 defeat to Poland in Cardiff condemned Page’s men to finishing bottom of a group also containing Belgium and the Netherlands.

Wales’ four Nations League games in June were split either side of a vital World Cup qualifying playoff against Ukraine, which forced Page to rest a number of key players for their 2-1 defeat in Poland to start the group.

Despite the disappointment of dropping down a division, the Wales boss was happy to pay that price for having made it to Qatar.

“If you had said to me at the start of June that we would qualify for the World Cup and have it go down to one game to win to stay in League A, I would have taken that,” said Page. “The playoff final against Ukraine did have an impact on our games either side of it.”

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