Wales vs Poland LIVE: Latest team news, line-ups and more from ...

The England manager was speaking ahead of his team’s friendly against Brazil, when he sent his “best wishes”.

“Remarkably dignified statement that she gave and we obviously have a very close relationship with the family, so very upset to hear the news but hope everything goes well”, he told reporters.

Ben Davies’ Tottenham team-mate Brennan Johnson scored three goals in his last seven Spurs appearances and netted in the semi-final play-off against Finland.

“He is playing at a big club in big games,” said Davies about Johnson. “He is pulling out results, scoring goals and getting assists.

“He offers a lot of pace, he is very direct and has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. He has taken it in his stride, and we will see a better and better player coming.

“If he can bring that quality into a Welsh shirt for us we will be very happy.”

Ben Davies believes Wales reaching Euro 2024 would be “better in some ways” than previous successful qualifying campaigns. The defender is among a handful of survivors from the Chris Coleman squad that reached the semi-finals of Euro 2016 in France and was also part of Wales teams that qualified for Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup.

“It would be just as good as (reaching) the others, better in some ways,” said Davies ahead of Thursday’s play-off semi-final victory over Finland.

“It’s different times. We don’t have Gareth Bale this time. That’s a big loss for Wales, our greatest ever player but that doesn’t mean there’s a different feeling within the camp. We are more than confident with the squad we’ve got.

“We are all here to play for Wales and to do a job for our country and qualify for major tournaments. Boys have been there before and boys who have been there at the top of their game. It’s still as motivating now as it was.

“We have been in this situation before, must-win games. We are on the brink.”

Wales were absent from major tournaments for 58 years following the 1958 World Cup but, since ending that drought with a mesmerising run to the semi-finals at Euro 2016, qualification has become the expectation rathe than a dream.

They have featured at Euro 2020 and the World Cup in 2022 while a win over Poland would secure them a spot in a third consecutive major tournament.

Conner Roberts spoke about how it feels to represent Wales on the international stage and how he hopes tonight’s crunch match against Poland will go.

He said: “Whenever I play for Wales, I never really feel tired.

“I always really just want to run more, want to do more for the team, do more for my country, for myself and make people proud.

“I’m sure that goes for every single player who gets to play for Wales. We’re not the biggest footballing nation, we’re not the best players in the world.

“But we all want to be here, we all want to do well and I think that that has shown in recent games. Hopefully, it shows again on Tuesday night.”

Connor Roberts hopes the “power of the tash” can help Wales to Euro 2024 play-off glory against Poland.

Roberts has embarked on long unbeaten Championship runs at Burnley and Leeds over the last two seasons after putting his razor away and growing a moustache.

The 28-year-old wing-back is now determined to avoid a close shave on the international stage and show off his new look in Germany this summer as Wales host Poland on Tuesday for a place at Euro 2024.

Rewriting history

Wales must rewrite history to reach Euro 2024 because their record against Poland is abysmal. Played 10, lost seven, drawn two and only one win.

That 2-0 victory came in their maiden clash in March 1973 when Leighton James and Trevor Hockey scored in a World Cup qualifier.

It has been downhill for Wales ever since with Poland winning the last six, including a Nations League double header in 2022. Poland produced a late sucker punch to win 2-1 in Wroclaw and Karol Swiderski settled a tight Cardiff contest three months later.

Red-hot Robert

With Gareth Bale enjoying retirement on the golf course, Poland can lay claim to having the play-off final’s one superstar – Robert Lewandowski.

The Barcelona striker may be 35 now, but he is still finding the net with incredible regularity. Lewandowski has seven goals in his last nine Barcelona appearances and 23 for club and country this season.

With 82 Poland goals, only Romelu Lukaku (83), Ferenc Puskas (84) and Cristiano Ronaldo (128) have scored more in men’s international football in Europe.

Stopping Lewandowski will be vital for Wales.

Ramsey role reduced

Skipper Aaron Ramsey dominated much of the pre-Finland talk as the Cardiff midfielder was the subject of a club versus country row.

The truth, however, was that the 33-year-old was never going to start after an injury-hit season and, in the event, Ramsey did not get on the pitch at all.

He will be on the bench against Poland again and, although he remains a considerable influence in the dressing room, Page is only likely to use him in case of an emergency.

On the same Page

Wales boss Rob Page sprang a surprise in his semi-final line-up against Finland, opting to keep Kieffer Moore on the bench and choosing a three-man strikeforce of Brennan Johnson, David Brooks and Harry Wilson.

It was a bold call with targetman Moore in such good form at Ipswich. But Brooks and Johnson scored in an emphatic 4-1 win and Wilson was a constant threat with the Wales attack all on the same page.

Daniel James also scored and impressed coming off the bench, and Page now has another tough selection call to make.