Wales' Lewis Koumas shootsGetty Images

Lewis Koumas almost made an instant impact on his Wales debut off the bench

Dafydd Pritchard
BBC Sport Wales at Estadio Do Algarve, Portugal

An unfamiliar and youthful Wales were held to an embarrassing goalless draw by minnows Gibraltar in a low-key and deeply frustrating friendly in Portugal.

With five players earning their first caps in front of a tiny crowd dominated by 900 or so Welsh fans on the Algarve, Rob Page’s experimental team made hard work of a Gibraltar side ranked 203rd in the world and without a win since 2022.

Such were Wales' struggles, Page had to introduce first-team players as second-half substitutes but the likes of Brennan Johnson, Kieffer Moore and Daniel James could not conjure the moment of quality needed to save their blushes.

Wales missed several chances with captain Josh Sheehan hitting the post straight from a corner, Ben Cabango having a header cleared off the line and Liverpool’s 18-year-old striker Lewis Koumas denied a debut goal by an excellent save from Gibraltar goalkeeper Jaylan Hankins.

Even though this was not a competitive fixture, the failure to beat a team on a 13-match losing streak is a significant blemish on Page's record as Wales manager, which already featured a humbling home defeat by Armenia last year.

That 4-2 humiliation contributed to Wales missing out on qualification for Euro 2024 and, while this friendly result will have no such ramifications, it is still a source of significant shame.

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Bolton's Josh Sheehan, making his first international start, captained Wales

It is no wonder, therefore, that Wales' fans booed and chanted for Page to be sacked at the final whistle.

Wales had faced Gibraltar for the first time last October and, on that occasion in Wrexham, a team featuring four debutants won 4-0.

This time, however, they got nowhere near those standards.

With several first-team regulars missing in Portugal, Page handed debuts to full-backs Jay Dasilva and Fin Stevens in a starting line-up which amounted to just 44 caps.

Even with 11 changes from March's Euro 2024 play-off final loss to Poland, Wales should have been too good for a Gibraltar side who had lost their previous 13 games at an aggregate score of 50-0.

But despite monopolising possession and playing the game almost exclusively in their opponents' half, Wales were laboured and disjointed.

Sheehan, captaining Wales in only his sixth international appearance, was fortunate only to be shown a yellow card after catching Tijay De Barr on the thigh with his studs, a challenge which may have been worthy of a red had this been a competitive fixture.

It took half an hour for Wales to muster their first shot on target, Liam Cullen turning smartly and seeing his powerful low effort saved by Hankins.

Sheehan hit the post directly from a corner after the break and, with Page growing restless as Wales still searched for a goal, the manager turned to his prized attacking assets - Johnson, Moore and James - from the bench.

Cabango had a header cleared off the line by Bernardo Lopes from another corner before Koumas had a powerful low shot superbly pushed away by Hankins.

Koumas, whose father Jason is a former Wales midfielder, was one of three players to earn their first caps as substitutes, along with Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Tom King and Leeds United's 17-year-old midfielder Charlie Crew.

This is not how they would have imagined their senior international debuts, though.

Wales' fans jeered at the final whistle and chanted "We want Page out" as the manager walked down the tunnel.

Wales face a much tougher friendly fixture away against Slovakia on Sunday and, although there will be no qualification points on offer, Page could find himself under pressure once again if there is not a vast improvement in Trnava.

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