Wales call up uncapped Nathan Broadhead for World Cup play-off and Nations League

2 years ago 26

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Venue: Cardiff City Stadium Date: Sunday, 5 June Kick-off: 17:00 BST
Coverage: Live on BBC Radio 5 Live, Radio Wales, Radio Cymru, BBC Sport website and app, plus live text online. Highlights BBC Wales.

Wales have named uncapped forward Nathan Broadhead in their squad for June's World Cup play-off final and four Nations League games.

The 24-year-old has scored 13 goals in 26 appearances for Sunderland on loan from Everton this season.

Leicester goalkeeper Danny Ward and Bournemouth striker Kieffer Moore return from injury, while midfielders Matt Smith and Dylan Levitt are back.

Captain Gareth Bale is included despite his limited game-time at Real Madrid.

That proved no problem for the 32-year-old in March. Having made only two appearances for Real since November, Bale scored two brilliant goals to give Wales a 2-1 win over Austria in their World Cup play-off semi-final.

Victory set up a one-leg play-off final against Scotland or Ukraine in Cardiff on Sunday, 5 June, as Wales aim to qualify for a first World Cup since 1958.

Four days before that huge encounter, Wales visit Poland in the Nations League. They then host the Netherlands and Belgium on 8 and 11 June, before travelling to the Netherlands for their final game of this window on 14 June.

With that hectic schedule in mind, manager Robert Page has selected a 27-man squad seemingly designed to help manage the congested fixtures.

That is bigger than the squad selected in March, with the returns of Ward, Moore, Smith and Levitt bolstering Page's options.

Defender Ben Cabango and forward Tyler Roberts are out injured, while midfielder Will Vaulks and in-form Derby County captain Tom Lawrence are among those overlooked.

Bale and Aaron Ramsey are unlikely to feature prominently in Poland just four days before the World Cup play-off, with Page expected to rotate in Wroclaw to keep his first-choice players fresh for their match against Scotland or Ukraine.

Nottingham Forest forward Brennan Johnson and Huddersfield Town winger Sorba Thomas might also be missing in Poland as they will be playing for their clubs in the Championship play-off final just three days earlier on Sunday, 29 May.