Gareth Bale was the star of the show for Wales against the USA at the World Cup yesterday, but it was a night to forget for Leeds United loanee Daniel James.
The 25-year-old joined the Whites from Manchester United last year, but things just haven’t work out for him at Elland Road. He was sent out on loan to Fulham in the summer, where he has scored just once all campaign.
Wales boss Rob Page, however, handed him a start last night.
Gareth Bale comments on Leeds-owned Dan James getting subbed off at half-time
James started on the left wing for Wales against the USA last night, but he, like most of his teammates, had a very disappointing first half.
The Americans completely dominated the game and were unlucky to have not scored more than just one goal.
Page had to change something at the break and he decided to replace James, who had just 15 touches of the ball in the first 45 minutes of the game (SofaScore). Kieffer Moore came on in place of the Leeds-owned player, and he completely changed the game.
Speaking after full-time, Bale had James’ back as he claimed that the £25 million (BBC) man didn’t do anything wrong during his time on the pitch. However, the Welsh superstar hailed his manager for subbing him off and bringing Moore in, calling it a ‘fantastic decision’.
Bale said, as per BBC Sport: “We made a few tactical changes [at half-time]. It was nothing that DJ [Dan James] did wrong, it was just that we needed different personnel and a slightly different way of playing.
“Fantastic decision from the manager yet again, it shows how class he is, and credit to the boys for digging deep and showing our character.”
TBR View:
James shouldn’t feel too hard done by as almost every Wales player on the pitch in the first half last night was really, really poor – including Bale.
However, he will surely be wondering if he’ll get to start Wales’ next game, which is against Iran on Friday.
Moore was absolutely outstanding after he came on. He’s one of the biggest reasons why Wales looked so good after the break, and it would be really unfair if he doesn’t start against the Iranians.
It will be interesting to see what Page will do on Friday, but as things stand, it’s unlikely James will get to start again.
