WINCE OF WALES Wales 1 Turkey 1: Rob Page’s men miss out on automatic qualification for Euro 2024 and must compete in a playoff lottery.

But this was an ante-climax for the Dragons as Croatia‘s win over Armenia means Page’s men face the lottery of knockout football in March.

With his eighth-minute curler, Nottingham Forest wing-back Neco Williams offered Wales a glimmer of optimism that they could beat Luka Modric and co to an automatic spot in next summer’s championships.

Ante Budimir’s 43rd-minute goal against Armenia ensured that there would be no last-day Group D miracle for the 2018 World Cup finalists.

Wales forward Brennan Johnson thought he should have been awarded two first-half penalties before Page’s men conceded one of their own when Slovenian referee Matej Jug deemed Ben Davies to have fouled Kenan Yildiz

Turkey substitute Yusuf Yazici sent Danny Ward the wrong way in the 70th minute to earn a point for Vincenzo Montella’s team, who had already qualified for the Euros.

Wales, who came third in their group, can still join England and Scotland in Germany next summer.

With the upcoming playoffs in March, they will have to do it the hard way.

Wales qualified for the World Cup last year via the same path, defeating Austria and Ukraine.

The draw on Thursday will determine who the Dragons will meet in the ‘home’ semi-finals in Cardiff, with one of three alternatives remaining: the Ukrainians, Iceland, or Finland.

If you win, you’ll face either Poland or Estonia in the final, with the draw determining the location.

When Wales and Page, who was publicly backed by FAW chief executive Noel Mooney last month following a spat, look back during the winter months, they will be disappointed that they only picked up one point from Armenia in two qualification matches ahead of knockout games.

Following the poor 1-1 result in Yerevan on Saturday, which made an automatic qualification spot unlikely, Page rearranged his pack with three changes.

Kieffer Moore, David Brooks, and the suspended Chris Mepham were replaced by Johnson, Nathan Broadhead, and Tom Lockyer for Bournemouth.

Broadhead sent an early attempt wide before Wales got off to the perfect start through Williams.

Jordan James fed Harry Wilson, who found Williams on the left side and curled his right-footed shot into the bottom corner.

Johnson’s pace caused issues for Turkey’s defense, but he was issued a yellow card by referee Jug after colliding with Abdulkerim Bardakci.

Johnson believed he should have received two free kicks. After a sliding challenge by Turkey’s Samet Akaydin, the 22-year-old and his teammates had their appeal dismissed.

Minutes later, Wales’ demands were heightened when Johnson appeared to be bundled over inside the area by the same player. Nonetheless, Jug did not point to the location, and there was no VAR intervention.

Altay Bayindir of Manchester United came on in the 33rd minute for Turkey captain Ugurcan Cakir, who appeared to have a foot injury.

With Manchester United’s No. 1 Andre Onana suffering a groin injury while on international duty with Cameroon, Bayindir might make his Premier League debut against Everton on Sunday.

Bayindir, who appeared in Turkey’s friendly triumph over Euro 2024 hosts Germany on Saturday, looked the part in denying Johnson both before and after halftime.

When Kerem Akturkoglu shot over from close range, Turkey should have been level.

However, news of Croatia’s opening goal via Budimir swiftly deflated the Cardiff City Stadium.

Wales’ displeasure was compounded when Jug awarded a penalty in the 68th minute after Yildiz went down softly following a shove from Wales captain Davies.

Johnson defeated Bayindir, but his effort was ruled off for offside, and even a win would not have been enough to qualify for the next round.