Throwing off the handbrake may not suit Wales but the Red Wall’s dream of beating England is alive

In the immediate aftermath of Friday’s dismal 2-0 defeat to Iran, defender Chris Mepham suggested Wales would have to throw off the handbrake heading into tonight’s game against England.

That might not necessarily be wise: on the evidence of their stuttering performances so far, Robert Page’s side would be more likely to roll backwards down the hill than suddenly claw their way up it.

But this is England, and as Mepham went on to point out, if the carrot of a narrow path to the last-16 and the prospect of a first World Cup victory since 1958 were not motivation enough - and, clearly, they are - then the opposition at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium this evening ought to add a little more.

The wise old heads in this Welsh side, the likes of Joe Allen and Ben Davies, have this week played down the derby narrative, reluctant to get involved in the circus having heard and lived it all before, but no one is fooled.

The same Welsh supporters who were packed off to Baku, then shut out of Rome and Amsterdam during last summer’s Euros have had to wait 64 years for a World Cup and then been dealt one with a fan experience, regrettably, like no other. Ending it - if it is to be the end - with a victory over English, would elevate the whole thing somewhat.

Wales players have asked Page to let them off the leash tonight and want him to ditch his back three. They watched the United States almost beat England by attacking them and want Page to let them follow suit.

But playing with the handbrake on has certainly not been Wales’ downfall to this point - look at the premature timing of Page’s go-for-broke changes against Iran - and nor has a lack of effort. Broken down to its basic components, their campaign reads like something of a hard-luck story: a fighting draw against a US side that subsequently held England, followed by a stoppage-time defeat to Iran having been reduced to ten men.

The reality, though, is that perhaps only Qatar have looked quite so lifeless in two completed games, with few chances created across 180 minutes of football and a Gareth Bale penalty to thank for their only goal.

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Bale and Aaron Ramsey have born the brunt of the criticism in the wake of the Iran defeat and Page is between a rock and a hard place in knowing his two stars are no longer the players of old, both short on form and fitness, but that leaving them out of a must-win game against England is probably unthinkable, given the lack of alternatives of anything like similar pedigree.

The pair will surely be pressed into service for a third time in nine days, and relied upon to come up with something that so far has not looked likely. And yet, for all the doom, Wales remain in with a chance.

The necessary draw between the US and Iran is hardly a million-to-one shot but events across Doha need not be part of the Welsh calculation. Winning the last of their three games at this tournament would give the brilliant Red Wall a deserved night to remember. Beyond that, what will be, will be.