Wales manager Rob Page will lead the Dragons to their first World Cup finals since 1958. 

The Welshman has been central to Wales’ recent success and development in qualifying for back-to-back major tournaments.

But who is Rob Page? And how did his journey take him from the lower leagues of English football to the Wales national team manager role?

Rob Page’s Rise to Wales Manager

Rob Page played as a centre-back during his playing career and played over 500 matches over nearly two decades. He was also a Wales national team regular, earning 41-caps with the Dragons. 

Most of Page’s playing time was in the lower leagues of English football. He featured for several well-known English Football League clubs, including Watford, Sheffield United and Huddersfield.

In 2011, Page retired from football after a stint at Chesterfield FC, and he went into management three years later.

First, the Welshman took charge of Port Vale, where he had moderate success, winning 35 of 93 matches. Then, he had a less successful spell at Northampton, where he was in charge for just eight months.

Following a period as assistant manager at Nottingham Forest, Page linked up with the Wales national team setup. Here, he coached the under 17s, 19s and 21s before progressing to become assistant manager to Ryan Giggs.

However, following Giggs’s suspension from the managerial position, Page stepped in as caretaker and led the Dragons to the Euro 2020 finals. 

Page also oversaw a successful World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign.  Wales beat Austria and Ukraine in the playoffs to reach the first World Cup finals in 64 years.

After the success of reaching Qatar 2022, Page took the full-time managerial position as Wales boss. 

Managerial Career

Port Vale (2014-2015) 

Northampton Town (2016-2017)

Wales Under 17, 19 and 21 (2017-2019)

Wales Senior Team (2020-Present)