Connor Roberts: 'Wales' target now is to get out of a World Cup group'

Connor Roberts has told Wales to aim for World Cup knockout football in the future after their failure to progress from Group B in Qatar.

Wales' first World Cup appearance in 64 years ended in disappointment as they finished bottom of Group B with just one point from three games.

It was the first time Wales failed to qualify for the knockout stage in four major tournaments.

Wales reached the quarter-finals of the 1958 World Cup, the semi-finals of Euro 2016 and the round of 16 of Euro 2020.

Roberts said: "We have a lot of different emotions. In the dressing room we are a little disappointed with our performances and where they have taken us in this competition.

"But it's a huge achievement for us to be here. So I think when we look back, we'll realize that.

"The next achievement and achievement for the Wales men's team is to get out of a group at a World Cup, no matter when.

"We might have to wait a bit, or maybe we won't have to wait too long. But that's the next goal, and it's a good thing that football is moving fast."< /p>

Wales' campaign fell apart after a second-half recovery earned them a 1-1 draw in their opener against the United States.

Gareth Bale's late penalty seems to have given momentum to the competition for the following games against Iran and England.

But there was to be no fairy tale ending in Doha as goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was sent off and Iran struck twice in stoppage time to let Wales settle for an early release.

England then overtook Wales with three goals in the second half as injured skipper Bale failed to come off for the second half due to a hamstring problem.

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Burnley defender Roberts said: "Everyone looked at the group and thought, 'Maybe they'll do this or that', but we played three very good teams.< /p>

"I know England blew Iran away, but they are not beggars and showed it against us.

"There were fixes when we showed what we were, but they were too rare.

"It's a little disappointing, but for many players - myself included - I am delighted to be able to say that I represented my country at a World Cup."

Bale, now 33, has insisted he will continue to feature for Wales in the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers, which start in March.

Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen, two other surviving members of the 'Golden Generation' who shone at Euro 2016, are also in their thirties and struggled with injuries before the World Cup.

Roberts said: "I know there are also a lot of 30-year-old right-sided players and there is a lot of talent in this squad.

"Things are moving fast and we are moving into March. We have a lot of young players who can learn from this experience and hopefully take it to the Euros in March.

"Young players need to learn from this and we'll do it again in March."

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