Leeds United man given international backing as teammate makes 'hard done by' claim

Leeds United's Dan James can count himself unfortunate should he miss out on a starting spot for Wales this evening, says Connor Roberts. With a place at Euro 2024 the prize for the winner, Rob Page's Wales host Poland at the Cardiff City Stadium and James will be determined to be involved from the start.

The winger missed out on selection for Wales' play-off semi-final against Finland last week, but he made his mark off the bench by scoring late to make sure of the Dragons' progression with a 4-1 win. It was a goal that showcased the confidence and swagger he has managed to build up at domestic level this season with James bagging 13 goals for the Whites to help Daniel Farke's side to the top of the Championship.

As such, Page has had plenty to think about over the last few days when it comes to his XI to take on Poland and Roberts, who started against Finland, believes his Leeds teammate has done all he can in order to get the nod.

"Fantastic guy, fantastic player, someone who works really hard and just wants to do well," Roberts said about James, who is one of four Leeds players in the squad. "I said to him the other day it was disappointing he wasn’t in starting XI – some might say hard done by – but take a step back and we’ve got so many players who deserve to play.

"It is difficult for us as a team and the manager. We’ve got so many forward players who offer so much but, on the other hand, we do look really good when we play with a back five so it’s one man less [in attack].

"All they can do is when they get the chance is score a goal or contribute and help out. If we manage to do it on Tuesday night, nobody will remember who started games, who played, how many minutes, we’ll just remember the squad who qualified for another major tournament.”