PENALTY HEARTACHE FOR DESPERATE DAN

Wales suffer shootout misery as James' failure from spot hands Poland dream place in Germany

WALES suffered Euro playoff penalty heartbreak as their dreams of reaching Germany were dashed.

Rob Page's Red Dragons had scrapped for 120 minutes against Poland and were forced into a shoot-out to decide who would advance to the European Championship finals.

After nine successful attempts, it was Dan James who turned out to be the fall guy.

The winger saw his penalty saved by former Arsenal shotstopper Wojciech Szczesny who guessed correctly, diving to his right.

Page's side had the best chances and saw an effort by skipper Ben Davies chalked off for a narrow offside call on the stroke of half-time.

The Cardiff City Stadium has witnessed some of the country's greatest nights.

Victory over Belgium in 2015, then Hungary four years later, followed by two World Cup play-off triumphs. All fondly remembered.

Page was hoping to add Poland to that list.