'Another level': Birmingham City star hailed by international boss after EURO 2024 display

Wales manager Rob Page has praised the performance of Birmingham City midfielder Jordan James against Turkey.

James played the entire match as Wales drew 1-1 with Turkey, thus missing out on an automatic spot for EURO 2024. He was making just his eighth cap for Wales, having made his debut in March 2023.

The 19-year-old qualifies through his Welsh-born dad, and last month he earned plaudits for how he competed against Luke Modric's Croatia. He has now started the last five times for his country, and is now their first-choice midfielder alongside Leeds United star Ethan Ampadu.

“JJ went to another level today," said the Welsh national team boss.

“It’s probably the best game he’s had for us tonight. I’m a big fan, I think you can all see that, and I’ve trusted in him."

James and his international teammates will have to go through the lottery of the play-offs in March to qualify for next summer's major tournament in Germany. Wales will play one of Finland, Ukraine or Iceland at home on March 21, and should they progress they would face either Poland or Estonia.

In the meantime, James will now be tasked with holding down a regular spot in Blues team. He made just one league start under John Eustace before his sacking. Wayne Rooney has started him against Southampton, Ipswich Town and Sunderland in recent games, and his performance against Turkey may have earned him another start against Sheffield Wednesday this weekend.

Elsewhere, Juninho Bacuna played 77 minutes in Curacao's 1-1 draw with El Salvador. He will now make the 4,589-mile journey back to St Andrew's.

Meanwhile on-loan Fulham forward Jay Stansfield started but did not score in England under-21's 3-0 win against Northern Ireland.