Wales CT Robert Page said Ethan Ampadu’s red card against Italy was ‘unbelievable’ and felt ‘the sending-off changed the game’.
Italy secured their third straight win to finish top of Group A, but Wales are through to the last 16 after Switzerland won 3-1 over Turkey in the other fixture.
Page said the first half against the Azzurri, when Matteo Pessina scored the decisive goal, ‘didn’t quite go to plan’ and spoke about Ampadu’s red card to BBC Radio Wales.
“It didn’t quite go to plan the press in the first half,” the coach said. “We addressed it at half-time and we managed to get Ethan Ampadu as the centre of the diamond and get him on the ball a little bit more at the start of the second half.
“The sending-off changed the course of the game. I haven’t seen it again yet. I thought it was harsh to get a booking but to see the red card come out was unbelievable. Then of course it’s an even bigger hill to climb.”
Wales are drawn against the runners-up in Group B, where Belgium leads on six points after two games, with Russia and Finland on three and Denmark sit bottom with zero.