Leeds winger Dan James scored a fantastic goal for Wales against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Thursday’s World Cup semi-final, before Craig Bellamy’s side were eventually knocked out of the competition on penalties.
James latched on to a wayward backpass and smashed a swerving 25-yard strike into the roof of the net to open the scoring at Cardiff City Stadium.
It is the first time the Welshman has scored in back-to-back appearances for his country and is as many strikes as he has managed in his previous 16 outings for the Dragons.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live at full-time, James said: “It’s tough to take because I thought we played really well, but then they got a late goal which was gutting.
“It’s gutting for the boys, but I think what they showed was unbelievable in how far we have come. We have so much more to show.
“It’s a tough moment because we feel like we’ve let our country down. It wasn’t to be but the boys will be stronger for it. We will be back.”
Team-mate for club and country Ethan Ampadu added: “I’m a bit lost for words. We prepared as well as we could have for the game and we played well, but that ultimately doesn’t matter because we won’t be going there [World Cup] in the summer.
“It’s disappointing, but we can all hold our heads up high because we fought for everything. Sometimes in life it just doesn’t go your way.”
Wales will return to Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday for a friendly against Northern Ireland, who lost Thursday’s other semi-final to Italy.
Listen to their interviews on the Football Daily podcast