Ben Davies expects Wales to bounce back against the Republic of Ireland

Ben Davies expects Wales to show a reaction to their heavy Wembley loss against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday.

The Tottenham defender captained the side in a 3-0 defeat to England, who won it through goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Conor Coady and Danny Ings.

Ryan Giggs’ men do not have long to bounce back as they head to Dublin for a UEFA Nations League clash at the weekend and Davies said it will be a better showing.

“We are desperate to bounce back,” he said after a first defeat since June 2019. “We have been on a decent run before this game so we have to go again and try and start another one.

“We will have a look at it the next couple of days, I’m convinced there are a lot positives to take.

“There are definitely things we can improve on and it is a big game on Sunday where we can show that.

“Results like this are tough to take but you have to put it in perspective and for periods of the game we competed against one of the best teams in Europe.”

A young Wales side, without the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, actually controlled the game until Calvert-Lewin’s first-half opener and Davies sees hope for the future.

“We had a young team out there and showed a lot of character early on, especially before the first goal which was a sucker-punch.

“Overall, we can be proud of the young boys and as a team the way we really gave it a go. We have to recover quickly, we have two big games coming up now.”