Captain Gareth Bale has said he will continue to play for Wales “as long as I am wanted” after defeat to England sealed their World Cup elimination.
Bale, 33, says he will be back for international duty when Robert Page’s side start qualifying for Euro 2024 in March.
“I will continue as long as I can and as long as I am wanted,” he said.
“It’s a tough time now, obviously, but we’re going back. We have a qualifying campaign from March.
“We have a few months to get away from international football which is disappointing, we would have liked to stay [at the World Cup] longer, but we are going back in March.”
There had previously been speculation that former Real Madrid and Tottenham striker Bale would retire after this World Cup, Wales’ first since 1958.
Page’s side leave Qatar having taken just one point from three group matches and feeling they haven’t done themselves justice in the tournament.
Bale, the country’s most capped male player, is one of many leading figures in the Wales team, but he rejected the suggestion that the end of this World Cup campaign could trigger a transition period for Page’s team.
“Just because we had a tough tournament doesn’t mean it’s the end of an era,” Bale said.
“We are looking forward to March. We are looking forward to qualifying.
“This group is united. We have a great team spirit and we will come back like we always do.”
Bale was replaced by Brennan Johnson at half-time against England. He said afterwards that he felt a strain in his hamstrings before kick-off which worsened during the match and that it would have been ‘selfish’ to stay because he was unable to sprinter.
After recovering from a poor first-half performance to draw the United States in the World Cup opener – courtesy of Bale’s late penalty – Wales were deservedly beaten by Iran before England won what was ultimately a comfortable victory.
“We are bitterly disappointed. We would have liked to play better. We would have liked to have had a great tournament,” added Bale.
“But football is difficult and I think we also have to realize that we have come a long way to qualify for this World Cup.
“We’re all disappointed, but the one thing we can all hold our heads up high is [about] it’s that we gave everything on the pitch.
“Even though the performances and results may not have been there, we all worked hard, we all stuck together, our fans were amazing as always and we are all proud of where we have come to. .
“We have to take those experiences and use them wisely and learn from the mistakes we made and yes hopefully we can start again in March to qualify for the Euros.”
Page said Wales should not be disappointed despite failing to reach the knockout stages for the first time in their four major tournament appearances.
“I think we were exceptional in the first half – the effort they put in off the ball was exceptional,” he said.
“We said at half-time that we could have been a bit better on the ball, but I won’t have a bad word to say about this group of players. They gave it their all today.
“My message is not to be disappointed. We have to build again for the future. To have reached the World Cup is an incredible achievement for this group of players.”
