06/09/2012

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:00:29. > :00:32.In just over 24 hours, Chris Coleman's Wales began their 2012

:00:32. > :00:36.qualifying campaign at the Cardiff City stadium against Belgium. We

:00:36. > :00:42.will hear from both camp, stay with us for all the build-up. Coming up

:00:42. > :00:46.tonight: We go inside the Welsh camp, and

:00:46. > :00:51.they are most definitely up for it. Fresh start, fresh challenge, as

:00:51. > :00:55.you can imagine, we are all raring to go. Sport Wales travels to

:00:55. > :00:58.Belgium to assess their called golden generation, with the help of

:00:58. > :01:03.Philip Albert. If we don't qualify with the set of players we have at

:01:03. > :01:08.the moment, I don't think we will qualify ever for another World Cup.

:01:08. > :01:13.And we look back at one of Wales's greatest triumphs over Belgium.

:01:13. > :01:21.We had six or seven players who could score a goal in any game in

:01:21. > :01:25.the world, whatever game it was. Plus, I will be joined by former

:01:25. > :01:31.Wales international, Iwan Roberts. First, let's hear from the man

:01:31. > :01:35.hoping to make his treatment it has been 54 years since Wales reached a

:01:35. > :01:40.major tournament, can Chris Coleman and captain, Aaron Ramsey, end that

:01:40. > :01:44.long wait? A lonely old job, international

:01:44. > :01:47.management, as you watch Wales fall to a third straight defeat against

:01:48. > :01:52.Bosnia last month, Chris Coleman must have thought, how do I get

:01:52. > :01:56.this going again? Now he has to, a nation might not expect, but it

:01:56. > :02:00.certainly hopes for a good start to this campaign against Serbia on

:02:00. > :02:05.Tuesday, but first Belgium tomorrow. We have a huge game on Friday,

:02:05. > :02:08.great challenge for us. We have got a good squad of players. We are

:02:08. > :02:12.missing certain players, but, nevertheless, we have had a good

:02:12. > :02:16.three or four days together. The preparations are going very well.

:02:16. > :02:24.They need to be, because Friday's going to be a big challenge, we

:02:24. > :02:29.have to be ready for that. The last two games we have played,

:02:29. > :02:32.the four goals we have conceded were preventable goals, individual

:02:32. > :02:35.errors that are preventable, we can't afford that on Friday.

:02:35. > :02:39.vital is it you get the group off to a good start, not just in terms

:02:39. > :02:42.of putting Wales in a good position in the group, but because you know

:02:42. > :02:52.the criticism will come after those two games, if you are still looking

:02:52. > :02:56.for that first win, it will only intensify? And, so? You can't think

:02:56. > :02:59.what if this happens and that happens, or I will be criticised. I

:02:59. > :03:04.will be criticised any way. My job you are damned if you do and damned

:03:04. > :03:12.if you don't, I don't give a monkeys what people say about me.

:03:12. > :03:17.If that is arrogance, so be it. I will do it as I see fit. The

:03:17. > :03:23.expectations is high. People expect us to qal fight. If you look at the

:03:23. > :03:27.teamser up against, Croatia, Belgium, Scotland, Macedonia. I was

:03:27. > :03:31.speaking to Roy Hodgson last week, he called it the group of death,

:03:31. > :03:34.he's right, the competition is pretty big. I'm looking forward to

:03:34. > :03:38.the challenge, it will be a tough one. I'm confident in the ability

:03:38. > :03:43.we have in this team, and you know the last few results haven't been

:03:43. > :03:47.great for us, but we watched the video back at the last game. We

:03:47. > :03:52.didn't play great. But we still created a few opportunities, and on

:03:52. > :03:58.another night they would have probably gone in. We played bad

:03:58. > :04:01.that night. Hopefully we can get off now to a good start in the game.

:04:01. > :04:05.And know what we are capable of doing. At the end of the last

:04:05. > :04:12.campaign wrecks definitely showed what we are all about and how well

:04:12. > :04:17.we could play. So we need to get back to that. We will be a match

:04:17. > :04:21.for anybody, hopeful leave we can get off to a really good start

:04:22. > :04:26.tomorrow night. It is a tremenduously talented Belgium side,

:04:26. > :04:30.these guys, everyone is talking about the Belgians. They are not

:04:30. > :04:34.talking about Wales so much, the talent in your team. Does that

:04:34. > :04:39.help? People aren't bigging Wales up, are they? When people talk

:04:39. > :04:43.about Wales, they talk about Aaron Ramsey, Craig Bellamy, Gareth Bale,

:04:43. > :04:47.now they will talk about Joe Allen, because he has gone to Liverpool.

:04:47. > :04:51.We won't be successful with four players, we have other good players.

:04:51. > :04:55.We need all the players to be good when they take to the field. I know

:04:55. > :04:58.all about Belgium and their players. Even before this season, where a

:04:58. > :05:03.number of their players are playing in the Premier League, and people

:05:03. > :05:07.are getting a bit carried away, as they do. It changed my thinking

:05:07. > :05:13.about Belgium, they are a good team. That is irrelevant, it is about us,

:05:13. > :05:17.how we approach it. How we prepare ourselves, and are we brave enough,

:05:17. > :05:22.strong enough as a group, individually, collectively, to get

:05:22. > :05:25.a result on Friday? You have had a lot of challenges in your career

:05:25. > :05:30.already, would you say, though, that what you are about to embark

:05:30. > :05:37.on is perhaps the biggest challenge of your career? I think, first and

:05:37. > :05:40.foremost, it is my biggest honour to manage my country, when you have

:05:40. > :05:45.the hopes of a nation on your shoulders, that's what comes with

:05:45. > :05:48.it. I thrive on that, the excitement, we don't know what is

:05:48. > :05:51.going to happen. We know we have the possibility to do something

:05:51. > :05:56.special, if we can get it together. Sometimes you are up against a good

:05:56. > :06:00.team. The good thing about football is, I think that it is not always

:06:00. > :06:07.the best team that wins, it is the best team on the day. We have to

:06:07. > :06:11.make sure that is us on Friday. Irwan Roberts, thanks for joining

:06:11. > :06:15.us. Here we are, on the eve of the World Cup qualifying campaign,

:06:15. > :06:21.Belgium, first up, how positive can we be? I think we have to be, with

:06:21. > :06:25.the squad of players we have got. We have one or two injuries, we are

:06:25. > :06:29.playing against the best side in the group. But, take the last three

:06:29. > :06:35.games away, where we haven't been at our best, for one reason or

:06:35. > :06:40.another. But this is it now, this is what it is all about. It's the

:06:40. > :06:44.start of the qualifying campaign. A difficult game, but one, I'm sure,

:06:44. > :06:50.that we can go into, as I say, with the players that we have got, and

:06:50. > :06:54.hopefully get something from the game. Belgium first up, Serbia away

:06:54. > :06:59.next Tuesday, are they the fixtures Chris Coleman would have wanted?

:06:59. > :07:01.Probably not, ideally Chris would have probably wanted, no disrespect,

:07:01. > :07:04.probably either Macedonia, or Scotland at home, to start the

:07:04. > :07:09.campaign. That would give you a better opportunity of hitting the

:07:09. > :07:15.ground running, and getting three points. Looking at both games, I

:07:15. > :07:18.think that the minimum that we ask for is four points, because it is

:07:18. > :07:28.imperative we get off to a good start. If we lose the first couple

:07:28. > :07:29.

:07:29. > :07:34.of games as we did in the last qualifying game -- games against

:07:34. > :07:39.Montenegro, it is hard to go from there. Chris Coleman says he

:07:39. > :07:43.doesn't mind criticism and won't change his approach if things go

:07:43. > :07:47.badly in the first few games, what is he like, does he put pressure on

:07:47. > :07:55.himself? I think every manager does. He has taken over at a difficult

:07:55. > :07:59.stage. He has taken over from his good friend, Gary Speed, who filled

:07:59. > :08:03.us all with hope going into this campaign. He will prepare his team

:08:03. > :08:08.properly, that is the one thing he will do. Once they cross the line,

:08:08. > :08:15.it is then down to the players. Iwan, we will talk more shortly I

:08:15. > :08:19.am now to take -- time now to turn our attention to the called golden

:08:19. > :08:29.generation of Belgian footballers, so many times in the Premier League.

:08:29. > :08:43.

:08:43. > :08:47.We went to Belgium to learn about If we don't qualify with the set of

:08:47. > :08:53.players we have at the moment, I don't think we will qualify ever

:08:53. > :09:03.for another World Cup. If the magic happens, they have a stop team.

:09:03. > :09:05.

:09:05. > :09:10.It's no option to fail, we have to make it to Brazil 2014. We all know

:09:10. > :09:15.the cliche that you can't name more than two famous Belgians. In a

:09:15. > :09:24.sporting context that is untrue, think of the cyclists tennis, even

:09:24. > :09:30.the man in charge of the Olympic Games, Jacques Rogge is Belgian.

:09:30. > :09:35.They are all becoming household names. Back in the 1990s there was

:09:35. > :09:38.a sole trailblazer, Philip Albert. They train with extremely good

:09:39. > :09:46.players, when they come back for the national team they are good

:09:46. > :09:52.players. That is a big plus for us. The company is a make of their own.

:09:52. > :09:56.Philine is a perfect player, I think, for the Premier League.

:09:56. > :09:59.Dembele is becoming stronger and stronger every year, in every

:09:59. > :10:04.position, they have very talented players. After a decade of failing

:10:04. > :10:08.to qualify for world cups and European Championships, Belgium has

:10:08. > :10:13.a squad capable of making it to Rio. How have they created such a deep

:10:13. > :10:17.pool of talent. Wefrpblgts had a very good Olympic campaign, --

:10:17. > :10:22.had a very good Olympic campaign in 2008, Belgium made it to fourth

:10:22. > :10:28.place. We saw it coming that there was a very talented group of

:10:28. > :10:38.players, and most of them were playing in Holland, now you have

:10:38. > :10:39.

:10:39. > :10:43.them at Tottenham, Vermol at there, and Manchester City. Ten play in

:10:44. > :10:45.the Premier League, only five are based here in Belgium. Key to the

:10:45. > :10:53.development of the golden generations, has been their

:10:53. > :11:02.decisions as youngsters to relocate over the homeland. The academies

:11:02. > :11:10.for youth in Holland and France is much better for them. People like

:11:10. > :11:12.Demele. In Belgium, the clubs aren't as rich as in Ajax and

:11:12. > :11:19.Amsterdam. The young players are tempted to move away. The important

:11:19. > :11:22.question for Chris Coleman and Wales is whether Mark Wilmots can

:11:22. > :11:25.construct a golden team from his pool of talent. He's not a friend

:11:25. > :11:32.of mine, but I appreciate him for what he Z he worked very hard.

:11:32. > :11:36.Respect for him, and I really hope that he will get some results.

:11:36. > :11:42.have lots of nice players, excellent players, who earn massive

:11:43. > :11:47.amounts of money. But in the national team, except for the win

:11:47. > :11:52.over the Netherlands in August, they haven't performed to their

:11:52. > :11:58.standards. Ultimately, win or lose against Wales, the Belgian youth

:11:58. > :12:01.will be judged on one simple criteria. If we don't qualify with

:12:01. > :12:09.the set of players we have at the moment, I don't think we will

:12:09. > :12:13.qualify ever for another World Cup. It is no option to fail, we have to

:12:13. > :12:18.make it to Brazil 2014, we have to win against Wales. Changing sport

:12:18. > :12:25.now, and from one golden generation to the goldrush of the Paralympic

:12:25. > :12:29.GB team. Here is all the latest medal news from London 2012.

:12:29. > :12:36.Congratulations to Aled Shaun Davies, he followed up a bronze

:12:36. > :12:40.medal in the shot putt, by winning the discus in the F42 category.

:12:40. > :12:44.is hard to put it into words, it is surreal, it was very emotional and

:12:44. > :12:48.really nice to give something back to that crowd. Show that the four

:12:48. > :12:54.or five years of hard work I have put into this, really does pay off.

:12:55. > :13:01.And it has been worth it, totally worth it. It has been a memorable

:13:01. > :13:07.games for Ellie Simmonds, who trains in Swansea. She claimed a

:13:07. > :13:14.second gold medal in the 200 IM, in a world record time, and taking

:13:14. > :13:19.bronze in the 50ms freestyle. Paul Davies took a medal in the table

:13:19. > :13:23.tennis. I have had lots of ups and downs, injury, stress, heartache,

:13:23. > :13:28.worry, I have had a lot of ups and downs. But to have this around my

:13:28. > :13:37.neck, obviously it has been worth every minute of it. Jenny

:13:37. > :13:42.McLoughlin, and Olivia Breen took bronze as the T454X 100 replay

:13:42. > :13:47.people. Mark Colbourne took silver in the C1 time trial, taking his

:13:47. > :13:55.tally at the games to three medal. Newport's Liz Johnson added to

:13:55. > :14:00.Wales medal haul, by winning a swim in bronds, in the SB6 100ms

:14:00. > :14:04.breaststroke. And Beverley Jones, won a bronze medal in the F47

:14:04. > :14:12.discus. Remember, you can keep up-to-date

:14:12. > :14:16.with all the latest Paralympic news, by clicking on the website.

:14:16. > :14:20.Back to the big game now, we have heard from Belgium's called golden

:14:20. > :14:26.generation, the Wales manager and captain, but when they leave this

:14:26. > :14:32.dressing room, can this current crop of Welsh players deliver on

:14:32. > :14:35.their promise? You know what it has been like with

:14:35. > :14:40.Wales down the years. Optimisim at the start of a campaign, deflation

:14:40. > :14:45.by the end of it, when hope has usually long gone. But the quest to

:14:45. > :14:48.reach Euro 2012 did end with a flurry of wins, goals, and a

:14:49. > :14:53.suggestion that things might play out differently this time. It is

:14:53. > :14:57.important to get off to a good start. Not like the last campaign,

:14:57. > :15:01.chasing, we want early points on the board. Fresh start, fresh

:15:01. > :15:05.challenge. As you can imagine, we're all raring to go. It is

:15:05. > :15:08.probably the best shape we have been in, going into a qualifying

:15:08. > :15:15.group, certainly since I have been involved, maybe for longer than

:15:15. > :15:18.that. Injuries have again reeked havoc, Neil Taylor fracturing his

:15:18. > :15:23.ankle, to join Craig Bellamy and others on the sidelines. Not what

:15:23. > :15:26.you need with the talented Belgians in town. The last transfer window

:15:26. > :15:32.was dominated by Belgian players, we are under no illusions that they

:15:32. > :15:35.will be a strong siefpltd there is a couple of Belgian -- side, there

:15:35. > :15:42.are a couple of Belgian lads in the side from West Brom, they are great.

:15:42. > :15:45.It will be a good test for us and them. Fellani and Dembele I have

:15:45. > :15:50.come up against, two of the best midfielders I have played against

:15:50. > :15:55.in the Premier League. If I'm playing, I will have my work cut

:15:55. > :16:01.out against the likes of them. They have strengths in company, Vermalen

:16:01. > :16:06.at the back, they have a good spine to their team. Another problem, of

:16:06. > :16:10.course, overcoming the lack of recent goals. Three defeats, five

:16:10. > :16:13.conceded, and none scored, is the story of life under Chris Coleman

:16:13. > :16:20.so far. We all need a goal, we all need a

:16:20. > :16:24.goal to win the game. Obviously first and foremost we need to make

:16:24. > :16:30.sure we don't concede any, with the players in the team we have a

:16:30. > :16:35.chance of scoring,. Hopefully Friday night we can get another

:16:35. > :16:39.goal. We haven't scored in the last couple of games. That can happen,

:16:40. > :16:47.it works out at international football, it goes on longer,

:16:47. > :16:54.because you don't have game every week. It is not too long. We scored

:16:54. > :16:59.four against Norway, not so long ago. We are Kev dent, -- confident,

:16:59. > :17:03.come Friday we will do everything we can. 1998, the last time Wales

:17:03. > :17:07.has qualified for a large championship, the nation overdosing

:17:07. > :17:12.since then on failure. footballer, or young kid, that is

:17:12. > :17:17.what they target and what they dream of reaching, and achieving.

:17:17. > :17:22.It is no different for everyone here. We're all massively proud to

:17:22. > :17:26.represent our country. We will be even more proud if we are able to

:17:26. > :17:30.get this fantastic nation into a World Cup. It is about time, you

:17:31. > :17:33.know, like I say, it is never for the want of trying. But, like I say,

:17:33. > :17:38.we are probably in as good a position as we have been for a

:17:38. > :17:46.while, to give it a good go. Hopefully we can get off to a good

:17:46. > :17:51.start and really kick on, and set the ball rolling.

:17:51. > :17:56.Withstand, positive noises coming there from the Welsh camp, Gunter

:17:56. > :18:00.ready to give it a go, Joe Allen raring to go? You would expect to

:18:00. > :18:05.hear that as well. There is a lot been said about this qualifying

:18:05. > :18:11.campaign. They need to be judged now on the performances that they

:18:11. > :18:14.put on the pitch. If anything's got to go with what we have heard and

:18:14. > :18:19.what the boys have said, then, I would think Belgium are in for a

:18:19. > :18:23.really tough night. We have to talk about the injuries, starting

:18:23. > :18:27.perhaps with Craig Bellamy. How much of a blow is that? It's

:18:27. > :18:32.massive loss down that left hand side, you ask any defender what

:18:32. > :18:37.don't they like playing against, it is pace. And Craig's got bags of

:18:37. > :18:41.that. Neil Taylor, out for the season, but who will replace him in

:18:41. > :18:48.the Wales team? I would think that Chris will go for experience, and

:18:48. > :18:54.you look at the options he has got. Matthews, Gunter, they can both

:18:54. > :18:58.play there, I think he will go with Sam Ricketts, loads of experience

:18:58. > :19:04.at Premier League level and international level. Formation-wise,

:19:04. > :19:08.we have played 4-3-3 in it the last games and been really successful

:19:08. > :19:12.with it. I can't help that would be playing into the Belgian's hands,

:19:12. > :19:17.that is a very attacking formation for me. And with the pace that they

:19:17. > :19:24.have got in their side, they could cause us numerous problems, if we

:19:24. > :19:30.carry on with the 4-4 will have 4. -- 4-3-3. I wouldn't be surprised

:19:30. > :19:33.if in this we go for a 4-5-1. We have caused teams in the last 18

:19:33. > :19:36.months, going forward with pace, putting crosses into the box. That

:19:36. > :19:42.is what we want to see tomorrow night. Thank you. We will talk more

:19:42. > :19:48.in a bit. But now time to step away from the present, and look back at

:19:48. > :19:51.the archives, during the 190, Wales played Belgium six times in seven

:19:51. > :19:55.years. -- 1990s, Wales played Belgium six times in seven years.

:19:55. > :20:02.Now to look at Wales's greatest- ever performances in international

:20:02. > :20:08.football. March 1993, and Wales are sat mid-

:20:08. > :20:12.table in the qualifying group to reach the USA. In their first game

:20:12. > :20:22.they had been hammered 5-1 in are you mainia. They avoided slipping

:20:22. > :20:25.

:20:25. > :20:28.up against the Pharaoh islands and Cyprus. After failing to get one

:20:28. > :20:33.shot on target in Brussels, they suffered another defeat.

:20:33. > :20:38.In the days of two points for a win, Belgium arrived in Cardiff as group

:20:38. > :20:43.leader. Six games played, six wins. For Wales, losing would end their

:20:43. > :20:46.hopes of going to America. This game now was a crunch game.

:20:46. > :20:52.Obviously Belgium six games on the trot, team full of superstars at

:20:52. > :20:57.the time. Nearly as many as they have got now. Prudon as the

:20:57. > :21:02.goalkeeper, with Neville, one of the best goalkeepers in the world,

:21:02. > :21:04.Albert, and Shifoe, one of the best players in the world. When we

:21:04. > :21:08.played him previously in the European Championships, he had a

:21:08. > :21:12.lot of the ball, we couldn't get the ball off him. But managed two

:21:12. > :21:15.good results against him. We went into the game with confidence,

:21:15. > :21:19.knowing we could beat him. Probably they thought they were going to

:21:19. > :21:27.beat us. Wales had some of the best forwards in Europe. Along with

:21:27. > :21:32.Sanders, there was Ian Rush. Rush. And Manchester United

:21:32. > :21:39.provided Mark Hughes, and a certain 19-year-old playing out of his skin.

:21:39. > :21:43.Gigsgigs. Still gigsgigs.

:21:43. > :21:48.-- Giggs. Now was the moment for the selection of the young star to

:21:48. > :21:52.start game for the first time. try to get all the best players on

:21:52. > :21:57.the pitch, and find a system that would suit the best players. With

:21:57. > :22:01.five defenders at the back, Wales were certainly a robust team.

:22:01. > :22:07.them into Sparky and he did the rest. I used to wins sometimes some

:22:07. > :22:10.of the tackles he used to go in for. We knew if we worked hard and kept

:22:10. > :22:14.the ball out of of the net, we had six or seven players who could

:22:14. > :22:18.score a goal in any game in the world. When you were playing well,

:22:18. > :22:23.and the crowd were behind us in Cardiff. It was brilliant to play

:22:23. > :22:26.in. I remember getting tripped up on the edge of the box. I'm not

:22:26. > :22:31.sure, I got a picture in my head now, I'm not sure if I walked into

:22:31. > :22:37.the wall and I looked back and I saw Ryan Giggs standing over the

:22:37. > :22:42.ball with his hands on his hips, like he does now. I looked over my

:22:42. > :22:46.shoulder at the net thinking he's going to score it. I'm not sure if

:22:46. > :22:52.I was in the wall, I walked back to the ball, and had a look at the

:22:52. > :22:59.view he had. And I knew he was going to score. As he has shown,

:22:59. > :23:02.over the years. It wasn't a fluke, he flipped it over the wall. Great

:23:02. > :23:06.goal, that got us going. We clawed our way back into the group. And

:23:06. > :23:12.the Belgium game was a big win, we started to think, we get a couple

:23:12. > :23:18.of results here and now, we could be going into the last one, maybe

:23:18. > :23:23.not needing to win. In their last group match, Wales found themselves

:23:23. > :23:28.one game away from qualification for the World Cup, but lost to

:23:28. > :23:32.Romania. I always considered it the biggest game of the season. If I

:23:32. > :23:37.was playing for Wales. Never mind if I was playing for Liverpool

:23:37. > :23:41.against Manchester United, in the league. You know, Wales against the

:23:41. > :23:49.Faro Islands was a bigger game for me. Playing for your country.

:23:49. > :23:54.Happiest days of my football career, really. It's all about 2014 now.

:23:54. > :24:03.And it's time to return to Belgium to find out how the visitors are

:24:03. > :24:05.preparing for the start of their World Cup qualifying campaign.

:24:05. > :24:10.It seems you are no-one in the Premier League at the moment if you

:24:10. > :24:14.haven't got a Belgian at your disposal, they are the glamour boys

:24:14. > :24:19.of Europe, but it wasn't all that ways. This is the home of ant we

:24:19. > :24:24.were Football Club, and much like the Belgian national side, it has

:24:24. > :24:28.seen better days, the hey day was in Mexico 1996. But this new crop

:24:28. > :24:34.of Belgian footballers could be on the cusp of something equally

:24:34. > :24:41.special. All the players playing for the big clubs. There is some

:24:41. > :24:51.pressure now. We have the edge to perform on the pitch. We feel the

:24:51. > :24:51.

:24:51. > :24:54.pressure. We have to win those games. If you see the names where

:24:54. > :24:57.everybody plays, the form everybody has, we have to do something this

:24:57. > :25:01.time. Every time there comes a generation, I think now we have a

:25:01. > :25:09.very good generation of very good players, talented players. A lot of

:25:09. > :25:14.players in England and the Premier League. At the moment we are a very

:25:14. > :25:19.good group. Two or three years w a lot of talent and the results

:25:19. > :25:22.coming, at the moment, yeah, the results are there. We hope to start

:25:22. > :25:28.good. With players from the Bundesliga, and la league ga, as

:25:28. > :25:36.well as those in the UK, they have outstanding contributors in every

:25:36. > :25:39.area of the pitch. The pressure is there, it is a long time since we

:25:39. > :25:43.qualified for beige tournament. We have to have a good start, it is

:25:43. > :25:46.good to win the first big games, it will be difficult, Wales is a big

:25:46. > :25:49.country, they have good players. Croatia is the same, it will be

:25:49. > :25:53.difficult, we are also a good team and respected also I think in

:25:53. > :25:59.Europe. While they are undoubtedly talented, this squad has won

:25:59. > :26:04.nothing yet. They failed to qualify for Euro 2012, unfortunately for

:26:04. > :26:09.Chris Coleman and Wales, they have just beaten the Dutch, and Rio is

:26:09. > :26:14.their stated target? We have to qualify, we are young and talented,

:26:14. > :26:19.the time has come. From the 1 players who will play on Friday,

:26:19. > :26:25.you will see they play all for big clubs, and all good players. The

:26:26. > :26:30.pressure is there from the audience and from the supporters. No excuses.

:26:30. > :26:36.Everyone thinks we are going to qualify, this is the pressure. For

:26:36. > :26:40.to qualify to be first, and the second have to play the games

:26:40. > :26:46.against the other second one. It will be difficult but OK. We have a

:26:46. > :26:50.good group. We hope to win. Confidence is evident around the

:26:50. > :26:55.whole squad, but manager, Mark Wilmot, seems capable of keeping

:26:56. > :27:00.his young stars in check. TRANSLATION: We go through the pre-

:27:00. > :27:03.match video analysis before the match, I give them a sheet with the

:27:03. > :27:06.attacking and defensive qualities of each player. It is an aide

:27:07. > :27:10.memoir, I have done it at club level. Now we are concentrating on

:27:10. > :27:14.Wales, it is not necessary to put too much pressure on the players.

:27:14. > :27:19.We will get on the flight, and prepare everything calmly for the

:27:19. > :27:23.game. Their only perceived weakness is at rightback, and Gareth Bale's

:27:23. > :27:27.name is mentioned by all. He's an amazing player, he played a few

:27:28. > :27:33.games with him. I think he's the best player for Wales. We have to

:27:33. > :27:42.take care of him, I think. If we can eliminate him, I think we have

:27:42. > :27:45.a good chance to win. What an unbelievable number of stars at the

:27:45. > :27:50.Belgian's disposal, with that a lot of pressure? You look at their

:27:50. > :27:55.players, they play all over Europe, for all the big clubs. Household

:27:55. > :27:59.names in this country. The favourites in the group, I think it

:27:59. > :28:03.is fair to say. We have given them that target. They have given that

:28:03. > :28:08.target to themselves, and rightly so. The nation expects, they expect

:28:08. > :28:11.to qualify. But that does bring its own pressure. I'm sure they will

:28:11. > :28:17.feel the pressure tomorrow night they are coming out here. They will

:28:17. > :28:21.be expecting to win. I'm positive that Chris and the lads have had a

:28:21. > :28:25.week or so together, in preparation for this game. That's the longest

:28:25. > :28:29.Chris has had to get his players and team prepared for any of the

:28:29. > :28:34.three games that he's been involved. I'm sure they will be ready for him.

:28:34. > :28:38.You sound positive, predictions then? I will go for a Wales win, a

:28:38. > :28:42.win at home, we have been talking about this opening game for many,

:28:42. > :28:47.many months now the Cardiff city stadium will be rocking, full of

:28:47. > :28:51.Welsh fan, I think we can cause an upset, I will go for a 2-1 Welsh

:28:51. > :28:58.win. Here is hoping. Thank you very much. Don't forget you can watch