It is now only one day until Wales kick a ball in their first World Cup since 1958 and the anticipation only grows. When Rob Page’s team take to the pitch at the Ahmed Bin Ali stadium tomorrow evening, it will have been a journey traipsing over 60 years and countless figures of Welsh football.
The current squad, firstly guided by Chris Coleman and subsequently Page, have been a renewed force in the international game in recent years — and fewer have experienced Wales’s football resurgence more than Ben Davies. The 29-year-old will line up in defence against the US in their group B opener having been present in each of Wales’s most recent tournament experiences.
Davies has featured in nine of Wales’s last 10 tournament matches. The experienced Tottenham Hotspur defender helped propelled Wales to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 but missed out on the showdown with Portugal because of a harsh suspension. Then last summer he was an ever-present as Wales reached the last-16 of Euro 2020.
In Qatar the aim is to emerge from a group also featuring England and Iran and progress to the knockout rounds. Davies is a dependable player in Page’s squad and the prospect of lining up for Wales and singing the national anthem at a World Cup is not lost on him. Even if this is new for Davies and his team-mates, they can pull on previous experiences.
“It’s more a feeling that we’ve done the Euros so what’s the next step we can take,” Davies said. “By reaching the World Cup and to have the chance of doing something special, that’s a feeling which is difficult to describe.”
The achievement of reaching Qatar should not be underestimated, and the play-off victory over Ukraine will live long in the memory of those present in Cardiff back in the spring. But nothing can compare to being in camp on the eve of a World Cup opener.
“Euro 2016 was something new to us all, travelling around Europe to play in a top competition, that was something different,” Davies added. “There’s a similar feeling now, a new feeling for us facing teams we’ve not played against before.
“To be honest, it’s a success for us as a country just to qualify for a World Cup. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have a lot of ambition to do something special in this competition. I want to play for Wales as long as I can. I’m concentrating on this one now, but I’d like to be in future competitions too.”
'We will raise our game'
Realistically Wales’s primary aim is to emerge from the group-stages, the rest would be a bonus. Five players — captain Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Ethan Ampadu, Chris Mepham and Jonny Williams — did not train at the Al Sadd Sports Club in Doha on Saturday due to managing workloads but all five will be fit to face the US. Page’s only injury absentee is midfielder Joe Allen who continues to recover from a hamstring problem.
“We’re in camp and really excited for the games to start,” Davies continued. “I’m sure when the games start, it will feel very different because the teams we’ll be playing against will be different. We know the first game is so important. We’ll have to start well in the first 10 minutes, keep our heads and stay calm. We’ll need to relax as much as we can beforehand and raise our game.”
Wales are now accustomed to delivering on the biggest stages. Raising their game for a World Cup simply signifies the next stage of their notable trajectory. Another challenge to relish for Davies and Co.