Wales manager Craig Bellamy says his team will look to take the initiative in their World Cup playoff semi-final
On Thursday night, Wales take on Bosnia-Herzegovina in Cardiff in their World Cup Qualification semi-final and manager Craig Bellamy insists his team intend to attack. The game is a single-leg tie with the winner advancing to play the winner of Italy and Northern Ireland for a place at this summer’s tournament.
Given what is at stake, you could be forgiven for thinking that Bellamy might adopt a pragmatic approach to minimise risk and give his side the best chance of staying alive for as long as possible.
However, he believes that isn’t his or his team’s style and that they are better served by being true to their identity and playing with a high intensity.
Bellamy says Wales will play a high-intensity game
“We’ve got to go full gas,” Bellamy told reporters at his press conference on Wednesday.
“Like, that ball goes out for a throw in, three seconds, get it back. Keep the tempo quick. And I feel people want to see it.
Suggested Articles
“I could be wrong, but that’s what I feel. We want to see that, we want 100-mile-an-hour football and that’s what I love about this group of players, what I love about this Wales.”
Fans know what to expect from this Wales team
Bellamy wants Wales to take the game to Bosnia-Herzegovina and leave everything on the pitch in order to come away with no regrets. It might sound gung-ho, but he believes it is what fans and pundits have come to expect from his team.
“What do you think’s happening tomorrow?” Bellamy asked reporters.
“We’re going all out, we ain’t sitting back. You might look at me after the game, maybe I need to change, but we’ll deal with that question then.
“This is us, this is who I am, this is who my coaching staff and who players are. If it fails, I can sleep. But to me, this is what I like and I hope the fans like it. We’re such a good team with such good players. The rest will take care of itself.”
Wales host Bosnia-Herzegovina at 19:45 local time on Thursday, with the winner of this one-off game going on to host either Italy or Northern Ireland on March 31 for a place at the World Cup finals.
