As Wales football eye up a huge year in both the men’s and women’s game, who could prove crucial in their bid for World Cup qualification? We’re looking at the top talents in the team that could get them all the way to another major tournament, and make more history.
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00:00Well, Charles, we, of course, are into a new year now. It is 2025 and that means that soon
00:09enough the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup will get underway. And for Wales, that's really
00:15important because under a new manager in Craig Bellamy, they have started to perform a lot
00:19better. Of course, they did qualify for the last World Cup under Rob Page. They got to
00:23Qatar in 2022. Performances there, let's be honest, weren't great. And then after that,
00:29they continue to slump. Inevitably, Rob Page lost his job. You know, I think of a draw
00:35against Gibraltar, for example. That was really quite poor. Of course, they didn't make the
00:40Euros in 2024 and that sort of summed it up for Wales a little bit. But now Craig Bellamy
00:45has come in, steadied the ship. Things are looking more positive and they've got some
00:49good results. And of course, as I say, there are qualifiers to come. And so what's going
00:54to be the aim? I mean, obviously, well, qualification is the aim for Wales getting back to the World
00:58Cup. But how will this happen? How will this occur? And who will they look to rely on in
01:02terms of star players, star names, to make sure that they get the job done in the group
01:07that they are in?
01:08Yeah, obviously, as you mentioned there, a massive change under Craig Bellamy, it has
01:12to be said. He's really, really steadied the ship and got things right because, you know,
01:18Wales have produced some fantastic players. I think maybe are lacking an individual like
01:23replacing Gareth Bale is obviously a huge task, but they have got the likes of Harry
01:27Wilson and Brennan Johnson, obviously young. Aaron Ramsey, you know, looking to hopefully
01:32be fit for the qualifiers, which is massive to have their captain in that side. But, you
01:38know, I think he's really prioritised just getting things right and setting a high standard
01:43for Wales as a nation. And, you know, qualification has to be the minimum. So, yeah, it's going
01:50to be exciting. It's obviously a massive year for Welsh football in general. You know, the
01:54women's game as well. They've got the Euros this summer coming up, which is fantastic.
01:59Their first ever qualification to a major tournament. So, you know, hopefully the men's,
02:04you know, the women's can have a fantastic tournament and the men's side can then follow.
02:09You know, in terms of games, Kazakhstan, North Macedonia, Liechtenstein and Belgium are the
02:15four teams they'll face home and away from sort of late March to late November. Got to
02:23be sort of making it through those. And, you know, Belgium is sort of the toughest
02:28game. But, you know, they obviously rolled back the years in 2016 and beat them fantastically
02:34well in the Euros. And I'm sure they'll look to do that again. So, you know, massive to
02:40also start at home against Kazakhstan in the first game, which is a huge boost. And Ben
02:46Ami is going to have, you know, I'm sure it's going to be a sellout game and it's going
02:50to be a massive occasion for Welsh football. So, so much, so much to look forward to ahead
02:56of 2025, if you're a Welsh football fan.