Chris Coleman insists Wales will not be going to Euro 2016 to simply make up the numbers.
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The world’s population has more than doubled, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon and Apartheid ended – just a few of the historic events that have occurred in the 57 years since Wales last appeared at a major tournament. It’s an achievement that has left the Arsenal midfielder delighted on a personal and collective level.
It was Gary Speed who was credited with setting in motion the revival in the fortunes of Welsh football that has culminated in qualifying for France with one match still to go.
“It’s fantastic. We’ve all dreamed about this”.
“They did not come as a tourist, but to play well and pose us problems I would like to congratulate them on qualifying for the European Championship”, Bazdarevic said.
“But we need to make changes – about staff and how we run the structure – because we need to keep pushing forward even though we’ve qualified”.
The golden generation is a tag the current crop have had to shoulder in recent years but, led by Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, it is a burden they have carried with relative ease.
“When we come off losing 2-0 I thought we would have to go again but our secretary gave us the Israel result and it was complete elation”, said former Wales defender Coleman.
Belgium also qualified from Group B by beating Andorra 4-1, the country’s first Euros since co-hosting the tournament in 2000.
Italy made certain of their place at Euro 2016 with a 3-1 win over Group H rivals Azerbaijan in Baku.
In an intimidating atmosphere in Bosnia, it was a tough game for Wales where they struggled to break down a Bosnia & Herzegovina side which includes Chelsea keeper Asmir Begovic and Roma star Miralem Pjanić.
Theo Walcott has warned his England teammates that completing a historic 100% record in the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign will count for nothing unless they mount a strong challenge at the finals.
There are hurdles to be overcome, but Coleman confirmed Wales would be interested in setting up a face-off between the world’s most expensive players, and does not expect a full-time return to the Millennium Stadium.
“In my career, it is the biggest thing I have ever achieved and I am not sure anything is going to top this feeling”. Coleman said he would be open to the idea of bringing Portugal to Cardiff, in a match that would be billed as Bale against Cristiano Ronaldo, while Poland are confident of setting up a match in Warsaw on 13 November. But it is not about one game, we did a lot of the hard work beforehand.
“I am disappointed because we lost, but these boys deserve this – it is unbelievable”, Coleman said.
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Now that qualification for France is done and dusted Williams is keen to ensure that Wales can build on the success.
