Wales like to blood them young. Ben Woodburn was 17 years and 322 days old when he made his international debut in Cardiff on Saturday night. That made him two days older than Ryan Giggs, six days younger than Aaron Ramsey and a whole year older than Gareth Bale.
Woodburn was old enough and his match-winning goal was certainly good enough, the Liverpool man’s shot sizzling past Austria’s Heinz Lindner from 25 yards out five minutes after he had arrived on the pitch. It was a necessary intervention, allowing Chris Coleman’s side to force their way back into the reckoning for World Cup qualification. With three games left, they are four points off the top of Group D and two points off the play-off place occupied by the Republic of Ireland, with the Irish yet to come to Cardiff.
It was a striking feat from Woodburn and the Cardiff City Stadium thrilled to it. The age at which a player makes his international breakthrough can depend on their nationality. Smaller nations need to bag a prospect early and rumours that England had been hoping to persuade Woodburn to ditch the country of his blood for that of his birth have been persistent. Coleman says he was always sure Woodburn would choose Wales, however, and that the decision to give him his debut had everything to do with ability and nothing to do with securing his future.
“I’ve never had doubts that he would play for Wales,” said Coleman. “I never thought he was going to go any other way, to be honest. But I’m in a privileged position because I’ve spoken with the family. He’s always declared himself Welsh, he’s played with all the youth teams, worked through our age groups so while he may be new for some people he’s not for me. We’ve seen him coming through.”
As for putting him on the pitch, Coleman said: “I’m not in a position to make frivolous decisions. It’s all or nothing for us. First and foremost he’s a young player and if I didn’t think he was going to get through that I wouldn’t put him in because it’s not fair on the lad. I put him on because I thought he had a lot to offer, because I’ve seen a lot of him, and thankfully it worked out.”
Woodburn’s club coach has been trying to dampen expectations around the player for a year already, but it is a mark of how highly Jürgen Klopp rates his young forward that he has not been allowed to leave Anfield on loan this season. There will now be a clamour to see more of the player but that will surely only help the development of a young man whose character is said to be as robust as his skill set. In describing Woodburn’s playing strengths, Coleman cited his skill, speed and his balance. Certainly the technical ability was clear in the way he struck his goal, driving through the ball in a manner reminiscent of Bale or his Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo. Just as important for the coach, though, is Woodburn’s mentality. It was striking on Saturday that each of Wales’s key players rose to the occasion when the moment demanded it. From Bale to Ramsey and the captain Ashley Williams – who made a late, dramatic intervention when he deflected a Marko Arnautovic shot over the bar with his head – they found a way to make an impact. Woodburn, it hardly needs explaining, did the same.
“You’re never sure with young players”, Coleman said. “You can see them coming through with a lot of confidence but it can go left or right, you’re never sure. Ben is very composed, he doesn’t get fazed. He’s got a long, long way to go, Ben knows that and Liverpool will be the same. It’s for everyone else to get carried away but for me he’s a bright young player and he needs to keep working hard.”
Woodburn is not Wales’s youngest debutant, not nearly in fact – that record is held by his fellow Liverpool academy graduate Harry Wilson, now 20. Coleman cited Wilson, Lee Evans, currently starring for Wigan in League One, and Sheffield United’s David Brooks as other young talents pushing for senior recognition. The youngest of them all, 16-year-old Ethan Ampadu who joined Chelsea from Exeter in the summer, was on the bench on Saturday. Another player who could represent Wales or England, Ampadu’s debut may not be long in coming either.But on a night where the spirit of ’16 seemed alive and well among Coleman’s charges, the coach had a reminder that potential is not the same as achievement.
“It’s looking good for us, it’s good signs, but this is our golden generation; your Joe Allens, your Gareth Bales. Why? Because they’ve produced. They’ve gone out and done something different. For these new boys coming through, that’s the pathway.”
