Chris Coleman has always wanted Wales to focus on the future rather than basking in last summer’s success, yet with Sunday’s World Cup qualifier against Serbia taking place exactly a year after their opening match at Euro 2016, even the manager had to concede that it was impossible not to take a trip down memory lane.
That glorious, sun-drenched afternoon in Bordeaux, when Wales marked their first appearance at a major tournament for 58 years with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Slovakia, evokes so many happy thoughts for Coleman, although the moment that will live with him for ever has nothing to do with anything that took place on the pitch.
“When the national anthem started, that’s what I’ll always remember,” the Wales manager said. “Two things stand out: the respect we showed Slovakia when their national anthem was played – it was silent from us, which was great; and then with our national anthem … the noise, wow, that was unbelievable. That’s what I remember. Of course I remember the goals. But definitely, first tournament, first game, singing the national anthem – that was as good as it gets.”
Coleman would love to experience more of the same next summer but that World Cup dream will be fading fast if Wales come away from Belgrade with nothing. Trailing Serbia and Republic of Ireland by four points at the halfway stage of the qualification campaign, Wales can ill afford to lose more ground and they will be without the suspended Gareth Bale as well as Neil Taylor, Hal Robson-Kanu, James Collins and Andy King.
They remain unbeaten in Group D, yet their supporters are a little deflated on the back of four draws from five matches, especially as the lead was squandered in three games, and pessimistic about their qualification chances as a result. Coleman has picked up on that shift in the mood back home and believes expectations have changed after reaching the semi-finals at Euro 2016.
“In the last campaign we drew at home to Bosnia and it was like we’d won. This campaign when we’ve drawn it’s been like a defeat because of what’s happened between the Bosnia game and drawing in Austria. What happened in between was unprecedented, nobody thought we were going to get to those dizzy heights. You go to Austria and come back with a point and it’s a disappointing result because we’ve qualified and been to a semi-final of a tournament.
“I can’t say it has surprised me because I expected it unless we won every game in this campaign or we were top. It’s human nature that if you get so far, you expect a bit more and want a bit more. But we can’t look at anybody else. It’s down to us.
“Everybody looks at us differently and it’s been tougher – we’ve been striving for so long to be in this position where teams take us seriously and the expectation is higher. The expectation is higher for a reason – because we produced.”
With Coleman maintaining that this will be his last campaign as manager the prospect of Wales not qualifying for Russia has raised questions about his position and whether he could decide to stand down sooner rather than later, maybe even after the Serbia match if things go badly.
“I don’t like talking past the next game, it’s never served me right in the past,” Coleman said. “But I’ve had to mention it [now] because people think: ‘If we don’t get the right result or performance, what’s my future?’ But there’s another 12 points after that and if it’s second place that we’re chasing, but it’s doable, then I’ve got to absolutely go for that with everything that I’ve got. Why wouldn’t I?
“I’m still optimistic of getting a result in Serbia. We are four points behind with five games to play. Are we good enough to win three or four on the bounce? I don’t have to tell you the answer to that. Whether it’s Serbia away, it doesn’t matter. I know we can get a result because we’ve gone to hard places before and done it.”
There is no getting away from the fact that Bale’s absence is a huge blow and with Robson-Kanu and Ben Woodburn, the young Liverpool forward, also missing it leaves Wales short of attacking options beyond the Burnley striker Sam Vokes. Coleman, though, remains positive and believes Wales have “enough to touch those right buttons again” providing they are in the right frame of mind.
“Hopefully we’ll have that mental sharpness and focus so that if we’re in the lead we can hang on to it and see it out, because that’s what’s been missing in this campaign,” he said. “We’ve not seen the job through for 90 minutes. We’ve got to a certain level and then just lacked a bit of concentration. That’s what we’ve got to get back.”
Serbia (probable) Stojkovic; Ivanovic, Obradovic, Nastasic; Rukavina, Matic, Milivojevic, Tosic; Kostic, Tadic; Mitrovic
Wales (probable) Hennessey; Chester, Williams, Davies; Gunter, Allen, Ledley, Richards; Ramsey, Lawrence; Vokes
