By the time my home poured Guinness had settled, Cymru were one down. In the time it took me to moan to the dog about our defending, take a swig of my (beautifully poured) pint and get my dinner from the oven, it was two. I’d barely started my chicken wings and it was three.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn my mind the result here tonight was as irrelevant as it was inevitable, but I still didn’t expect this. England are a very very good side. Maybe even a World Cup winning side. Within twenty minutes they proved that and then toyed with us. We improved in the second half but the reality is England went back down the gears after flying through them so quickly at the start. We could and maybe should have scored but it wouldn’t have mattered. England could have upped the ante and scored again if they’d have wanted.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe evening began with a rousing rendition of the anthem as 7,500 Welsh fans proved we really are still here. It’s a shame that defensively we didn’t have the same ferocity when an early corner came in. When you play against a world class side you have to be awake to everything and not give away sloppy goals and this was sloppy. Ben Davies’ “arms up” gesture, hoping the ball would run out of play, whilst England hunted it down, said a lot. When it was cut back to an unmarked Morgan Rodgers there was only one outcome. Simply put, that’s not good enough.
England continued to press and harry and move the ball so effectively, we were in scramble mode. Punch drunk and we couldn’t get out. A cross wasn’t dealt with and two England players fought unmarked for the ball at the back post. Despite chances to clear, Ollie Watkins had space enough to take a touch on the goal line and rifle home.
Embed from Getty ImagesI can’t accept goals like that because that’s just panic defending and panic football and we can’t do that if we want to get to a tournament. Craig Bellamy has so often talked about learning from everything that has happened in the past months, and I wonder what learnings he responded to, which led him to chose one midfielder and five attackers against a team who arguably have the deepest squad in world football. It was a decision which seemed to say “we don’t change for anyone” and I respect that. But that’s not realistic in this environment and it felt like the first time I’ve seen Bellamy learning on the job, in front of my eyes, on the side of the pitch. Like his inexperience shone more than his obvious footballing knowledge. He says he needs to learn from this and he’s got to do it before Monday.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe third goal is frankly a thing of beauty. Saka is an excellent, and dare I say it, underrated footballer. The cut inside, with maybe too much space but perhaps I’m being too critical now, and the flight of the ball straight in to the top corner. It was a stunner. Sometimes you have to say “fair play” and accept that was too good for us. And England, ultimately, were too good for us.
As the first half wore on there was the feeling England could have got more and mercifully they didn’t. By the time the second half had started, they had slipped back to second gear and cruised through the match. Our “moment” came down the right hand side and a lovely ball to the back post and an unmarked Dai Brooks should have given the travelling hordes a moment to remember, but he drilled his low shot close enough to Pickford to keep out with his foot.
Embed from Getty ImagesHarries had a headed half chance but it didn’t really matter. The man of the match (men, women and children) was the Cymru fans though. Singing throughout, so much so that even Tuchel commented on it. Whatever happens, at least we are not them. Yma o hyd.
The talk pre-match was about the value of this game, the ranking points and what it could mean for the playoffs if that is our fate. Bellamy wanted the game to test him and us against the best. The truth is we’ll only know if we’ve gained anything after Monday night. We’ll only know if Bellamy learned something, after Monday night. The ranking points issue, in my mind at least, is a bit of a non-issue. We’ll have to beat good teams to get to a World Cup and the pot one and two teams aren’t wildly different enough for it to matter too much if we end up in the playoffs, if I’m honest. I also don’t know what Bellamy will have gained from this, that he didn’t know before so it does make this whole exercise feel a little futile, albeit necessary because of our UEFA overlords.
Embed from Getty ImagesBellamy will come under the spotlight though if he picks the same or similar starting XI on Monday night. We simply can’t start with one midfielder. Cullen isn’t the link man Bellamy wants him to be and Wilson, as magic as he is, can’t do everything. Especially when we can’t get the ball to him in space. He needs support. Johnson was isolated and it’s too easy to crowd out our players when we have the ball in tight areas. Things must be tweaked or changed if we are to get something from Belgium. We have played two “top tier” teams under Bellamy and in two games conceded 7 goals. That isn’t good enough if you want to qualify for a tournament.
I suppose all of this circus will be forgotten if we do the business in Cardiff and I truly hope we do. Going to a World Cup again would be an amazing experience. But we’ve got to earn it on the pitch and the Bellamy platitudes and mantras need to count for something in that match. I trust Bellamy. I think he’s a great coach. I like that he’s so open. I like Bellamy a lot as a coach and as a bloke.
Embed from Getty ImagesBut I’ll tell you what I really like. Seeing Cymru in a World Cup. Seeing that happen is more important to me than shapes, risks and learnings. I hope it is to Bellamy too and I hope we see the approach that helps us beat the Belgians and keeps the campaign meaningful rather than another heartbreaking “nearly” moment.
Dai @colemans_dream