Hughes plays it safe
Monday, March 10, 2003
Article summary
Mark Hughes has named a 27-man squad for Wales's qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Serbia and Montenegro.
Article body
Precaution taken
Hughes has taken the precaution of including West Bromwich Albion FC's Andy Johnson (broken foot), Reading FC captain Adrian Williams (knee) and Cardiff City AFC duo Rhys Weston and Danny Gabbidon (both back) in his party in case any of them are passed fit for the Group 9 fixtures.
Gabbidon a doubt
"We have to cover ourselves or maybe lose them," said Hughes, referring to the two-week call-up date which could have seen clubs refuse to release their players. "The biggest doubt is Gabbidon. He has been out for a long while with his problem. He certainly won't be involved in any of the build-up and is probably going to miss the games anyway."
Delaney injured
Wales have a problem at right-back as Aston Villa FC's Mark Delaney is unavailable for selection due to injury. Hughes said: "I will have to play someone there who does not play in that position for his club. Weston and Matty Jones can both do the job but we'll have to wait and see until nearer the match."
Rousing victory
The Welsh have been superb thus far in the qualifying competition to reach Portugal. They followed up their opening 2-0 win in Finland with a rousing 2-1 home victory against Italy before making it three wins in as many games against Azerbaijan in Baku. They are five points clear of the Italians ahead of the 29 March visit of Azerbaijan to Cardiff - the same day Italy meet Finland in Palermo.
'Noses in front'
Serbia and Montenegro, formerly Yugoslavia, are also bidding to claim the sole automatic qualifying route to Portugal, though their prospects were not helped by a 2-2 draw with Azerbaijan last month. Hughes said it is imperative that his side get a result when they travel to Belgrade on 2 April. "We must keep our noses in front and hope that eventually other countries run out of games to catch us," he said.
Wales squad
P Jones, Crossley, Ward, Coyne, Melville, Symons, Page, A Williams, Gabbidon, Barnard, Weston, Speed, Pembridge, Savage, Davies, M Jones, Robinson, Johnson, Oster, Trollope, Koumas, Giggs, Hartson, Blake, Bellamy, Taylor, Earnshaw.
