{"id":295427,"date":"2023-11-17T01:24:28","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T01:24:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=295427"},"modified":"2023-11-17T01:24:28","modified_gmt":"2023-11-17T01:24:28","slug":"harry-wilson-knew-he-had-to-step-up-for-wales-after-gareth-bale-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/soccer\/harry-wilson-knew-he-had-to-step-up-for-wales-after-gareth-bale-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"Harry Wilson knew he had to step up for Wales after Gareth Bale retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Harry Wilson admits the onus was on him to step out of Gareth Bale\u2019s shadow and keep Wales on track for major tournaments.<\/p>\n

Boss Rob Page revealed recently he spoke to Wilson last summer and told him he was no longer simply a squad member and that he is a \u201cbig player\u201d for Wales.<\/p>\n

Wilson responded with a hand in both goals in September\u2019s 2-0 win in Latvia, and then scored twice in the stunning 2-1 victory over World Cup semi-finalists Croatia last month.<\/p>\n

Those two wins lifted Wales up to second in Group D and they will qualify automatically for Euro 2024 by taking six points from their final two games, away to Armenia on Saturday and at home to Turkey three days later.<\/p>\n

\u201cGaz provided a lot of moments for us on the pitch in times that we needed him,\u201d Fulham forward Wilson said of Wales\u2019 record scorer Bale, who retired from football in January.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo for me being an attacking player, I need to start stepping up in those moments, and thankfully I was able to do that in the Croatia game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not stupid, I know I wasn\u2019t the first on the team sheet because we had Gaz at Real Madrid and \u2018Rambo\u2019 (Aaron Ramsey) at Arsenal and then Juventus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were playing regular football at the top level and it felt like they produced in every game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t happy with that because I wanted to be playing, but now with players leaving, I think there\u2019s a spot there for me and I\u2019d like to think that I have stepped up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilson won his 50th cap against Croatia, 10 years to the day since becoming Wales\u2019 youngest-ever male player at the age of 16 years and 207 days.<\/p>\n

Affectionately known as \u2018The King of Corwen\u2019 by Wales fans, Wilson has also stepped up off the pitch as part of a leadership group.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIt\u2019s not just Gaz leaving, Joe (Allen) left as well as a couple of senior players who made sure that the standards are always up there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gone from maybe one of the younger ones in the squad to being one of the oldest quite quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a little meeting during the last camp that \u2018Rambo\u2019, Ben Davies, Connor Roberts, Ethan Ampadu and myself were in.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not the one who\u2019s going to be barking orders on the pitch, but I like to lead in a different way and doing stuff right<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a group of lads who want to make sure the standards are set every day, making sure everything is right off the pitch so we can perform on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not the one who\u2019s going to be barking orders on the pitch, but I like to lead in a different way and doing stuff right. On the pitch, I want to lead with the ball and try to make stuff happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wales will be looking towards Wilson again as they attempt to reach a fourth major tournament out of five and avenge June\u2019s shock 4-2 home defeat to Armenia.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cWe know what we did wrong in that game and we know what we\u2019ve got to do on Saturday to put that right.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor sure we owe them one. They played a fantastic game, but we also know we weren\u2019t at the levels we\u2019ve been at since. If we can perform like we did against Croatia, I\u2019m pretty confident we can get a result.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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