Mark Hughes: Wales Can Bounce Back From World Cup Heartbreak

The former Wales player and manager is confident the Dragons can bounce back from their disappointing early exit
15:00, 05 Dec 2022

Mark Hughes is confident Wales can bounce back from their disappointing early World Cup exit.

Hotshot Hughes enjoyed a distinguished 16-year international career, scoring 16 goals and was capped 72 times by his country.

And the legendary former Manchester United and Chelsea striker has no doubts the Dragons can continue growing despite failing to produce their best form in Qatar.

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“We didn’t really make an impression, unfortunately,” admitted Hughes.

“We were delighted to be in a World Cup after so long and once you’re there you want to make people sit up and take notice.

“But it was a little bit low-key in both games up to the England one and there was always a danger that given England’s quality they were going to be too strong for us in the last one.”

England dumped Wales out with a fine 3-0 victory, but Hughes believes the damage was done in his country’s two previous games.

A 1-1 draw with the United States and a shock 2-0 loss to Iran left them with their backs against the wall.

“We had to get the job done in the first two games - and unfortunately found ourselves lacking,” admitted Hughes.

“It didn’t really happen, which is a shame because I’ve seen Wales play a lot of games in recent times and they can play much better than they were able to for whatever reason.”

Hughes’ first managerial job was with Wales between 1999-2004. He had no problem throwing himself into the deep end at international level before a crack at a domestic career.

Now Bradford City’s manager, Hughes famously played for Wales when they required victory against Scotland at Ninian Park in September 1985 to edge within one more victory of qualifying for the 1986 World Cup.

MarkHughes

A win in that match would have secured a play-off with Australia to try and secure a huge opportunity to reach the Mexico-based tournament.

Wales, commendably, reached a World Cup for the first time in 64 years with their progress to Qatar.

And despite a group stage exit, Hughes believes the small nation deserve plenty of credit for their run to the Arab State.

“Everybody involved can pat themselves on the back,” reflected Hughes.

“It’s a great experience for them being part of a squad that have played in a World Cup.

"It was a long road to get to a World Cup finals, but they got there.

"A lot of good teams and players weren't able to get there.

“I was part of good teams with fantastic players, but we weren't the 'whole deal' whereas this team has been together for a long time now and had the success that has enabled them to be a confident team. ”

Group winners England now face France in the quarter-finals on Saturday evening.

And Hughes, 59, believes their plethora of talent gives the Three Lions their best chance of winning a World Cup since their memorable 1966 triumph.

“They’ve got great talent and could go very close,” said Hughes.

“The strength in depth they’ve got is as good as I’ve seen from England in the past.

“They’ve always had exceptional players but maybe the players to come on and make a difference weren’t quite the same level. That’s not the case now.

“They’ve got real talent at the top end of the pitch and those are the players who will win you games in tournament football.

“Look at the other squads and there are not too many who have that ability to bring on like for like that England have.”

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