BRISTLING FOR A FIGHT
Hair we go! Roberts warns Lewandowski he’ll have to beat power of the moustache to put out Dragons’ fire
WALES have warned Poland talisman Robert Lewandowski he must scale the Red Wall and face up to Connor Roberts’ “unbeaten” moustache if he is to make it to the Euros finals.
Roberts is bristling for a fight ahead of his country’s crunch play-off final at home to Poland tomorrow night.
He’s grown an epic, extra-wide ‘tache – part Tom Selleck, part Victorian villain look – this season and reckons it’s in good enough form to take care of Lewandowski.
“My wife told me to grow it last year and it went on an unbeaten run at Burnley,” said Roberts, who is on loan at high-flying Leeds United in the Championship.
“I’ve done the same thing this year and I think it’s appeared in 25 Championship matches and never lost. I’m hoping it brings us more luck on Tuesday. It’s all about the power of the ‘tache!”
After clipping Finland 4-1 last Thursday with no close shaves, Wales and Roberts are close to reaching their fourth major tournament out of the last five.
To chop down the Poles at the Cardiff City Stadium, however, will mean dealing with the threat of Lewandowski, who boasts an incredible international scoring record of 82 goals in 146 matches.
The Barcelona striker is now 35, but has already scored 23 goals this season for club and country.
Roberts, though, is part of a Wales defence which has only conceded four goals in seven matches this season and added: “Lewandowski a good player, but as a back five, and as a full team, we have played against good players all our careers.
“So, this is just another game where you have to have no fear.
“I’ve had brilliant moments at the Euros, scoring goals, being part of big nights in Cardiff, playing at the World Cup, but I want more.
“As footballers, I think a lot of us get greedy. We want to be better and better and this gives us another opportunity.”
Two years ago, Wales reached their first World Cup finals for 64 years when they beat Ukraine in a play-off final in Cardiff (Gareth Bale, centre, celebrates with his team-mates at full-time, below).
Bale inspired the Dragons to a semi-final win over Austria and his free-kick against Ukraine sent them to the showpiece in Qatar.
Wales’ own version of Lewandowski has since retired, but Roberts believes the team’s attacking threat has been broadened by boss Rob Page to soften the blow of Bale’s absence.
David Brooks, Neco Williams, Brennan Johnson and Dan James scored against the Finns as Wales made it seven matches unbeaten.
One more win and they will be in Germany this summer in Pool D, alongside France, the Netherlands and Austria.
“We’ve got talent all over the pitch and we’ve got different types of talent as well,” added Roberts.
“Kieffer Moore is different to Brennan Johnson and Dan James, and then there is Harry Wilson and David Brooks.
“So, they’re all brilliant players and I’m just hoping that one of them is our Gaz, is our hero again, like he was against Austria a few years ago.
“Hopefully, one of them is our hero on Tuesday night and we can all start celebrating together.”