Davies: Wales supersub is ticking along nicely
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BEN WOODBURN is the teen sensation breathing life into Wales’ hunt for a World Cup place.
The 17-year-old Liverpool forward carries the hopes of a nation after two stunning cameos. First came a goal five minutes into his international debut against Austria that secured a vital three points for Chris Coleman’s side in Cardiff last Saturday. The manager turned to Woodburn again when Wales’ charge towards Russia looked to be fading in Moldova, and he did not disappoint. His inch-perfect cross put the ball on a plate for Hal Robson-Kanu to head home the first of the Dragons’ two goals in the 80th minute. Team-mate Ben Davies said: “He’s been superb the last two games he’s come on. Ben has changed the games and when you have a player like him, especially at his age, he looks like he has a long future ahead with Wales. “For me, what he has shown the two times he has come on, shows he can hack it with the best. If you put him on in any game, he can have an impact. “We saw him over the last couple of training camps and it was a shame he got injured before the Serbia game. “He might just be 17 but there’s no worries from anyone about giving him the ball. He has got all the confidence in the world and that’s what we need in this team.”
Mixing
Wales’ efforts to persuade the Nottingham-born Woodburn to choose the nation of his maternal grandfather have paid off. Coleman had been in regular contact with his family to outline his plans and make the player feel at home in his adopted country well before he became Liverpool’s youngest scorer, in a League Cup win over Leeds. It looked as if Woodburn had been mixing it at the top level from the moment he was thrust on against Moldova to help send Wales above Republic of Ireland in Group D and into second place. His goal and assist in his first two outings will grab the headlines. But his tight turns and flicks added the missing bite to the Dragons’ attack. Then came the moment of inspiration when he charged down the left flank and crossed the ball for Robson-Kanu to stoop and score. The pressure will be on Coleman to start Woodburn in the final qualifiers against Georgia and Ireland next month as they aim to be at least among the eight best runners-up to secure a play-off spot. Woodburn will feel 10 feet tall back at Liverpool’s Melwood training ground, and Spurs star Davies (left) reckons he will soon be terrorising Premier League defences. He added: “I’m sure he would have the same impact there. We’re confident in him every time he comes onto the field. “He definitely takes the pressure off Gareth (Bale), Aaron (Ramsey) and Joe (Allen). You can see in their game they try to do the difficult stuff because they feel they have to try and create chances. “Ben can really take that pressure off our boys to play a bit more naturally and freely. He gives us a serious threat up there.”