Now the world will know Wales ISN’T in England
IAN RUSH believes reaching their first World Cup finals since 1958 has at last placed Wales on the international map.
It means that the legendary Welsh striker will not any longer suffer the embarrassment of explaining that his country is not part of England.
That will definitely be cleared up when England and Wales meet in Qatar in a Group B qualifying game on November 29.
Rush was in Cardiff last Sunday to witness the ending of 64 years of World Cup hurt.
And he praised the work of former Wales manager Gary Speed and Crystal Palace No.2 Osian Roberts, in his previous roles as the Dragons’ technical director and assistant boss.
Rush explained: “I have travelled to the Middle East over the past 10 years and I have often been asked if Wales is in England.
“No one is disrespectful, but emphasising to the world that Wales is a country in its own right is one reason why getting to the World Cup finals is so important.
“When I travel to the region or beyond, I am more famous than Wales and now my hope is that Wales will be more famous than me.
“Qualifying is also tremendous for the Welsh economy. We all saw the effect Euro 2016 had on the nation.”
When Speed took charge of Wales 12 years ago they had a FIFA ranking of 117, below the likes of Guyana and Haiti.
Rush added: “The credit for change goes to many people including Osian Roberts, Gus Williams, who is the talent manager, and the late Gary Speed, who took us up a level.”
Roberts, whose coaching and organisational skills have been recognised by Palace boss Patrick Vieira, helped kickstart the Welsh footballing revolution.
Rush (right) said: “It meant introducing a winning mentality through all the age groups and making sure youngsters who were qualified to represent both England and Wales chose the latter.
“In creating ‘The Welsh Way’ we had two aims – qualifying for a major tournament and creating a player development system so we could sustain success and qualify for three out of four tournaments.”
Both boxes have been ticked with Roberts adding: “We made sure the Golden Generation was backed up by a generation of winners,
“That saw us winning the Victory Shield with the Under-16s regularly beating England, France, Belgium etc. It means you already have a winning mindset at international level. It’s why young players with dual nationality chose Wales over England having experienced both set-ups.
“Ian Rush as elite performance director helped me put all this in place.
“Without his backing it wouldn’t have happened.”
Rush was part of Terry Yorath’s side which included Neville Southall, Kevin Ratcliffe and Ryan Giggs – and was just a missed Paul Bodin penalty from qualifying for USA 1994.
“I have a regret that I never played in the World Cup finals,” he admitted. “I remember being envious talking to John Charles and Cliff Jones, who were in the Welsh side in Sweden in 1958.
“I honestly never thought I would get the chance to see Wales play in the World Cup finals.”