JAMES: I OWE IT ALL TO MY DAD

DAN JAMES admits the World Cup will be emotional for him after crediting his late father for making it to the biggest stage with Wales.

James was rocked when his father Kevan passed away suddenly, aged 60, in May 2019 – and the grief remains raw.

His mother, brother, partner and baby will all be in Qatar to roar him on with Wales, but there will be one huge absentee.

The Fulham winger owed his Welsh roots to his dad from Aberdare, who did not live to see his son’s dream move to Manchester United.

And James (above, with dad Kevan) admits he might not have made it as a youngster with Hull and then Swansea – never mind the national team – were it not for his father.

James said: “Whenever I pull that Wales shirt on, I always think of him. I wouldn’t be in this position without him.

“He took me to a north Wales camp when I was 12 years old. He emailed the person there to say I was eligible to play for Wales. If he didn’t do that, then I wouldn’t be here today.

“I got picked up at Swansea when I was 15, playing for Wales against

Poland.

“I wouldn’t have played that game and may not have been at Swansea and end up going to a World Cup.

“The Slovakia game, when I scored on my competitive home debut in 2019, he was there and I’m so glad that before he passed away he got to see me play for Wales.”

James was on the scoresheet at the weekend when he opened his account for new club Fulham in their 2-1 home loss to Manchester United in the Premier League. It was his 13th appearance of the season after quitting Leeds on loan on deadline day in search of regular football ahead of the World Cup.

James added: “Getting a goal means I’m now going into it with confidence.

“I wanted to play games and be fit, coming into the tournament. It was always on my mind. It was tough, it was deadline day and it was last minute.”

James can now expect to come up against Fulham team-mates Antonee Robinson and Tim Ream in Wales’ opening game against USA on Monday when full-back Robinson (inset) could be marking him.

James added: “They’ve said about giving me a few kicks in training. Monday will be a great match up.

“Going to the World Cup, they’ve got expectations of going through.

“With us, it’s just about how we can go into every game believing we can win and with full confidence.”