Wales' Wilson eyes more history against Belgium
Euro qualifier: Wales v LiechtensteinVenue: Cardiff City Stadium Date: Friday, 6 June Kick off: 19:45 BSTCoverage: Live on BBC One Wales, S4C, iPlayer, BBC Radio Wales and Radio Cymru, the BBC Sport website and app, plus live text commentary.
Harry Wilson is eyeing more history in Belgium as Wales target back-to-back qualifying wins in their quest to reach the 2026 World Cup.Craig Bellamy's side play Liechtenstein in Cardiff on Friday before facing group favourites Belgium in Brussels three days later.For Wilson, the trip to the King Baudouin Stadium means a return to the scene of his first Wales appearance, when he came on as a substitute aged only 16 in 2013.While Wales' initial goal in this camp is to see off Liechtenstein, Wilson says a first ever away win in Belgium is also a target for Bellamy's in-form team."International football has shown many times over the years that here are no easy games and although on paper people will think we should win that game [against Liechtenstein] comfortably, we still have to go out there and perform," Wilson said."For us to look ahead to Belgium before getting that game done would be silly, but going into this camp six points is definitely the aim."
Wales have an impressive recent record against Belgium, who they beat during qualifying for Euro 2016 before knocking them out of the tournament in memorable fashion.Wales have lost only two of eight games against the Belgians since Wilson's 2013 debut despite the Red Devils having a golden generation of players during that period.
"To have a record as good as that against a nation as good as they are – over the last 10, 15 years they have had a golden era – is an amazing feat," Wilson said."I am not sure why the record is so good, but hopefully we can keep it going."Wales lost their most recent encounter with Belgium, in Brussels in September 2022, when Kieffer Moore's goal counted for nothing as Rob Page's side went down 2-1 in the Nations League.They have never won in Belgium in eight previous attempts, but will travel with confidence having gone unbeaten in eight games since Bellamy took charge in the summer of 2024."We've gone eight games unbeaten since the manager's come in and to do at international level is not easy at all," said Wilson, who is in line to win his 61st cap against Liechtenstein."It shows what a good team we are. The style we're playing now, both on the ball and off the ball, suits a lot of players in this team and that's why we're on such a good run."
'I wanted to be a mainstay in this team'
Wilson, who was then at Liverpool, became Wales' youngest ever male international when he was handed his chance in a 1-1 draw in Belgium in 2013.Twelve years on, Wilson is a senior figure for Wales and one of their most influential players, but still holds the record as his nation's youngest senior international."At the time I didn't know [about the record]," Wilson said."At the time it was just about coming on for my country. It was something I had always wanted to do, so to do it so young was amazing."Then I had a few years away which probably made me even more hungry to make sure I got back in the fold and really start to rack up the caps."I didn't want to just be a one-cap 16-year-old. I wanted to be a mainstay in this team. It took me a few years, but I feel like I am that now."Wilson enjoyed another memorable moment in Belgium in 2021, when he applied the finishing touch to a fabulous team move to open the scoring in a World Cup qualifier played behind closed doors because of the Covid pandemic.Though Wales went on to lose the game 3-1, Wilson cherishes the memory of "one of the better" team goals."The team they had out that night was one of their strongest, so to score a team goal like that was amazing," he added."It's just a shame there were no fans there to see it."
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