Wales First Minister H E Mark Drakeford
As Wales play their first FIFA World Cup game in 64 years today in Doha, First Minister H E Mark Drakeford said his country “dared to dream” to play in the tournament and it is a “very special opportunity”.
Wales take on the United States at Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium at 10pm today as part of Group B.
“It is one of the very special opportunities for Wales to play on the world stage; a very small nation with 3 million people... taking on a huge country like the United States. I take pride at being here and the recognition that it brings,” Drakeford said yesterday in Doha.
Drakeford is visiting Qatar for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. He was speaking to media on the sidelines of an event held to unveil a giant bucket hat installation in the FIFA Fan Zone.
In reply to a question on the significance of Wales playing in the FIFA World Cup, Drakeford said, “We have a saying in Wales about football - dare to dream; you have to dream to get to a World Cup if you are a small country. The wonderful thing about sport is that once you are here on your day, any team in this tournament could beat any other team. So you have to go in to the tournament to enjoy it, to be glad to be part of it.”
“Dare to dream - think that it’s your day you could win any game and you could go beyond the first week and deeper in to the tournament,” he added.
In Group B Wales will also face England and Iran. In a rare incident England will conclude their Group B fixtures meeting neighbouring Wales.
Speaking about the preparations made by Qatar for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Drakeford said, “It is the most extraordinary effort any country has to make to host a tournament of this global significance; as you drive through the city (Doha) it is fantastic to see the Welsh flag flying alongside the other 31 countries and to see the enormous efforts that have gone into to prepare a tournament of this scale and significance.”
Drakeford also emphasised that Wales is looking forward to build its relations with Qatar beyond the World Cup in areas including business, investment and cultural ties.
