Captain fantastic Ben Davies' rating as Tottenham veteran leads Wales to top of World Cup group
Tottenham man Ben Davies was part of a huge win for Wales on Thursday
The international break might mean that there is no Tottenham action over the next fortnight, however, there are still plenty of Spurs stars to keep an eye on.
First up was Wales captain Ben Davies who led his side halfway around the world to face Kazakhstan and a near 4000 mile trip in the fifth of his country’s World Cup qualifiers. A solitary Kieffer Moore goal made was enough for all three points to put his side top of group J, albeit having played more games than their nearest rivals Belgium and North Macedonia.
Ben Davies solid as Wales captain plays key role in win
Up next, in what could be a pivotal clash in October is Belgium when there will be plenty of Premier League rivalries on display. Spurs left-back Davies will be hoping to lead the side again and, despite the narrow victory against a team ranked 80 places below Wales, will be happy with his evening’s work.
This is how the media rated the veteran defender after a job well done. Welsh media outlet The Football Club: “Ben Davies (C) – 7 The captain played a key role in helping the side secure an important clean sheet, stepping up in a defence missing the experience of Joe Rodon due to injury.”
Football Insider: “Ben Davies – 7 Tottenham veteran Davies was a calm head at the back as Wales were up against it late on, and he did not look rusty in the slightest despite failing to appear for Spurs this season.”
Despite not featuring for Spurs so far this season, it isn’t a surprise to see Davies receive a solid mark. If anything, it typifies what sort of player he is; reliable, steady, consistent, if not as flamboyant or attack minded as some would prefer him to be. Full-backs like Davies are almost a dying breed in that the 32-year old is a defender first rather than a frustrated winger. Sometimes managers can forget that it is easier to win games if goals aren’t being conceded at the other end of the park.
What Davies said after Wales victory
After guiding Dylan Lawlor through his debut, Davies told BBC Sport that, sometimes, the performance is irrelevant now that Wales are at the sharp end of the qualifying campaign with just three games left to play: "That was our target [to win], the most important was to win the game. It wasn't our best performance. This is European qualifying. If you want to get to a World Cup, you have to play tough games. We worked hard out there and had to defend at times."
On facing Belgium in their next World Cup qualifier on October 13: "It is obviously the biggest game we have going forward now. As far as I'm concerned, it's job done tonight."