Phil SumblerConnor Roberts has declared the next Welsh qualifier at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday as a “must not lose” game after their campaign got off to a losing start with a 3-1 defeat against Belgium on Wednesday night.
The Welsh were beaten by the World’s Number 1 ranked team despite taking an early lead through Harry Wilson and now face the Czech Republic in Cardiff on Tuesday looking to kick start their campaign for a first World Cup finals appearance since 1958.
Wednesday night’s defeat adds some additional pressure to the game but Roberts is stopping short of saying that it is a must win game but has certainly declared it a ‘not lose’ fixture as he explained to Sky Sports.
“You could say it’s maybe a must not lose, but I wouldn’t say it’s a must-win,” said Swansea’s ever present defender.
“They’ve started well but there is a long way to go. Even in our European qualifiers, we lost a game to Croatia and we still managed to do it.
“It’s not the be-all or end-all and we’ve got many games to come.
“I don’t think it’s too much to worry about at the moment and, hopefully, we can get as many points as we need to qualify in the end.”
Meanwhile Brandon Cooper has been added to the squad from the Under-21s after the Welsh were hit by injuries to both Ben Davies and Tom Lockyer.
