Wales leaving no stone unturned in planning for ‘challenging’ Kazakhstan trip

Wales have prepared for their marathon World Cup qualifying trip to Kazakhstan by involving Craig Bellamy’s squad in “challenging” logistical planning for the first time.

Making the 6,000-mile round journey to and from Kazakhstan – the world’s largest landlocked country which borders Russia to the north and China to the east – presents a demanding test for the Football Association of Wales on several different levels.

Finding a suitable aircraft to get to Central Asia and back by avoiding Russian air space, the four-hour time difference, and potential hot weather are among the issues facing Wales in Astana on September 4.

Wales will also be greeted by an artificial playing surface at the Astana Arena, as Bellamy’s side seek to boost qualification hopes for the 2026 World Cup finals in Canada, Mexico and United States.

“Challenging”

FAW chief executive Noel Mooney told the PA news agency: “This particular trip is a difficult one for players mentally. It is challenging.

“You have to prepare meticulously for it in so many areas – travel, the time difference and impact on body clocks, the food and conditions being just some of them – and we spent a lot of time with the players before the campaign started.

“The leadership team – the likes of Ben (Davies), Harry (Wilson), Connor (Roberts) and Rambo (Aaron Ramsey) – have looked at the different logistics, and it’s the first time they have done that.

“We really went into a lot of detail with them about how do we make this easier for them.”

Wales lie second in Group J with seven points from four games after beating Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein at home, drawing in North Macedonia and losing 4-3 away to Belgium in June.

North Macedonia are on eight points from four games, while Belgium have picked up four points from two matches.

The group winners will claim the one automatic place for the finals next summer, but Wales are almost certainly guaranteed a spot in the March play-offs because of their strong Nations League showing last year.

Planning

Mooney said: “We’ve already done our planning for the World Cup, we have to look at different things.

“The team is working very closely with FIFA and there’s actually a trip planned for the USA very soon to look at base camps.

“We work off a catalogue list, but at the same time there are still dependencies.

“(If you get there) it’s how you qualify, whether you get through by winning the group or through the play-offs and what region you are in, but we’ve been well ahead of the curve in terms of planning for the finals.”

Bellamy names his squad on Thursday for the Kazakhstan clash and the Swansea friendly with Canada on September 9.