Wales heroes have earned the ‘Golden Generation’ tag according to boss Chris Coleman
Wales surged to the Euro 2016 semi-finals and Coleman believes his side can make it two in a row by reaching next summer’s World Cup finals in Russia
CHRIS COLEMAN claims his Wales stars have earned the tag of the Golden Generation.
And the Dragons boss wants his men to copy the boys of 1958 by reaching the World Cup finals.
Wales surged to the Euro 2016 semi-finals in France, the first tournament they had qualified for in 58 years.
Now Coleman believes his side can make it two in a row by reaching next summer’s World Cup finals in Russia.
They face the Republic of Ireland in Cardiff tonight, with victory guaranteed to earn them a play-off place, or even an automatic ticket to the big one if Group D leaders Serbia slip up against Georgia.
Coleman said: “It’s a golden era, the players have proven it’s a golden era.
“They were labelled the golden bunch of players before we qualified for the Euros.
“I fought against that because they hadn’t earned that tag, but they have earned that now.
"This group of players have made the difference.
“They have gone one step further than anyone else that has gone before them and they have been doing a great job.
“This is their time and they are trying to do the best they can for the nation.”
The last time Wales were on the brink of reaching a World Cup finals came in 1993.
But they eventually missed out to Belgium and Romania.
Now Coleman insists his players must look forward.
Cookie added: “1958 is nothing to do with this squad of players.
“Whatever we have done will not help us against Ireland.
“We have to keep doing what we’ve been doing and that will give us a great chance.
“But there are no guarantees for us or the Republic, nobody knows what’s going to happen and that’s the exciting thing for us.
“All we can do is concentrate on ourselves looking forward and, more importantly, the players have to enjoy the experience they’ve created.
“The players have created the situation where the excitement in the country is incredible but they must not forget to enjoy it.”