Chris Coleman has promised Wales will “go for it” against Georgia in an attempt to keep their World Cup dream alive.
Wales, second in Group D behind leaders Serbia, are without talisman Gareth Bale in Tbilisi on Friday after the Real Madrid forward suffered a calf injury.
But Wales boss Coleman has targeted victories in the final two qualifiers, in Georgia and at home to the Republic of Ireland on Monday, although four points might be enough for a play-off spot next month if certain results in other groups fall in their favour.
“Georgia have got imagination, create chances and play risk football,” Coleman said.
“That’s very difficult to play against, as we saw in Cardiff and when the Republic played them.
“They’re not afraid of anybody and will take it to anybody, so if we have any thoughts of hanging on then we’ll lose the game.
“We’re going there to score goals and we have to go on the front foot.
“There will be times when we have to defend in numbers because that’s international football, but when the opportunity presents itself we have to go for it.”
Georgia have yet to win in this qualification campaign, but they have drawn five of their eight games and failed to score in only one.
They also fought back from conceding an early Bale goal in Cardiff last October to draw 1-1 and dent unbeaten Wales’ qualification prospects.
“Of all the games in this campaign, the one we could have lost and the one we looked at in needing three points, was at home to Georgia,” Coleman said.
“You look at all the draws in the Republic, Austria and Serbia as good points.
“But Georgia was the one game I felt where maybe we weren’t on that knife-edge where we were all on it.
“We didn’t have that attitude maybe, myself included.
“But it is on a knife-edge now and we have all been there before.”
Coleman has painful memories of his last visit to Tbilisi as he was part of a Wales team thumped 5-0 by Georgia in 1994.
Wales had 10 Premier League players in their team, an excellent goalkeeper in Neville Southall and the feared strike trio of Mark Hughes, Dean Saunders and Ian Rush.
But Coleman only remembers a “horrible” experience and says there is no comparison between the team he played in and the one he now manages.
“This team is on a different level to the team I was in, albeit we had some big hitters,” Coleman said.
“We weren’t a team at that time, this is a team – and we’re in with a great shout.
“The pressure is great because I’ve been used to there being nothing now, three games in and we’re out of it.
“But that’s not the case now. This is the second campaign we’ve been in it and we’ve kept the ball rolling.”
Wales have not won away from home without Bale since 2009, but Coleman and skipper Ashley Williams reckon they will keep their late charge for World Cup on track without their most influential player.
Coleman said: “Gaz is a big miss, but we don’t get caught up in it. We’re not in our rooms worrying about it.
“We’ve got confidence in whoever comes into the team and it is the team that will get the win or not.
“We have an important game that we need to win. We have a gameplan and we stick to it, work as hard as we can and try to win then move on to the Ireland game.”
Aaron Ramsey will be looking to fill the void left by Bale on his 50th appearance for his country, and Williams believes he will deliver the goods in Georgia.
He said: “Aaron will have a job to do in the team which he will do as he always does.
“I doubt he will feel any extra pressure. He will just go out there and do what is required of him.”
