By Graham Thomas
Connor Roberts insists he is bristling for a fight against Robert Lewandowski and Poland on Tuesday night.
Roberts has embarked on long unbeaten Championship runs at Burnley and Leeds over the last two seasons after putting his razor away and growing a moustache.
The 28-year-old wing-back is now determined to avoid a close shave on the international stage and show off his new look in Germany this summer as Wales host Poland for a place at Euro 2024.
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The Wales defender has groomed an epic, extra-wide ‘tache – part actor Tom Selleck, part Victorian villain look – this season and reckons it’s in good enough form to take care of Lewandowski.
“My wife told me to grow it last year and it went on an unbeaten run at Burnley,” said Roberts, currently on loan at high-flying Leeds United in the Championship.
“I’ve done the same thing this year and I think it’s appeared in 25 Championship matches and never lost. I’m hoping it brings us more luck on Tuesday. It’s all about the power of the tache!”
After clipping Finland 4-1 last Thursday with no close shaves, Wales and Roberts are confident the noisy backing of their famous Red Wall can help them reach their fourth major tournament finals out of the last five.
To chop down the Poles at the Cardiff City Stadium, however, will mean dealing with the threat of their talismanic striker Lewandowski, who boasts an incredible international scoring record of 82 goals in 146 matches.
The Barcelona striker is now 35, but has already scored 23 goals this season and created the only goal of the game when Poland beat Wales 1-0 when they last met in the Nations League in 2022.
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Roberts, though, is part of a Wales defence which has only conceded four goals in seven matches this season and added: “Lewandowski a good player, but as a back five, and as a full team, we have played against good players all our careers.
“So, this is just another game where you have to have no fear.
“I’ve had brilliant moments at the Euros, scoring goals, being part of big nights in Cardiff, playing at the World Cup, but I want more.
“As footballers, I think a lot of us get greedy. We want to be better and better and this gives us another opportunity.”
Two years ago, Wales reached their first World Cup finals for 64 years when they beat Ukraine in a play-off final in Cardiff thanks to a Gareth Bale free-kick, following a Bale-inspired semi-final win over Austria.
The Dragons’ own version of Lewandoski has since retired, but Roberts believes the team’s attacking threat has been broadened by manager Rob page to lessen the impact of Bale’s absence.
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David Brooks, Neco Williams, Brennan Johnson and Dan James shared the goals against the Fins as Wales made it seven matches unbeaten.
One more win and they will be in Germany this summer in Pool D, alongside France, the Netherlands and Austria.
“We’ve got talent all over the pitch and we’ve got different types of talent as well,” added Roberts.
“Kieffer Moore is different to Brennan Johnson and Dan James, and then there is Harry Wilson and David Brooks.
“So, they’re all brilliant players and I’m just hoping that one of them is our Gaz, is our hero again, like he was against Austria a few years ago.
“Hopefully, one of them is our hero again on Tuesday night and we can all start celebrating together.”
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