For Wales, Thursday’s World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan presents challenges aplenty. In between preparing to play on an artificial surface at the Astana Arena, there is a balance between maximising precious time on the pitches and prioritising recovery. Wales took an eight-hour direct flight from Cardiff to Astana, avoiding Ukrainian airspace, and their only real training session as a full squad will be 24 hours before kick-off. Player body clocks will be programmed to a two-hour – not four-hour – time difference.
One Wales supporter, John McAllister, spied a challenge in the fixture. His odyssey, inspired by the BBC’s Race Across the World, began five weeks ago when he left home in Barry, south Wales. Since 29 July he has been travelling from Cymru to Kazakhstan, the world’s ninth-largest country by land area and the largest to be landlocked, documenting his journey in a series of YouTube videos. The 26-year-old has covered about 5,000km. More than 1,100 Wales fans will be at the game but only one, understandably, has been directly referenced by Craig Bellamy. “We’ve got to see him, because it means so much to us,” the Wales manager said.
