Speed eyes crucial Wales test

Gary Speed says Wales are now a hard team to beat

Wales captain Gary Speed believes Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Armenia is one of the most important games he has ever played for his country.

After losing their opening Group Five match against Belarus, and then drawing the next two against Norway and Poland, Wales lie in fourth place in the table - five points behind leaders Poland.

So Speed, with an international career spanning over ten years, is adamant that only a victory in Armenia will keep any hopes alive of reaching the World Cup finals in Korea and Japan.

"I can't stress how important this game is," said the Newcastle player.

"I've played a lot of important games for Wales, but I can't think of many as important as this one.

"If we manage to get three points in Armenia, then who knows what might happen?"

Improvement

Wales' record of only conceded three goals in their first three qualifying matches is testament to Mark Hughes' determination as manager to improve the team's defence.

But they have only found the net twice themselves.

"That's the one area we need to improve," said Speed, who wins his 62nd cap on Saturday.

"We're becoming a hard team to beat, but we have to win games now. We've still got a lot of hard work to do.

"But we've got a situation now in Wales where hopefully Mark (Hughes) can be in charge for a long time.

"If that happens then there's only one way we can go, and that's up."