Confidence blooms in Cardiff

BBC Sport Online columnist Mark Aizlewood hopes that Wales' draw with Argentina will be a springboard to better things.

From Wales' point of view it was a terrific result to draw against Argentina in the Millennium Stadium.

It was great for the supporters to see such quality players, great for our players to play against such quality, and it can only help what Wales manager Mark Hughes is trying to do.

Obviously it shows the progress that has been made in a relatively short space of time, with the likes of Argentina coming to Cardiff and Wales giving more than a good account of themselves.

There's a confidence about Mark Hughes that's spreading through the team

Mark Aizlewood

The fact that Argentina didn't field a full-strength side makes a difference to them, but Wales did as well as they could and you can't take anything away from their performance.

Irrespective of whether it was an under-strength Argentina team, every single one of their players would get a place in the Wales team - and perhaps many more international sides.

John Hartson and Craig Bellamy look to be forming a good partnership up front for Wales and they still have a number of years in front of them, they are not old players by any stretch of the imagination.

The more they play together and the more they can harness a partnership between them, it can only augur well for our next qualifying campaign.

We still have people like Nathan Blake, who is also a good player, but at the moment Bellamy and Hartson are the two who are in form.

It was great that Ryan Giggs came down to Cardiff and represented Wales again, his ambition and his intelligence on the field spreads to other players.

Yes, it was only for an hour, but it was still great to see him.

People should also take their hats off to the Football Association of Wales - who have been much maligned in the past - because they did a fantastic job.

Giggs brings the best out of his team-mates

The FAW did well not just in getting the match staged at short notice, but also in the way it was put together.

That side of it, as well as the performance of the team, can only be good for the image of Welsh football.

There's a confidence about Mark Hughes that's spreading through the team, suggesting that they've gradually turned the corner.

Hopefully - and we've had false starts before, like every sport does - the win against Belarus in the final World Cup qualifying match, and the game against Argentina are not a false dawn.

Hopefully Wales can carry these performances and results into their Euro 2004 qualifying games.

Only time will tell that, but I certainly prefer to talk about keeping a good run going than Wales having to start one.