Coleman: Wales’ glory a result of never being afraid to fail

Ian Watson

Chris Coleman had special praise for Hal Robson-Kanu and Sam Voakes after the pair helped fire Wales into the Euro 2016 semi-finals. 

Ashley Williams cancelled out Radja Nianggolan’s stunning opener before Robson-Kanu came up with one of the goals of the tournament to put Wales ahead in the second half.

Voakes then replaced Robson-Kanu and the Burnley striker scored his first international goal with a fantastic header to put Belgium out of sight.

Manager Coleman was delighted with his side’s display, crediting the win to their passing.

He told the BBC: “When you have players like Aaron Ramsey, Gareth Bale and Joe Allen, you’ve got to play football. Get the best out of your best players, and you get the best out of your team.

“Our only gripe in the England game was we didn’t pass the ball – we have in every other game.

“We wanted to come and show people we can be a very offensive team. And we’ve done that.”

Hal Robson Kanu celebrates Wales v Belgium

“I’m really happy for Sam Vokes. He doesn’t always start but he always turns up and works so hard. For Ashley Williams, he doesn’t score many, but what a leader. Hal Robson-Kanu, wow, what a performance.

“Don’t be afraid to have dreams. Four years ago I was as far away from this as you could imagine. I’ve had more failures than successes but I’m not afraid to fail. We deserve this.”

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