Leicester City’s Jones looks to help Wales in any way
Carrie Jones is enjoying her football as she prepares to take on Bosnia in a World Cup playoff at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Jones has been an ever present in Gemma Grainger’s squads this campaign and has certainly left her mark on the team.
So far, we’ve seen her mainly play down the wing, but we’ve also seen her play as a lone striker against France and thriving in that role.
Asked where her best position was, Jones was relaxed and gave this response.
‘To be honest I’m just enjoying doing a job for the team’
‘I’ve played down the wing most of the time so you could say I like playing there more, but if I’m up front or down the wing, it’s no matter to me’
‘I just enjoy playing wherever in the team and hope to do the job that’s asked of me.’
There’s no doubting that the confidence the youngster has gained during this campaign has in some part come from Grainger.
In her first qualification campaign as manager, Jones was full of praise for her boss.
‘She’s an incredible person. She wants to focus on you as a person as well as you as a player’
‘For me, I’m so lucky to have a manager like Gemma, because you’ve seen how much I’ve improved since she’s come in, and I’m very excited about what’s to come.’
The confidence the on-loan Leicester forward has is of course felt by every member of the squad, especially as they prepare to take on Bosnia.
The Bosnians were the lowest ranked team in the World Cup playoff draw, and while many will be expecting a Welsh win, Jones knows that it’ll still be a tough task.
‘I think we were quite lucky with the draw that we got, but we know that every game at international level is going to be tough’
‘We’re just taking it one game at a time and we’re confident that we can get the win that we need against Bosnia on Thursday’
‘We can’t underestimate them because they’ve been given the opportunity to reach the playoffs, and every team that reaches the playoffs is going to come out fighting’
‘We’ve just got to be the team that comes out on top.’
And once again the team will be buoyed by a record crowd on Thursday night. With over 13,500 tickets sold so far, Jones cannot wait to play on what promises to be another memorable night.
‘I’m sure you can tell by the smile on my face that it’s just incredible’
‘The first game we played in Cardiff against Estonia, we played in front of 5000. Now for it to be like 12,500 is unreal’
‘We can’t put it into words. This campaign is a success alone on the crowds that we’ve managed to attract, so we’re all really excited.’
Wales take on Bosnia & Herzegovina in a World Cup playoff at the Cardiff City Stadium on Thursday October 6th.