The defender Neco Williams has revealed he played in Wales’s stirring opening World Cup match against the US the day after his grandfather died.
Williams, 21, said he managed to get though the 1-1 draw thanks to the support of his teammates and family.
He paid tribute to his grandfather Kelvin Jones, himself a good footballer, for providing guidance and advice that had inspired him to become a professional player and represent his country.
Posting on Instagram after the match – Wales’s first appearance in the World Cup finals since 1958 – Williams said his mother breaking the news that Jones had died was “the toughest news I’ve ever had to face”.
Williams continued: “He’s been everywhere around the world to watch me play football from when I first started playing at Liverpool at six years old. He’d never tell me if I had a good game because he always said I have to get better and better each day and that’s why I am where I am now.
“So I dedicate this game all to him because I know he’s up there watching down on me very proudly. For everyone please cherish [what] you have with loved ones because you never know when it can get taken away from you.”
On Twitter he added: “To go from crying all day to start in a World Cup game was extremely tough but I got through it from the support of my team mates and family.”
Yesterday was the toughest news I’ve ever had to face and that was listening to my mum tell me my grandad past away last night😓 to go from crying all day to start in a World Cup game was extremely tough but I got through it from the support of my team mates and family❤️🕊 pic.twitter.com/3pcxl0C3Qc
— Neco Williams (@necowilliams01) November 21, 2022
Like all his teammates Williams belted out the Welsh national anthem at the start of the game, a rousing moment that has won praise around the world.
After the game Williams, who now plays for Nottingham Forest, looked red-eyed. He pointed to the sky and said: “That was for you, grandad.” He was comforted by several of his teammates.
Wales drew thanks to a Gareth Bale penalty, a result that was celebrated across the country and gives Wales a good platform from which to progress to the knockout stage.
Williams is from the village of Cefn Mawr, near Wrexham in north Wales. In an open letter to him published in the Athletic last year his family suggested he got his talent from his grandfather, whose own promising career was cut short by injuries.
They wrote: “Everyone always talks about what an amazing footballer your grandad was and how he could have made it to the top if it wasn’t for breaking his ankle twice. He is so proud of you for living a dream that was taken from him.
“Do you remember he used to always tell you … to make sure you were practising on your left foot as well as your right?”
