Wales must shake the feeling of 'what if?' in Paris friendly

Chris Coleman has completed three qualifying campaigns in charge of Wales

When Wales face France at the Stade de France on Friday night, Chris Coleman and his players will find it difficult to shake the sense this game has come 16 months late - the Euro 2016 final that never was.

Wales scaled stratospheric new heights in France last year, reaching their first semi-final at a major tournament where they were beaten by Portugal, who then went on to defeat the hosts in the final in Paris.

It was a euphoric summer for Wales and they hoped to rekindle that spirit by qualifying for their first World Cup since 1958.

Coleman said the campaign for next year's tournament in Russia would be his last, the ideal send-off for the most successful managerial reign in Welsh football history.

However, those aspirations came crashing down with defeat at home to the Republic of Ireland in their final qualifier.

It was an evening of crushing despair in Cardiff, the script for Wales' World Cup dream - and Coleman's farewell - ripped up and tossed aside.

Friday night's friendly against France was meant to be part of Welsh preparations for Russia, a chance for Coleman's side to test themselves against a heavyweight of world football before sharing a stage with the sport's great and good next summer.

Instead, it is only the French who have an eye on the World Cup and Welsh attention has turned to Coleman, who has yet to decide on his future.

He has held informal talks about a new contract with the Football Association of Wales, though official negotiations will only start after the friendly at home to Panama on Tuesday.

Doubts in his mind

In France last year, Coleman seemed pretty sure this would be his last campaign - but now the circumstances have changed.

Has Wales' failure to qualify changed his mind? Is it causing him to doubt his decision?

"It is a little," Coleman says, grimacing.

"My last competitive memory is Cardiff, where it was one of the biggest disappointments of my career. I've had disappointments before, but that was more embarrassment, like the Serbia debacle [losing 6-1 in 2012]. This was different.

"We were trying to achieve something special and we fell at the last hurdle. Do I want that as my last memory of a campaign? I don't think so, to be honest. But that doesn't mean that's going to be the overriding factor for me staying on either.

"Coming back from France, I just felt in my bones that definitely wasn't the time to be walking away from Wales, although with stocks and shares, my opportunities then would have been far greater. There was definitely another campaign, I felt it in my bones."

'I didn't leave the house'

That campaign never truly sparked into life for Wales, who were unbeaten until their October defeat against the Republic of Ireland but were made to pay for drawing five of their previous nine qualifiers.

Three successive wins leading up to the final fixture had revived Welsh hopes of qualifying, only for them to be brutally ended by James McClean's solitary goal in Cardiff.

"To be honest, for a week or 10 days I didn't really leave or stray too far from my house," Coleman says.

"I still haven't watched the game. I watch every game we play to analyse it, double-analyse it, watch it 10 times, but I can't bring myself to watch that one.

"To think about the disappointment, thinking I'm never going to get to the World Cup, some of our players probably won't either because of their ages. So for everybody it was really, really tough. It's not really softened."

That evening, with the pain still raw, a group of Wales' senior players met Coleman after the game to plead with him to stay.

They have struck a tight bond with the manager since his appointment in 2012, enduring fallow years of underachievement and strife to make their recent achievements all the sweeter.

"We definitely want him to stay. The success we've had under him is huge and he's a great manager for us," says Wales and Burnley striker Sam Vokes.

"He knows we'll give him our all. The journey we've all been on with him has been great, so we hope it continues."

James McClean's goal ended Wales' hopes of a first World Cup appearance in 60 years

The decision

These friendly fixtures against France and Panama may prove to be Coleman's last, though it will not be for a lack of persuasion from his players.

"It was a funny old atmosphere because of the disappointment of what we'd experienced but they know how we work and they've been very vocal in saying that they enjoy it and want to take it on," Coleman adds.

"That's nice to hear from a manager and staff point of view but it's not about us all liking each other. The atmosphere is great and I like working in it. But it's about, 'Are we going to take it on to the next step?' And I can't give you that answer. It's for the people above me to say."

Coleman's decision on his future will be based not only on money or the rapport he enjoys with his players. He will also want to know what guarantees the FAW can offer in terms of the game's structure in Wales and how the governing body can capitalise on recent success by investing and building for the future.

If chief executive Jonathan Ford and others can offer such assurances, Coleman might be convinced to change his mind and stay.

"I think the group of people, the group of players we've got, I think there's at least one more achievement," Coleman says.

"Everything else needs to be right for me, right for us, to take this on because the next step will be harder than the last one."