World Cup play-off: Wales aware of 'magnitude' of game, says keeper Danny Ward

Danny Ward has established himself as the Wales number one ahead of Wayne Hennessey

Goalkeeper Danny Ward says Wales' players do not need to be told what is at stake in their World Cup play-off - because they are all fans at heart.

The squad are in Portugal preparing for the game against either Scotland or Ukraine in Cardiff on 5 June.

Ward has returned from injury as Wales look to qualify for a World Cup finals for the first time since 1958.

"It's massive, but as a group we don't need to discuss the magnitude of it," said the Leicester City stopper.

"Before we were Welsh footballers we were Welsh fans and we still are. So we understand what the nation wants.

"It's about the opportunity to get to the World Cup and to put ourselves in this position is great.

"We want to get over the line and provide the country with something we have not had for so long.

"If we are the group that can do that, everyone will be as proud as punch."

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Ward, 28, missed the play-off semi-final win over Austria while recovering from knee surgery, but he has already had a memorable end to the season.

Nearly four years after arriving at Leicester from Liverpool, he made his first Premier League appearance for the Foxes in a 5-1 win over Watford.

Now, having establishes himself as Wales' number one before his injury, he is back contesting the position with Burnley keeper Wayne Hennessey.

Ward said: "The special thing about this group is whether you are a goalkeeper or a striker, we just want to do well, whether you are in the team or not.

"That is probably more evident with the goalkeeping situation. Regardless of whatever decision the manager [Robert Page] makes regarding the goalkeeping situation, as long as Wales win I don't think anyone will be too bothered."

Wales are flying directly into Poland for their opening Nations League game in Wroclaw on 1 June before they can concentrate solely on the crunch World Cup tie.

The only players not in the training camp are those involved in club finals this weekend. Gareth Bale is hoping for a Real Madrid swansong in the Champions League final against Ward's former club Liverpool on Saturday.

Then on Sunday, Nottingham Forest winger Brennan Johnson and Huddersfield Town's Sorba Thomas clash in the Championship play-off final before the duo embark on Wales duty.

Ward said whatever happens in the European showpiece, Wales captain Bale's mood would not change going into the Wales camp, though he said: "It would be nice for Gareth to end his time at Madrid on a high.

"We all know what a legend he is regardless of what is said in Spain in terms of his time at Madrid."

Having been at Liverpool and Huddersfield, Ward has plenty of past clubs to monitor this weekend. But he was born in Wrexham and started his career at the Racecourse.

So after Wales training on Saturday morning, Wrexham fan Ward will be anxiously seeking a television to watch his beloved club's National League play-off semi final with Grimsby.

He said: "They have been amazing. What the owners [Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney] have brought into the club has galvanized everyone from the players to the staff.

"I went to Notts County away and was amongst thousands of Wrexham fans. It was something I have not seen at the club for a long time. It was chalk and cheese from the club I was at all those years ago."

Of course, Wrexham fans will face a club v country attendance dilemma on 5 June if their team beat Grimsby. The National League play-off final is at West Ham's London Stadium on the same day as Wales face their make-or-break World Cup encounter in Cardiff.

Ward will feel a "tinge of sadness" for fans who might be forced into choosing one or the other. But overall he believes Wrexham, who were relegated from the Football League in 2008 when he was in the club's academy, are on the up.

"They have put together some unbelievable results, it seems there is a good togetherness and spirit. Everything is moving in the right direction," he added.

For Wales and Wrexham fan Ward, the goals for club and country this summer are strikingly similar: "Hopefully it's just a matter of time and that time is in the next couple of weeks."