We want to test ourselves against the best - Davies

International friendly: England v Wales

Venue: Wembley Date: Thursday, 9 October Kick-off: 19:45 BST

Coverage: Commentary on BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru

Defender Ben Davies is targeting a Wales win at Wembley to help set up the crucial World Cup qualifier against Belgium.

Wales face England on Thursday - four days before facing Group J rivals Belgium in Cardiff.

Wales sit third in their group, behind second placed Belgium and leaders North Macedonia, in pursuit of a place at next summer's World Cup finals.

Davies feels a first win against England in Wembley since 1977 would be an ideal way to go into the Belgium game.

"We're playing against a top 10 nation in the world, a very good team," said the 32-year-old Wales skipper.

"Ultimately we want to test ourselves against the best teams to be ready for when we play another very good team on Monday night."

Davies, who will be winning a 99th Wales cap at Wembley, added: "As a squad, we've worked hard this week, we've looked at the qualities that these teams have and feel like we're as prepared as we can be.

"So we want to come out here, show our identity, show what we can do and what we've done against other teams and hopefully have a good performance."

The last time a Wales team beat England on their home turf was in 1977 when Leighton James scored a penalty in a 1-0 win.

Davies would love to replicate that result even if it has not been a main focus.

"It's definitely in the back of our minds," said the Tottenham Hotspur defender.

"Every game against England is going to be competitive. There's a big sense of pride on the line in these games, but we're really looking forward to it.

"We want to come here and win, even though it's a friendly. I think it's a good opportunity for us to test ourselves to show what we can do, but there's that competitive edge to it too."

Davies has played against England three times, including a 2-1 loss at Euro 2016 - a result that still rankles.

"The 2016 one, it still hurts the last-minute goal to concede, but in that one we were playing a game more result-dependent," he said.

"We're very lucky in this team that we have incredible guys all across the board, players that come in, players that maybe don't play every single time but show their best foot every time they come in.

"It's just a fun environment to be around. We enjoy each other's company on the pitch, off the pitch. It feels like playing with your mates at times. So when you do get out on that pitch you know that you've got each other's backs whatever is thrown at us."

Davies has also experienced two 3-0 defeats against England, at the 2022 Qatar World Cup and in a 2020 friendly at Wembley.

"They're games that we know we're playing against top opposition but we felt like we could have done a lot better and given a much better account of ourselves. So they're games that stay in the memory," he added.

"Hopefully we have a better chance tomorrow [Thursday]."