Davies' finishing touch starts ball rolling

Finland v Wales: Spectacular arrival of Spurs midfielder means Giggs can now share the burden

By the standard of the goals they score shall you measure the calibre of their talent. Think Beckham from the halfway line against Wimbledon, Giggs in the FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal, Zidane in the Champions' League final last May.

Simon Davies would be the first to say that he should not be considered as part of that illustrious company. Not yet, but membership of the highest class surely beckons a young Welshman who is blossoming into a powerful Premiership force and who has already shown this season that he can score goals of a sumptuous quality on the most demanding stage of all.

Eleven days ago in Varazdin, Davies grabbed his first goal for his country, and it was no ordinary effort. Picking up the ball in his own half, he strode forward with a cluster of Croatian defenders in pursuit, side-stepped the last man and carried the ball a few more yards before poking it past the advancing goalkeeper from just inside the penalty area.

It is rated one of Wales's best international goals. Many compared it to Giggs's slalom run and explosive finish which turned the Arsenal defence to stone and gave Manchester United a place in the 1999 FA Cup final. Mark Hughes, who is about to agree a new contract confirming his change from part-time status to Wales's full-time manager, said it was "one of the all-time great international goals".

What might be more significant for Hughes's team, as they embark on the qualifying campaign for the 2004 European championship with Saturday's visit to Finland, is that the Tottenham player himself says that strike will settle the butterflies that had begun to impede him when presented with scoring oppor-tunities in a red shirt.

"I had a few chances in other games, against Belarus and Germany especially, that I know I should have put away," said Davies, who also scored with aplomb for Spurs on Tuesday at Charlton. "It was still playing on my mind in the summer when I played golf back home with my uncle [the former Crystal Palace and Wales forward Ian Walsh]. I told him I wished I had scored because that would have settled me down. He replied that, as long as I kept getting into the right positions, then the first one would come."

The emergence of the boy from Haverfordwest as an attacking midfielder with energy and finishing skills and soaring confidence is a huge bonus for the Welsh as they try once more to end what is approaching a half-century wait to qualify for the finals of a big tournament.

For a long time their prospects always seemed to revolve around Giggs and his suspect fitness, and while he remains their most identifiable star, there are match-winners in other areas of a team who have gone five games unbeaten – the best sequence for nine years – and who beat Germany before the World Cup.

With Hughes preferring to operate with John Hartson as a lone striker, the onus is on Davies to join in from a central position and the precocious Craig Bellamy from out wide. That is the role Tottenham's 22-year-old prefers. And he is excited about the challenge offered over the next two seasons.

"Last season was a good year for me, and that comes from knowing Glenn Hoddle believes in me. George Graham had his own ideas, but I always felt I was ready to play first-team football before. I was the new kid last season and got a lot of praise, but now comes the hard bit and I have to build on and improve on what I achieved last term.

"For Wales, we are on a good run and confidence is high. We are hoping that if we can remain nice and solid away from home, then the crowd at the Millennium Stadium will help us to get the points we need. Obviously, it's a tough group with the likes of Italy involved, but we have nothing to fear from either Yugoslavia or Finland."