Wales have arrived in Qatar as they prepare to play in their first World Cup in 64 years.
Robert Page’s 26-member crew and crew flew from Cardiff on Tuesday afternoon and arrived in Doha early Wednesday morning.
Wales open their campaign against the USA on Monday in Group B, which also includes England and Iran.
“We’re proud and just happy that we’re here now so we can focus our full attention on this first game,” Page said.
“The players have been fantastic since we met [on Sunday]. Now we’ve spent a few days together and we’re very happy to be here.”
Wales were given a warm send-off on Tuesday, first at their hotel in the Vale of Glamorgan where fellow residents were among the well-wishers of Wales’ national rugby union team, and then at Cardiff City Stadium where thousands turned out for an open training session.
They then proceeded to Cardiff Airport, where more fans were on hand to cheer on the players and coaches before boarding their chartered flight to Doha.
During the World Cup, Wales will be based at Qatari club Al Sadd’s training ground, the facilities of which will also be used by Japan.
Although Wales have qualified for the last two European Championships – reaching the semi-finals in 2016 and the second round last year – this is their first appearance in the World Cup finals since 1958.
At the time, Jimmy Murphy’s team, which included the likes of John Charles and Ivor Allchurch, lost to eventual champions Brazil in the quarter-finals, with 17-year-old Pele scoring the only goal.
This time around, Welsh hopes will rest on some of their Euro 2016 heroes such as Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen and captain Gareth Bale.
“It’s something everyone dreams of and it will be a special occasion, something the whole nation is proud of,” Bale said before the squad left for Qatar.
“Everyone has their own idea of ​​what success is. For some people, success is just qualifying for the tournament.
“For us, we’re going to take every game as it comes, we’re going to give 110% and whatever comes of it, it’s a successful journey for us.
“We will do everything we can to qualify from the group and go as far as we can but we just need to do what we do best and give our hearts to the shirt.”
