Neco Williams needed all of 20 minutes to have Wales fans drooling.
Roars of ‘NECO, NECO, NECO’ rang through a packed Cardiff City Stadium during Wales’ World Cup qualifying semi-final against Austria when the attacking full-back – operating in an unorthodox left wing-back role for Wales – took no prisoners and left two Austrian defenders in ditches near their own corner flag before dancing beyond the debris and skirting a dangerous low cross into the box.
Nothing came of the threat and Austria booted the ball long as Wales railed forward again, but the 15 seconds of scintillating skill served as something of an announcement from the 20-year-old on his 18th appearance for his country. When Williams picked up the ball again on the halfway line not a minute later, baying Wales fans were already at attention, imploring the defender to shoot as he reached the fringes of the box. From then, Williams played as if a released man.
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Wales’ 2-1 play-off semi-final victory over Austria served up another indomitable performance from a player who feels more and more like the weight has been lifted from his shoulders since his move from Premier League Liverpool to Championship side Fulham.
"It's been the best decision he's made,” said Wales manager Robert Page as he hailed the player’s mettle to force through the switch to Fulham. “He [Neco] had to force the loan deal in the end. Absolutely, it's the right thing to do for himself. He's got to think of himself and his career.”
Since William’s arrival to Fulham on loan from Liverpool on Deadline Day, Williams has been relishing the sharpest and most consistent form of his senior career while playing week in and week out for the Cottagers, a position that Williams found near impossible to come by with the world class Trent Alexander-Arnold ahead of him in the Liverpool pecking order.
Heading into Wales’ November World Cup qualifiers, Williams could boast only seven minutes in the Premier League in a 5-0 rout of Watford, one minute in Liverpool’s Champions League 3-2 victory over Atletico Madrid in October and 90 minutes of EFL Cup action against Preston in which Williams provided an assist in the 2-0 victory.
Yet, upon joining Marco Silva’s outfit in the second half of the season, Williams has been handed a new lease of life. Immediately laying claim to the right-back position, Williams has been a virtual ever-present in a promotion-rampaging Fulham. His nine appearances amount to over 785 minutes in which time the Welshman has supplied the Cottagers with two assists and two goals. But his audacious on-pitch flair and jaw-dropping efforts from range have caught the eye.
The consequence of consistent game time was on trademark display in the Welsh capital as Williams put in one of his best performances yet to help spur Wales in enormous do-or-die triumph that could ultimately lead to the country’s first World Cup since 1958.
Williams’ hyper-intensity played a critical role in the buildup to Wales’ first goal as he won back possession in the Austrian half and flicked onto Fulham teammate Harry Wilson who linked well with Daniel James on the outside of the box to win the free-kick that talisman Gareth Bale seared into the top right corner for Wales’ first.
Williams’ recently honed edges and gathered confidence since the move were epitomised in his deft flicks and mazy dribbles which further frustrated Austria’s defence. His off-the-cuff bits of skill to wriggle out of difficult areas and gift Wales crucial seconds were also impressive.
Those tricks will naturally draw due praise, but Williams’ disciplined toils off the ball equally impressed as he helped subdue an impressive squad led by David Alaba, Marko Arnautovic and Marcel Sabitzer. Rarely caught out of position and a constantly harrying force, Williams won eight of his 14 ground duels and recorded two interceptions, a tackle and a blocked shot as Wales bit hard on the grit between their teeth to see out their win.
Manager Rob Page praised Williams’ comprehensive performance, particularly as it came from the opposite wing in which Silva has regularly deployed the full-back.
“Funnily enough today, Harry is playing on the left, Neco's playing left, not right like he's playing at Fulham, but you can still trust him, so it's absolutely the right decision to go,” Page reiterated.
Williams’ recent admission of the challenge poised at Liverpool for consistent game time hinted that his time within the Anfield confines could be numbered despite signing a long-term deal in 2020.
As Alexander-Arnold nurses an injury and Liverpool continue to fight for the historic quadruple, many Reds fans would not be wrong in feeling pangs of regret at seeing such promising talent leave in the summer. But the full-back’s continuously ascending form is as good an argument as any that being first-choice elsewhere could be best for all parties.
