Former Wales manager John Toshack has admitted that it will be "difficult" for the team to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia following their goalless draw with the Republic of Ireland on Friday.
Ten-man Wales held on for a point in Dublin in a match marred by a horror injury suffered by Ireland captain Seamus Coleman, leaving Chris Coleman's side third in Group D of qualifying and four points adrift of Serbia and Ireland.
Only the group winners are guaranteed a place at the World Cup, while the eight best-placed runners-up will go into the playoffs, and Toshack believes that Wales have suffered a "hangover" from their success at Euro 2016.
"It's going to be difficult now. With the little bit of success they've had recently, teams are watching them a lot more. They know possibly the kind of game we play, we seem to be better waiting and counter-attacking people. If we go behind the system we play has proved difficult to turn it around. Of course, the next game is most difficult in the group, away from home to Serbia, and they will be without a couple of key players, especially Gareth [Bale, who is suspended]," he told talkSPORT.
"That makes things even more difficult. It's all very well to talk about the games we've got [left] to play, the real benchmark is when you look at the table at the moment, we are not there and we aren't going to make it. We are not just a point or two points behind, we have a considerable amount of work still to do and it's going to be very, very difficult. There's a little bit of a hangover, I think, from the success of the Euros.
"We are starting to look too far ahead – if we can pick a point here or there – but it does not work like that, we were fortunate to even get a draw against Moldova at home, I was at the game and they could easily have pinched it late on. The way things are at the moment, I think the only guideline we have got is, at the minute, we are not in the qualifying position. We are going to need other teams to slip up, of course they will take points off each other.
"We are without a couple of players, we know that now before the June game, it is not a great date for me, it never has been. We always seem to pick up an injury or two as well, so we could be going into this game without four or five regulars and that makes things even more difficult. To be honest it is going to take a massive effort from these players to get back into a qualifying position."
Wales remain unbeaten in qualifying but have drawn four of their five games.
Barney Corkhill
