"We now still feel we will have a say in what goes on in this group," said the Wales manager. "If we can beat the Czech Republic in our next match here in Cardiff, then we will still have games in hand and a genuine chance of doing something." The result lifted Wales above Cyprus into fifth place in Group D. However, Toshack's side remain seven points off a qualification place and must still play group leaders Germany twice. "When things that go wrong do not hurt me, I will know that there is nothing left for me in this game," Toshack added. "I have made mistakes, a lot in 30-odd years, but also I've done things right to have survived this long.
"But I have standards and the way I want things done. There will be set-backs and difficult tasks. But you have to keep believing." Wales created more than 30 chances against minnows San Marino, but had to settle for goals from Ryan Giggs, Gareth Bale and a Jason Koumas penalty. The official attendance at the 75,000-capacity Millennium Stadium was just 18,752 after the disappointment of Saturday's 1-0 loss to the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. "We had a very good start with a fine early goal from Ryan Giggs," Toshack said. "It set us on the right track and gave us a platform to produce a far better performance than we managed in losing to the Irish in Dublin at the weekend. "And I was pleased with the way we kept at it. It is not easy against a side who pack their box all match, but we made lots of chances and their goalkeeper pulled off a string of fine saves. "But I do not want this result to overshadow what happened in Dublin. "I will want to look very carefully at everything we did in the build-up to that match, I must have made mistakes because that was not the sort of performance we want." | |||
Toshack's view after Wales beat San Marino
BBC