GIGGS SET TO FACE ENGLAND

Last updated : 13 January 2004 By editor

Wales believe they have won a concession, which would allow Ryan Giggs to line up against England in the World Cup qualifiers. The Manchester United winger is banned for the first two matches of the campaign, which begins in the autumn but his national coach Mark Hughes is believed to have reached an agreement with England counterpart Sven-Goran Eriksson that the two sides should not meet until October.

Football Association of Wales spokesman Ceri Stennett said:

"There are 12 available dates for 10 fixtures for each country, so you are not certain to be playing two games each time dates for double-headers come up. We think it is important to get Ryan's suspension out of the way quickly so we will want to play two matches on September 4 and 8."