Wales to deliberately cut short national anthem ahead of crunch Ireland clash after players' request

Stirring: Wales will fans and players will sign the anthem acapella
AFP/Getty Images
Jessica Morgan9 October 2017

The Welsh National Anthem is set to be cut short ahead of Monday's crunch World Cup qualifier between Republic of Ireland and Wales after players joined calls from fans to sing the song without music.

The teams will go head-to-head at the Cardiff City Stadium with both sides still in the hunt for an automatic World Cup berth.

Should Serbia fail to beat Georgia, Wales will top Group D with a win, while Chris Coleman's side could still clinch a play-off spot if they are held by the Republic of Ireland.

And Welsh players put forward the idea of purposely cutting short the backing track to their anthem after the Georgian FA accidentally stopped the music early ahead Friday's victory over Georgia in Tbilisi.

The 2,000 travelling Wales fans triumphantly continued the Welsh anthem acapella, linking arm-in-arm and belting out the patriotic melody.

Members of Coleman's squad turned to the Welsh Football Association on the plane back from Tbilisi and suggested a repeat of the stirring scenes ahead of Monday's game in Cardiff.

The acapella version of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, translated as ‘Land of my Fathers’, was first made popular among Wales fans during the Euro 2016 qualifier against Belgium in June 2015.

The supporters led the anthem creating a boisterous atmosphere that the players want to recreate in the build-up to Monday's big game.

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