Craig Bellamy is looking forward to taking on the might of Germany on Wednesday night after the "big bonus" of an extended weekend run-out for the West Ham United striker in World Cup qualifying.
Although he did not score in the 2-0 win against Liechtenstein, the Wales captain was not too despondent - even with a missed penalty. It was his first start of the season after three club games off the bench. He said: "If I scored a hat-trick and played as well as I could have, ran into the corner and pulled up lame that would have destroyed me. So to come off and feel I am ready to play on Wednesday is great. I have not had that in a long time to be able to play consecutive matches.
"Training does not prepare you for a game, which is different as it is about touch, turning - a completely different scenario. People say you need games to get into the rhythm. Hopefully this will help me become sharper ... hopefully they more I play in games and you will see a different scenario. You only get sharp with games and my game is based on sharpness. So the more games I get, the better I will be."
Bellamy is a man for the big occasion and expects he and his international colleagues - including fit-again James Collins - to provide a test for their hosts in Monchengladbach on Wednesday. "Germany will be a completely different game, much quicker," he said. "It will be a good football pitch … my goals have been against the decent sides at international level and there is no more decent team than Germany.
"I don't know why we play better against bigger teams," the striker added. "Maybe the counterattack, or maybe the mentality. I know it might sound strange, but to play against the bigger teams is easier as you know what you are up against. You know you will be up against it, and you know you need to be on your game otherwise it will be very tough."