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Ryan Giggs, the Wales coach, said that Ashley Williams will retain his captaincy despite his downfall in the Euro 2020 qualifier win over Slovakia.
Giggs selected Anderlecht's central defender James Lawrence in front of the 34-year-old, who played in the last 17 minutes of Sunday's 1-0 win.
Gareth Bale led Wales in the absence of Williams, but Giggs denied that it was a permanent change.
"No, Ash is still the captain, you'll never take him well," he says.
"He did not shun – you do not want the players to take it in. You saw what he brought when he arrived – leadership qualities."
Williams, who is on loan from Stoke by Everton, played in the Potters this season, and Giggs said his lack of fitness was the only reason he was on the bench.
"I talked about it all week, with the physical advantage that I had, I wanted all the players to play regularly," added the former Wales captain and head coach. Manchester United.
"That was the only reason we gave him 60 minutes [in Wednesday’s friendly win over Trinidad and Tobago] and I was not too sure until yesterday.
"It was not a ruthless case, it was trying to choose the right team and to have the team properly.
"It was the only position I had deliberated on, he came, he saw us at home and is part of the plans for the future."
Williams is frustrated and disappointed
Williams is in his 85th game for Wales, allowing him to become the country's third-most-ranked player, Gary Speed.
"It's obviously disappointing not to play, but you have to be ready at all times to cross the finish line," Williams said.
"It's about the team and being ready when we call you, it's always like that.
"He explained it [the decision]he is the manager, he makes the decisions. Obviously, I would like to play and it's frustrating, but he's the manager and you go there. "
Although Williams was frustrated not to start, Giggs thinks he's played an important role as Wales pushed back Slovak pressure in favor of Sunday's win.
"At the end of the week, I wanted two clean sheets," he said.
"Without Chris Gunter [against Trinidad and Tobago] it does not happen. Without Ashley coming to see us, without Wayne Hennessey.
"When you grow up, you can also learn from young players, we have talented young players, but we can not do it without experienced players.
"And it 's not easy to leave these experienced players out of the way, it' s not easy at all.
"The perfect start"
Sunday's win over Slovakia was important for Wales, which aims to qualify for a second European title, but only for the third major tournament in its history.
The Giggs players, who are seeded second in group E, took the lead in five minutes thanks to Daniel James' beautiful strike, but they lived dangerously in the final laps.
Wales is well defended to hang on to what could prove to be a crucial victory against Slovakia, the group's third seed and potentially its closest rivals for the first time. 39, one of the two automatic qualifying places.
"It was really the perfect start – a clean sheet, three points," Giggs said.
"There was a little pressure on us, I tried to minimize it in advance, but you can not hide the fact that the other teams played and that Croatia and Slovakia scored three points.
"We will draw lessons from the day as we were put under pressure at the end." I challenged the players to keep whiter sheets because we think that with our offensive talent we will create opportunities, we will score goals.
"It will make more important that we keep clean sheets."
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