JUBILANT Mark Hughes masterminded Wales' magnificent 2-1 Euro 2004 qualifying victory over Italy and then declared: "No team could have lived with us on the night."

Glorious goals from Simon Davies and Craig Bellamy left Wales sitting pretty at the top of Group Nine and piled the pressure on Italian boss Giovanni Trapattoni.

It was only Wales' second-ever success against Italy, who are currently ranked 66 places above the Welsh in tenth spot, and their biggest win since they beat the then world champions West Germany in a Euro 92 qualifier at the old Cardiff Arms Park 1-0 in June 1991.

And manager Hughes believes that if his resurgent team can now "hold their nerve" going into next month's trip to Azerbaijan, then they will be well on their way to Portugal.

"There haven't been many performances of that calibre seen here," declared Hughes whose side are now unbeaten for 13 months and seven matches.

"It was a wonderful performance by each and every one of my players and they should be very proud people.

"They still have a desire to do more. They want to progress in this group. It's a great opportunity for us if we keep our nerve and believe in ourselves, which is exactly what we're doing at the moment."

And Hughes, who praised the magnificent 72,000 Welsh support at the Millennium Stadium last night, added: "The emotions you feel as a manager are incredible. The highs are high and the lows are low. It's a different world to being a player but a wonderful feeling.

"We had great periods of controlled possession which pleased me greatly," he added. "We were very patient at times and when we had to quicken it up, we were devastating. No team in the world would have found it easy against us on the night."

Meanwhile, Manchester United ace Ryan Giggs said: "I've not played in any atmosphere like that in my career, the crowd were unbelievable.

"We've got the winning habit, now let's carry that on."

Panteg-born Cardiff City defender Danny Gabbidon said: "That was fantastic, it's what dreams are made of."

Newcastle striker Bellamy said: "They had a few injuries but the team they fielded was full of top-class players who will walk into nearly any side in the world. "We played well, worked very hard and we deserved the win."