The European football Championships begin today, and Wales are competing in their first major tournament since the World Cup in 1958. Against all the odds they reached the quarter finals only to be defeated by the eventual winners, Brazil. A certain seventeen year old by the name of Pele scored the only goal of the game. Wales had the legendary John Charles in their squad, but he was injured and was forced to miss the game.
On this occasion, Wales have Gareth Bale as their talisman. Not quite the legendary figure of John Charles, but he is rated as one of the top five players in the world, and Wales are infinitely a better team when he is in the line up. In addition to John Charles, Wales could also boast two great players of that era, Ivor Allchurch and Cliff Jones. Brazil were so impressed by Allchurch that they rated him the best number 10 in the world.
However, Bale’s supporting cast is not so impressive. Yes they have very good players in Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen, and to a lesser extent Andy King and Ben Davies, but the rest of the squad are journeymen. Ashley Williams, the captain, has proved to be a very good servant for Swansea City and to Wales, but he’s on the wrong side of thirty and his weakness at set pieces is apparent for all to see. Both Swansea and Wales are vulnerable to crosses (I’ve done the Dracula cliche in previous posts ) into the penalty box where Williams was once dominant.
Wales’s group games are against Slovakia, England and Russia, and Gareth Bale needs to play in all three games if they are to qualify for the last sixteen knockout stage. He will be a marked (literally) man and Wales should designate a minder (on and off the field) to look after him.
The opening game with Slovakia is crucial if they are to make any progress. A draw in their second game featuring England would probably benefit both teams. The players know the opposition so well that it could be played like a Premiership game. England’s manager Roy Hodgson is very conservative in his team selection and tactics which would be to Wales’ advantage. If Hodgson was to unleash the talents of Ali, Wilshire and Barkley in combination with Kane and Vardy, the Welsh defence could be in for a torrid time.
Alternatively, England’s back four can look very vulnerable at times, and Bale could use his great skill and speed to run at them. England have only three central defenders, Smalling, Stones and Cahill, in their squad. Smalling and Cahill appear to be the first choice pairing, but they are not exactly international quality.
England do have quality in midfield and attack if utilized properly, but I suspect they will fall by the wayside before the quarterfinals due to poor selection and tactics. However, I’m allowing my heart to rule my head, and remain optimistic about Wales reaching the knockout stage of the tournament. I am concerned that our strikers, Vokes and Robson-kanu appear to be incapable of scoring at international level, so without Bale and Ramsey, we have no goal threat to offer.
That being said, I have no great expectations of Wales winning the tournament, but I hope to enjoy our three games in the group, and additional success will be a welcome bonus. Good luck also to Northern Ireland and the Republic. Northern Ireland qualified by topping their group, so could they be the dark horses of the tournament.
How strange I haven’t mention England’s captain, Wayne Rooney, but I don’t believe he can play at this level anymore. He will probably have me eat my words by scoring a hat-trick against Wales.To quote former England manager Graham”turnip head” Taylor: “Would I not like that?”
Cymru am Byth!!!
