Euro 2016 Preview - Wales

Team: Wales

Manager: Chris Coleman

Group: B

Other teams in group: England, Russia and Wales 

THE SQUAD

Euro 2016 will mark Wales’ first ever European Championship in their history and a first major international tournament since the 1958 World Cup.

For a nation that has produced a number of stars since their 1958 World Cup appearance including the likes of Ian Rush, Ryan Giggs, Mark Hughes, John Toshack and Gary Speed, it is the current generation who quite possibly hold the greatest overall talent a Welsh squad has ever encompassed.

The most important player within the Welsh ranks is of course Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale. He is a player who could probably fit into any of the 24 team’s starting 11 and will be invaluable in Wales’ efforts to progress as far as they can in the competition. His speed, intelligence, skill and overwhelming talent means he is capable of being the standout star in any game, regardless of the opposition.

Wales’ number one Wayne Hennessy is coming off the back of an excellent Premier League season with Crystal Palace where he finally established himself as the first-choice ‘keeper for the Eagles having played second fiddle to Julian Speroni the last couple of seasons. He made 29 Premier League appearances for Alan Pardew’s side which included an admirable 8 clean sheets when considering Palace’s lower-league finish.

In defence, Wales captain Ashley Williams will be a formidable part of Chris Coleman’s set-up. The Swansea centre-back played a pivotal role during qualifying and was one of the main reasons as to why Wales rarely conceded. In fact, only England, Spain and Romania conceded less throughout the entire qualifying campaign.

In midfield Coleman can call upon the likes of Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey, Liverpool’s Joe Allen and recent Premier League winner with Leicester City, Andy King.

Joe Ledley is also in the process of making a miraculous recovery from a fractured fibula picked up only one month ago which has warranted Coleman to include the former Celtic midfielder in his 23 man squad.

Up front Bale will lead the way but support will be well-provided by Burnley’s in-form star Sam Vokes, recent Aberdeen loanee Simon Church and fan-favourite Hal Robson-Kanu.

The squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Wayne Hennessey (Crystal Palace), Daniel Ward (Liverpool), Owain Fon Williams (Inverness CT).

Defenders: Ashley Williams (Swansea), James Chester (West Brom), Ben Davies (Tottenham), James Collins (West Ham), Chris Gunter (Reading), Neil Taylor (Swansea), Jazz Richards (Fulham).

Midfielders: Joe Ledley (Crystal Palace), Joe Allen (Liverpool), David Vaughan (Nottingham Forest), Jonathan Williams (Crystal Palace), David Edwards (Wolves), George Williams (Fulham), Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal), Andy King (Leicester).

Forwards: Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), David Cotterill (Birmingham), Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading), Simon Church (MK Dons), Sam Vokes (Burnley)

HOW THEY GOT HERE

Wales’ qualifying campaign got off to a shaky start when a Bale brace saved their blushes against lowly Andorra who had taken an early first-half lead.

That was then followed up with a hard-fought nil all draw with automatic qualification rivals Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Comprehensive victories over Israel and Cyrpus before a another nil-nil draw against group favourites Belgium to ensure Wales completed the first round of games without defeat.

A 1-0 win courtesy of another Bale strike gave Wales a memorable victory over Belgium at the Millennium Stadium before Bale proved the difference once more against Cyprus.

Another stalemate followed at Israel before a first defeat of the campaign against Bosnia ensured a nervy finish to the campaign, however, a 2-0 win over Andorra in their final fixture sealed their passage to France.

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR

Gareth Bale is the obvious choice and Coleman will be hoping his Galactico can be at his best especially in crunch-clashes against Russia and Slovakia and of course neighbours England.

Aaron Ramsey will also be of vital importance in the Wales midfield while Ashley Williams will once again provide the leadership from the back and is sure to be a rock in the middle of the Wales defence.

WHERE THEY ARE PLAYING AND STAYING

Saturday, June 11: v Slovakia 17:00, Stade de Bordeaux

Thursday, June 16: v England 14:00, Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lille

Monday, June 20 v Russia 20:00, Stadium de Toulouse

Wales will be based at the Novotel Thlassa Dinard in Brittany, France’s north-westernmost region.

THREE INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE TEAM

It is Wales’ first ever European Championships having only ever competed in the 1958 World Cup where they reached the quarter-finals.

Their overall record against their Group B opponents leaves a lot to be desired. They have only picked up 14 wins against England in 101 games while they have never defeated Russia in their 4 meetings. Their record against Slovakia is 50:50 with each nation holding one victory over the other.

The closest Wales had come to qualifying before Euro 2016 was during the Euro 2004 qualifying campaign where they reached the play-offs, only to be ousted by Group B rivals Russia 1-0 over two legs.

THEIR RECENT FORM

Ukraine 1-0 Wales

Wales 1-1 Northern Ireland

Wales 2-3 Netherlands

First game: Saturday, June 11: v Slovakia 17:00, Stade de Bordeaux