JAKARTA - Wales will start their adventure in the third major tournament they will participate in by facing Switzerland at Euro 2020 on Saturday, 12 June at 20.00 WIB at the Olympic Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan. Previously, Wales qualified for the 1958 World Cup and Euro 2016.
Despite always qualifying past the last 16 and especially in the group stage, Wales will not have an easy start to Euro 2020, especially since their first opponent in Group A is Switzerland, who also passed the group stage of Euro 2016 in France.
🏴 Wales to reach for the stars again❓@Cymru | #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/dmdzjc32pq
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 12, 2021
What could also add to Wales' increasing vigilance is Switzerland's record of seven meetings between them, five of which Switzerland won. But the last time they met on 7 October 2011, Wales actually won.
Wales were a surprise Euro 2016 side but they will start their adventure in Group A with a very different side to the squad five years ago. Five years ago, under the guidance of Chris Coleman, who managed to lead the team to their first major tournament in 58 years, they ended up sweetly by reaching the semifinals before falling to Portugal, who finally won.
Only the eight players who five years ago took Wales to third place are still playing for the current team. But it has given high confidence in the Welsh football community that his favorite team will again make a surprise, let alone Coleman's successor and former football great, Ryan Giggs, who is a former winger and living legend for Manchester United.
Unfortunately, Giggs will not be with the squad. The cover for the attack on the two women prevented Giggs from accompanying his team, so his assistant, Robert Page, who played a role later in filling his duties.
And Robert Page will be like Giggs, still hoping for the star aura of their Euro 2016 star Gareth Bale, despite his poor form at club level at Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur recently. Hopes in Bale are not the only tether, as Wales are even more optimistic about their new generation of players.
Daniel James, the incredibly fast Manchester United winger, Liverpool midfielder Nico Williams, increasingly experienced by Jurgen Klopp, and Chelsea's Ethan Ampadu, who was on loan at Sheffield United last season.
There are still Harry Wilson and David Brooks who are also a talented young lineup with high technical skills. They all made the Page team's run as surprising as the 2016 team.
“They are great characters, second to none. I worked with them working with the U-19s and U-21s, so I know them as people, as characters. I know they have the ability. And they made the transitions and tiers really smooth, so credit to them too," said Page.
Not only because Wales were able to make a surprise at Euro 2016 which led Page to believe his team would shine brightly in the Euro which was postponed by a year due to this pandemic, but also because of the stats that were inscribed by his players before reaching the Euro 2020 finals. the best teams in Europe, but we've proven in recent months that we can match the best," said Page.
And that includes Switzerland, Wales' potential first opponent at Euro 2020. But Switzerland are notoriously tough to reach the last 16 of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and at Euro 2016 in France.
This team is also predicted to be strong enough to go through the group stage even though they still have to face Italy, who is super strong and has just beaten Turkey 3-0. But also Turkey remains an opponent who can eliminate all their dreams.
Vladimir Petkovic's side have only lost once in this edition of the Euro qualifiers. This success is backed by their two experienced players who have defended two of the Premier League's top teams.
First, midfielder Granit Xhaka at Arsenal and second, Liverpool playmaker who often plays on the wing, Xherdan Shaqiri.
There are still Borussia Moenchengladbach spearheads Breel Embolo and striker Haris Seferovic from Benfica who can keep Switzerland's attacks from ending by creating chances.
Seferovic, who has recently flourished with Benfica and has scored 21 goals for Switzerland so far, could be the deciding factor in the fate of Switzerland, who have featured far more times in both the European and World Cups than Wales.
With a superior resume compared to Wales's, the Swiss have reason to be confident. "We respect our opponents, that's the most important thing, but we fear no one," said Petkovic.
Possible line-up (released on Euro 2020 page)
Wales 3-4-3: Danny Ward; Chris Mepham, Joe Rodon, Ben Davies; Connor Roberts, Joe Allen, Ethan Ampadu, Neco Williams; Daniel James, Harry Wilson, Gareth Bale
Switzerland 3-4-1-2: Yann Sommer; Nico Elvedi, Fabian Schar, Manuel Akanji; Kevin Mbabu, Denis Zakaria, Granit Xhaka, Ricardo Rodríguez; Xherdan Shaqiri; Breel Embolo, Haris Seferović
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