Wales at UEFA Euro 2016 | Squad and Stats.

Wales are to play their first European Championship!

The Welshmen’s best ever record in a major international competition dates back to 1958 (The World Cup in Sweden). The Dragons started very well, finishing with a 1-1 draw against Hungary. John Charles equalized for Wales in the 26th minute of the game, after Bozsik had given Hungary the lead. Wales, then recorded the same result (1-1) against Mexico in the second game of the group. The Dragons continued with their very good performance in the last match of the group, keeping a sheet clean against the host nation Sweden (0-0). The rules of the World Cup were quite different then (2 points for a victory, 1 point for a draw and the goal difference had less importance), which meant that Hungary (1 victory and a draw) and Wales (3 draws) were equal with the same number of points at the end of all the group games. So, both teams met again in a play-off for the next stage of the competition. Hungary took the lead again after Tichy’s goal in the 33rd minute. Then, Ivor Allchurch equalized in the 55th minute with a spectacular volley – one of the most beautiful goals of the tournament. The Dragons turned things around in the 76th minute after some confusion in Hungary’s defence. But the fairytale for Wales finished in the quarter-finals against Brazil (1-0 for the Brazilians with the only goal, scored by Pele).

Since then, Wales haven’t managed to qualify for a major international competition until 2016, when The Dragons finished second in their qualifying group. But, in the very first edition of The European Championship there were only 4 teams to take part in the finals. So, we will have to take a closer look at Wales’ participations in the qualifying campaigns. In 1976, The Dragons won their preliminary group, after leaving behind the teams of Hungary, Austria and Luxembourg. This led them directly to the quarter-finals of the tournament. But, Wales lost 2-0 in the first leg against Yugoslavia and then drew 1-1 at home against the same opponent, which eliminated them from the tournament.

The team has shown great form in the qualifiers for Euro 2016. Wales won 6 of their 10 qualifying matches. They only lost once (0-2 to Israel). Chris Coleman has already announced his provisional 29-man squad for the team training camp before The European Championship in France. Gareth Bale, of course, will be a part of the team, but he will be given some more resting time, because he had a very long season at Real Madrid.

The Squad:

• Goalkeepers: Wayne Hennessey (Crystal Palace), Danny Ward (Liverpool), Owain-Fon Williams (Inverness).
• Defenders: James Collins (West Ham), Ashley Williams (Swansea), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Neil Taylor (Swansea City), Chris Gunter (Reading), James Chester (West Brom), Ashley Richards (Fulham).
• Midfielders: Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal), Andy King (Leicester), Joe Ledley (Crystal Palace), David Vaughan (Nottingham Forest), Joe Allen (Liverpool), David Cotterill (Birmingham City), Jonathan Williams (Crystal Palace), George Williams (Fulham), David Edwards (Wolves).
• Forwards: Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading), Sam Vokes (Burnley), Simon Church (Nottingham Forest), Gareth Bale (Real Madrid).

Wales matches at the Euro 2016:

• 11/06/16 | Wales vs. Slovakia | Stade Matmut-Atlantique (Bordeaux)
• 16/06/16 | England vs. Wales | Stade Bollaert-Delelis (Lens)
• 20/06/16 | Russia vs. Wales | Stadium Municipal (Toulouse)

Bale will be the team leader at Euro 2016. He has recently become the best, in form player, for Real Madrid. He was the deciding factor in lots of matches this season and he has recently shown a really big improvement in his performance. James Collins and Ashley Williams seem to be the key players in defence for The Dragons. Moreover, Andy King had a great season at Leicester City, helping The Foxes to become the new champions of England. The midfielder will surely have a key part in the middle of the pitch. Aaron Ramsey, Hal Robson-Kanu and Joe Allen will also be of great importance for Chris Coleman and his ambitions for a good performance at Euro 2016.

“They are looking up and saying they want to be like Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, and that will help us produce more players like that. Qualifying for Euro 2016 is no coincidence. We’ve had some great players come through and now we’ve qualified we want to take it to the next level. The success of the national team is mirrored by the progress being made at the grass roots level. We have the talent and fighting spirit and we want that to carry through. I’m looking to the World Cup now, not just the Euros.” Ian Rush