Wales v Switzerland: Euro 2020 – live!
12-Jun-2021 12:49:17 | The Guardian
There are “a few hundred” Welsh fans in situ in Baku. Here are some of them, recovering from a long flight.
Rob Page talks to the BBC. “We want to get the best 11 on the pitch, and the team picks the formation. That’s what we’ve done, we had that in mind all along. We’ve used the two friendlies to get minutes into the players and get them in the right position to play today. It’s a good problem to have when you have great goalkeepers. Neither are playing domestic football so I had to go with my gut on that one; Danny Ward has played his way into the team. It was always the plan to manage Aaron Ramsey slightly differently to the rest of the group. In the main he’s trained every day, it was just when the press were here we chose to keep him off the grass. There was no concern, and he was on the team sheet. If I’m the opposing manager and I’m looking at that teamsheet ... it’s exciting on paper!”
If this game is half as much fun as last night’s, we’re in for a treat. Paul Doyle sat down to watch Italy eviscerate Turkey, remote in one hand, quill in the other. Here’s his verdict on the tournament’s - and the BBC’s - opening night.
Related: Euro 2020 on TV: calm start for BBC but for Savage dig at Boris Johnson
You’ll be wanting some expert analysis, then. Here’s what to expect from the two teams this afternoon, courtesy of our expert analysts.
Related: Euro 2020 team guides part 4: Wales
Related: Euro 2020 team guides part 2: Switzerland
Kieffer Moore starts for Wales, then. Reward for his disruptive second-half performance against Albania last weekend. Danny Ward gets the nod over Wayne Hennessey in goal. The busy young trio of David Brooks, Harry Wilson and Neco Williams are held back on the bench.
There’s plenty of Premier League representation from Switzerland: Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka is captain, while Liverpool’s Xherdan Shaqiri and Fabian Schar of Newcastle also start.
Wales: Ward, Connor Roberts, Mepham, Rodon, Ben Davies, Allen, Morrell, Ramsey, Bale, Moore, James.
Subs: Hennessey, Gunter, Neco Williams, Lockyer, Wilson, Tyler Roberts, Ampadu, Norrington-Davies, Jonathan Williams, Brooks, Adam Davies, Levitt.
Switzerland: Sommer, Elvedi, Schar, Akanji, Mbabu, Xhaka, Freuler, Rodriguez, Shaqiri, Embolo, Seferovic.
Subs: Widmer, Zakaria, Vargas, Mvogo, Zuber, Sow, Fassnacht, Benito, Mehmedi, Gavranovic, Omlin, Comert.
Wales waited 56 years to make it to their first European Championship finals. You know how these things happen; like Cardiff buses, a second one’s turned up immediately. Nobody’s been seriously talking about a repeat run to the semis … but then again, what’s the point in competing if there’s no room for dreaming?
It’s not as though it’s beyond the realms. Joe Allen, Gareth Bale, Ben Davies, Chris Gunter, Wayne Hennessey, Aaron Ramsey, Danny Ward and Jonny Williams are all back and ready to go again. Meanwhile there’s plenty of fresh meat – Dan James, Harry Wilson, Tyler Roberts, Neco Williams, David Brooks – and so plenty here for Rob Page to work with.
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