If Wales want to beat Denmark they have to get back to basics. I thought they were a bit off the pace against Italy so they have to get back to being really hard to beat and hope that Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey do their jobs.
I imagine that Robert Page will select the same team as for their first two group games, against Switzerland and Turkey, and it could be like the Swiss game where the Danes have a fair bit of the ball – inevitable given Wales are averaging 35% possession per game – and have to ride their luck a little.
What’s important is to remember that in knockout football you don’t have to win it in the first minute. You’ve got 90 minutes, or more, so you don’t have to go mad, but have to be patient.
Hopefully, Wales can defend as well as they’ve defended in other games. I expect them to sit there and counterattack as they’ve got the pace for that, with Bale trying to run in behind. There will be pressure on him and Ramsey because they’ll get a chance at some stage and have to take it because it’s a knockout game.
I see similarities with England in that Wales haven’t found the fluency they want. And Bale, while setting up two goals, has yet to score – just like Harry Kane. That said, as with Kane, you know that sooner or later he will get a goal. It doesn’t help that there’ve not been many free-kicks for him around the box so Wales have to do more to win those opportunities.
I also want to see Wales surround the ball a bit more when Danny Ward is kicking it, to make sure they can get the team up the pitch. Against the Swiss, he kicked too hard and too straight so we gave away possession. In the second game against Turkey he did better. Against Italy he could have angled it more to one particular side.
As for Denmark, they are a decent team with some decent players but my question is how far can they go on emotion? Everybody needs something to believe in and what happened to Christian Eriksen was shocking.
It was also a reality check about what’s really important and it looks like it might have freed them from any nerves. What is the worst that can happen to them? They’ve already been through the worst. On the flipside it might be such an emotional drain that, after five days’ rest, it might be hard to get going again.
Ultimately, I want to see a Wales team in Amsterdam that is hungry and wants more. They can’t think they’ve done their job now, simply for reaching the last 16. Yes, it’s great they got through but for me, that wasn’t something to celebrate – it was what they were supposed to do, at least in my eyes.
If they win against Denmark, though, that really would be worth celebrating.
More from i on Euro 2020
- England aren’t ‘rubbish’ and Southgate isn’t a ‘fraud’ – we just need a bit of patience
- What the Premier League could learn from Euro 2020’s controversy-free referees
- The football nomad who became a hero for his role in saving Eriksen’s life
- How Ronaldo’s Coca-Cola stunt could change the face of football sponsorship
- How to watch every Euro 2020 match on TV and online in the UK
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/35OzRwy
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