It has long been an odd quirk of Wales‘ pre-match routine that the togetherness which has epitomised their Euro 2020 campaign so far is never on display in their team photos.
Ask the players, and they will tell you it started as a joke – but why dispense with a superstition that served them so well in a run to the semi-final years ago as they bid for another miraculous progression through the knockout rounds?
By and large, the personnel in those strange, ill-fitted moments captured on camera have been the same throughout the group stages.
After the 1-1 draw with Switzerland, Robert Page named an unchanged XI against Turkey. Chris Gunter and Ethan Ampadu and Neco Williams came in for the 1-0 defeat to Italy, a result that saw Wales qualify regardless courtesy of other results.
Ampadu’s sending off in that game means Page will forced to tinker, though it seems likely he would have opted for his tried and tested defensive pairing of Joe Rodon and Chris Mepham as part of a back four anyway.
Ben Davies was rested and only brought on as a late substitute against Gli Azzurri having been on a booking. Any player who receives two yellow cards over the course of the tournament will receive a one-game ban and bookings will not be wiped until after the quarter-final stage.
Gunter, Mepham, Kieffer Moore, Joe Allen are also in the same boat as Davies, which means Wales risk losing a number of first-choice options should they make it through to the quarter-finals.
Danny Ward has more than vindicated his selection in goal with a string of crucial saves, while Joe Allen is set to occupy the holding midfield role again.
Wales’ predicted XI: Ward; Roberts, Mepham, Rodon, Davies; Allen, Morrell; Bale, Ramsey, James; Moore
Full list of Euro 2020 games – and what channel they are on
ROUND OF 16
Saturday 26 June
- 5pm – Wales vs Denmark (BBC)
- 8pm – Italy vs Austria (BBC)
Sunday 27 June
- 5pm – Netherlands vs Czech Republic (ITV)
- 8pm – Belgium vs Portugal (ITV)
Monday 28 June
- 5pm – Croatia vs Spain (ITV)
- 8pm – France vs Switzerland (ITV)
Tuesday 29 June
- 5pm – England vs Germany (BBC)
- 8pm – Ukraine vs Sweden (BBC)
QUARTER-FINALS
Friday 2 July
- QF1: 5pm – France/Switzerland vs Croatia/Spain
- QF2: 8pm – Belgium/Portugal vs Italy/Austria
Saturday 3 July
- QF3: 5pm – Netherlands/Czech Republic vs Wales/Denmark
- QF4: 8pm – England/Germany vs Sweden/Ukraine
SEMI-FINALS
Tuesday 6 July
- 8pm – Winner QF2 vs Winner QF1
Wednesday 7 July
- 8pm – Winner QF4 vs Winner QF3
FINAL
Sunday 11 July
- 8pm – Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2 (BBC and ITV)
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/3h4UlWP
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