Wales enjoyed one of the finest results in recent history on Wednesday by beating Turkey 2-0 in Baku to all but secure their place in the last 16 of Euro 2020.
Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, as they usually are when playing for Wales, were the headline-makers, the former assisting the latter to score the opening goal, but the collective performance was superb.
Robert Page’s side had to dig in and defend in numbers against a determined opponent, particularly after Bale had uncharacteristically skied a penalty over the bar.
But Wales held firm in front of a partisan crowd and added gloss to their victory deep into stoppage time when Bale slalomed through a static Turkish defence before teeing up Connor Roberts to score the second.
Having collected four points from their opening two matches with Switzerland and Turkey, Wales will almost certainly be involved in the knockout stages, regardless of their result against Italy on Sunday.
The Welsh squad will be hoping to emulate the stars of 2016 who reached the semi-final of the competition, before losing to eventual champions Portugal in Lyon.
Here’s who they could face in the next round.
If Wales top the group
It would take a monumental effort for Wales to top Group A given the form their next opponents Italy have shown.
The Italians had never scored three goals in European Championship game prior to Euro 2020, but have dished out consecutive 3-0 defeats to Turkey and Switzerland so far, and have not lost in Rome since the 1950s.
A factor that could benefit Wales in Sunday’s game is that Roberto Mancini is likely to rotate his squad given Italy have already secured their place in the last 16.
If Wales are to inflict a first defeat on Italy in 30 matches – a run stretching back to September 2018 – and finish in first they will play the second-place team in Group C, most likely to be Ukraine or Austria.
Both teams have beaten North Macedonia but have been beaten by the Netherlands and will play each other in the final group game on Monday.
If Wales finish second
A more likely scenario is that Wales will finish second, as a draw for Italy will be enough to consolidate top spot. A much-changed Italy side would still be packed full of talent.
Page may also take the opportunity to hand the likes of Bale and Ramsey a breather in order to keep them fresh for the knockout stage.
Finishing second would be far from a disaster for Wales though as they would play the runners-up from Group B.
Currently, Russia and Finland look the most likely opponents as each have three points going into the final match. Finland have the trickier final game against group leaders Belgium.
Denmark may be able to sneak in to position if they beat Russia heavily while receiving a helping hand from Belgium against Finland.
If Wales finish third
It is improbable – but not impossible – that Wales will finish third in their group. For that to happen they would have to lose Italy and Switzerland would have to beat Turkey with a five-goal swing occurring across both matches.
They could face two teams in that scenario depending on which other sides go through as the best third-placed teams from the six groups.
The first would be the winner of Group F, aka the Group of Death. France are in pole position to secure top spot after beating Germany and facing Hungary next, although Portugal could run them close.
Another possibility would be to play the winner of Group E which contains Spain, Sweden, Poland and Slovakia. Spain are the favourites to finish first but Slovakia currently lead the way after matchday one.
More from i on Euro 2020
- 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
- In praise of Emma Hayes, the best pundit at Euro 2020 so far
- Eriksen collapse has thrown a spotlight on football’s relentless thirst for more
- How to watch every Euro 2020 match on TV and online in the UK
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2TH2AAG
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