The Wales Euro 2020 squad has been revealed, with the team hoping to recreate their 2016 semi-final run.
It will be a difficult task: the Wales Euro 2020 group is a tough one, featuring Italy, Switzerland and Turkey.
But with a talented squad, featuring Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Ethan Ampadu, Harry Wilson and Daniel James, they will be confident of causing some upsets again.
Wales Euro 2020 fixtures: Who do they play and when?
Wales Euro 2020 squad: The full 26-man team
- GK: Wayne Hennessey (Crystal Palace)
- GK: Daniel Ward (Leicester City)
- GK: Adam Davies (Stoke City)
- DF: Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur)
- DF: Joe Rodon (Tottenham Hotspur)
- DF: Chris Mepham (Bournemouth)
- DF: Chris Gunter (Charlton Athletic)
- DF: Rhys Norrington-Davies (Sheffield United)
- DF: Neco Williams (Liverpool)
- DF: Connor Roberts (Swansea City)
- DF: Ben Cabango (Swansea City)
- DF: Tom Lockyer (Luton Town)
- MF: Joe Allen (Stoke City)
- MF: Joe Morrell (Luton Town)
- MF: Ethan Ampadu (Chelsea)
- MF: Matthew Smith (Manchester City)
- MF: Jonathan Williams (Cardiff City)
- MF: Aaron Ramsey (Juventus)
- MF: Harry Wilson (Liverpool)
- MF: David Brooks (Bournemouth)
- MF: Dylan Levitt (Manchester United)
- MF: Rubin Colwill (Cardiff City)
- FW: Tyler Roberts (Leeds United)
- FW: Kieffer Moore (Cardiff City)
- FW: Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)
- FW: Daniel James (Manchester United)
Wales Euro 2020 squad: Team profile
Five years ago, Wales reached a European Championship semi-final. Five years before that, they were officially 116th in the world. What expectations can you base on that?
With their FIFA ranking’s sine wave flattening near its peak, recent success looks sustainable. Wales’ four best
centre-backs are all aged 20-23 and their attack offers an array of youthful promise, while the FAW’s coaching setup earns nothing but praise. The future’s bright.
The present is less rosy. Wales played their World Cup qualifiers in spring not knowing who’d lead them at Euro 2020, with Rob Page in temporary charge since Ryan Giggs’ November arrest on suspicion of assault. Meanwhile, Jonathan Ford’s 11-year reign as chief executive ended with a no-confidence vote in March. It’s not ideal preparation.
On the pitch, Wales live on tight margins despite their attacking talent. Having reached Euro 2016 by scoring 11 goals in 10 qualifiers, they made Euro 2020 with 10 in eight. Their 2020/21 Nations League results were 1-0, 1-0, 0-0, 1-0, 1-0 and an incongruous 3-1 overseen by Page. Under Giggs, after thumping Ireland 4-1 in his first competitive fixture, Wales played 20 matches and scored 18 goals, also conceding 18. Terrace murmurs of ‘doing a Greece’ are only part-joking.
Injuries haven’t helped. Aaron Ramsey featured in just three of Wales’ 21 fixtures ahead of the Euros. Joe Allen has to reclaim a starting berth from understudy Joe Morrell. But the upside is a newfound depth: while Wales can be wondrous when their stars are aligned, the likes of Morrell, Danny Ward and Harry Wilson – a false nine now, apparently – make the starting XI hard to predict. Goodbye, David Cotterill; bore da, David Brooks. The 2016 cohort wasn’t old, yet a mere half-dozen are sure of a squad place five years later. Even a hero such as Chris Gunter, the first Welshman to 100 caps and still only 31, may miss out.
Fans will be sorely missed, however. The bond between players and The Red Wall was evident on qualification day in Gareth Bale’s delight at seeing the ‘Wales. Golf. Madrid.’ flag, and in Allen and Sam Vokes joining chants of that and Allen’s own ‘Wales. Chickens. Stoke.’ (don’t ask) at 3am on Caroline Street, AKA Chippy Lane. The ‘Together Stronger’ motto inspired Wales in France; this summer’s mood will be subdued. As Gunter would say: chin up.
Wales Euro 2020 squad: Who is Wales' manager?
Robert Page
Robert Page will manage Wales at Euro 2020 as caretaker manager, following Ryan Giggs being charged with assault.
ALSO READ Who is Wales’ manager? Everything you need to know about Robert Page
Page has managed Port Vale, Northampton and Wales U21s in his managerial career, after making over 550 competitive appearances in English football as a player.
Though fairly inexperienced, Page is no stranger to the Wales squad. Giggs' assistant, Page also deputised for Giggs as Wales finished top of their Nations League group in November, and also in their March internationals against Belgium, Mexico and Czech Republic.
Wales Euro 2020 squad: Who is Wales' best player?
Gareth Bale
Look no further than Gareth Bale as Wales' star man. The on-loan Tottenham forward seems to come alive on the international stage, despite struggling for club form during the season. Although not as formidable as he once was, Bale can inspire this youthful Wales team with his leadership.
Backing up the former most expensive player in the world is Juventus' Aaron Ramsey, another exceptional player on his day. If these two are fit and firing, Wales will always have a chance.
ALSO SEE Who is Wales captain, Gareth Bale?
Wales Euro 2020 squad: Wales' past Euros record
Wales' one and only appearance at the Euros came in 2016, where they reached the semi-finals in a near-fairy-tale story. Losing to eventual tournament winners Portugal 2-0, Wales beat Belgium 3-1 in the quarter-finals in iconic fashion.
Maintaining influential players from that tournament could prove pivotal to Wales' success this summer, as Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen and Ben Davies all remain.
