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Why The Current Wales Squad Show Great Signs Of Promise

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With the headlines this week focusing on how a lacklustre England were poor, inadequate or unimaginative, the Welsh squad appears to have been overshadowed. Having had a troubled start to the European Championships, it seems that qualification was only a pipe dream from the very beginning; however the positives to draw from their recent performances are many, which can be used for motivation and ambition in the very near future.

With a young and relatively inexperienced side fronting their national pride, they each seem to have risen to the challenge against an England team ranked 4th in the World.

Contrastingly, Wales, at the low position of 117th in the FIFA World Rankings, the European Championships game with England seemed a mismatch from the start. However a mix of determination and national rivalry resulted in a hard fought 1-0 win for England, something that led to disappointment within the England ranks, however plenty of positives to draw for the Welsh contingency. It seems that Gary Speed deserves a great deal of praise for the formation of this team in a relatively short time.

Although a team that have never been overrun or dominated by potentially ‘better’ teams that are graced with more quality within their ranks, however they have never seemed to beat teams comfortably, often challenging Northern Ireland for the weakest team in Great Britain. With players including Ryan Giggs, John Hartson and Ian Rush adding the quality to the national side in recent history, it seems Gary Speed may have to encourage these Welsh ‘Legends’ to develop early on in their respected careers.

Yet it seems they may be developing well enough, with the excellent performance and win to come with it, against a Montenegro side that were pushing for the automatic qualification, the young Wales side threw a spanner in the works. With the team against England to include Craig Bellamy and David Vaughan, Wales seem to have found an excellent balance between poor and good quality players. Ramsey providing captaincy in the centre of midfield at the tender age of 20, it seems he has had to mature early for the national side, alongside his club side; however he has done so with great quality, signalling hope for both his international and club aspirations.

With Ramsey dominating possession for Wales, this allows Bale to use his assets wherever possible. With pace and strength I feel Bale has grown a lot of confidence, and, despite showing signs of frustration or arrogance on Tuesday, has exceptional talent that even the England team would have relished in their side.

The only potential tactical blunder that Gary Speed and his Welsh squad may have found was playing Bale on the right side of midfield, rather than the left. Having experienced great success down that side for Tottenham, it would have been interesting to see Bale against an inexperienced Chris Smalling, who, despite keeping Bale quiet against Manchester United earlier this season, would suffer from the lack of familiar faces around him and the pressure of the international stage would surely have provided a few slip-ups from England’s new make shift right back.

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