SO THE BIG news going into tomorrow night’s crunch World Cup qualifier between Wales and Ireland is that the one truly world-class player involved will play no part.
After Slovenia held Scotland to a 2-2 draw this evening, the sides now know it’s in their hands and whoever wins at the Cardiff City Stadium will secure a two-legged play-off.
A calf injury ruled Gareth Bale out of Friday’s 1-0 win away to Georgia, and he will also be missing when Chris Coleman’s team host the Boys in Green on Monday.
While both camps have been keen to play down the significance of his absence, the Real Madrid star has been their driving force in recent years as the Dragons qualified for Euro 2016 and went all the way to the semi-finals.
In fact, before the victory in Tbilisi, they hadn’t won a competitive match without him since October 2013.
Of the 33 international games Bale has missed since his debut in 2006, Wales have been victorious in eight, and only three of those were competitive.
There was speculation in their most recent fixture that Coleman could replace the team’s talisman with one of two highly-rated 17-year-olds — Ben Woodburn of Liverpool or Ethan Ampadu, who joined Chelsea’s ranks from Exeter City over the summer.
Exciting Sheffield United winger David Brooks, who has represented England at U20 level, was also called into the senior squad for the first time.
However, Coleman opted to stick with the tried-and-trusted by recalling the experienced Joe Ledley to the midfield and pushing Aaron Ramsey further forward to support strikers Sam Vokes.
Coleman prides himself on being able to set his team up in several different ways depending on the opponent and he has been known to alternate between three, four and five-man defences in the past.
So he’s got options. For the game in Dublin last March, Wales lined out in a 3-5-2 with Bale in behind Hal Robson-Kanu. More recently, away to Georgia last Friday, he went with 4-2-3-1.
Coleman will also have to again decide if he wants to give one of the aforementioned youngsters a start or put his faith in the players who have achieved so much over the past couple of years.
The latter is the more likely of those two scenarios.
Wales probable line-up (4-2-3-1): Hennessy; Gunter, Williams, Chester, Davies; Allen, Ledley; King; Ramsey, Lawrence; Vokes.
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Hardly world beaters, especially going forward
@COYBIG: two evenly matched teams tomorrow so
I think travelling to Georgia will affect them. It’s a long journey. We have a chance.
@prop joe: good pt. I had not considered that. I think we will beat them.
Havent lost to these since 92. No Bale wine rate since 2012 is 9%.
Believe
Coybig
We will beat this shower tomorrow COYBIG! The welsh think the only have to turn up to beat us!
Whats the team photo about?
@Jane: It’s something Wales have been doing for a couple of years now as a bit of a joke, they deliberately take terrible team photos. Go back through all their qualifiers and you’ll see some with one player kneeling and the rest standing, and the opposite. Leaving gaps like that etc. No idea what it’s about.
@Eanna Costello: I’d never noticed it before, thanks
@Eanna Costello: I think they did one bad photo by mistake and just kept it going then for a laugh
@Jane:
More examples here. It’s gas really.
https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2017/1008/910725-the-wonders-of-the-wales-team-photo-what-is-going-on/
Seems like you guys think you have this in the bag already.
To put some perspective here – Wales have lost 3 games since 2013 when Bale wasn’t playing. Two of those were friendlies when other players including Ramsey were also not available, and the other one was after we’d already qualified for the Euros.
We haven’t lost a game since the 2016 Euros Semi final, we’ve kept a clean sheet for the last 3 games which we won, and tomorrow night we’re playing at home.
So despite the dismissive remarks above, Wales may pull off a huge upset.
@Saul Hamilton Evans: “not world beaters” “evenly matched” “we have a chance”. How is that us thinking its in the bag or dismissive of Wales? I think nearly all Irish fans thinks Wales are favourites but as said above, we go to Cardiff with a chance.
@Paul P O’Sullivan: is focain bómán é.
He’s a clown