It’s arrived!
The UEFA Euro 2016 football tournament officially kicks off at 8pm on 10th June 2016.
We are very excited here at Black Boy Inn Caernarfon about Wales being contenders at Euro 2016. Since this is the first time in 58 years that Wales have been involved in a major international football tournament, we thought it was only right to have a preview of Wales’ chances at the tournament.
This year’s tournament takes place in France, with a total of 24 teams from Europe all competing for glory. Wales are initially set to play three games against their group-mates, Slovakia, England and Russia. Depending on how many points Wales can get from these matches, will depend on whether we can make it out of the group phase and into the knock-out matches!
Squad Overview
Our team is made up of 23 players that mainly play in the English Premier League and Championship. Notably, Gareth Bale plays his club football in Spain at Real Madrid and just a few weeks ago won the Champions League. While Wales’ population doesn’t quite compare to many of the tournaments favourites, the manager has certainly got a good group of motivated players to play with.
The manager has stayed loyal to the players that achieved qualification, with only a handful of tough decisions to make when picking the final squad. Controversially to some, the manager opted to take central midfielder Joe Ledley, despite him yet having fully recovered from a fractured fibula.
Wales Fixtures
11th June 2016: 17:00 – Wales v Slovakia
16th June 2016: 14:00 – England v Wales
20th June 2016: 20:00 – Russia v Wales
One to watch
Anybody that knows football will know that the one to watch is indeed Real Madrid forward; Gareth Bale. Off the back of a successful Champions League campaign, the nation is hoping Bale can work his magic and help us to win games and get to the knockout phase. Having scored 7 out of 11 goals in the qualification phase, Wales need him to be in goal scoring form to stand any chance of progression.
Other players to watch for Wales include Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey, Swansea’s Ashley Williams and Liverpool’s Joe Allen.
Style of play
Somewhat known in recent times for clean sheets and low number of goals scored, many suggest Wales’ best chance of winning matches will be 1-0 results. A close-knit midfield and well drilled defence could be key, hoping that the likes of Gareth Bale can score goals on the counter-attack.
The Game to Watch
The one to watch is undoubtedly the second fixture, versus England. Taking place at the somewhat inconvenient time of 2pm on Thursday 16th of June, we suggest sweet talking the afternoon off to watch one of the most anticipated games of the group. We’re hoping Wales can cause an upset!
How will Wales do?
Wales are considered as 80/1 to win the tournament. As its Wales’ first major tournament in 58 years, many are not expecting anything spectacular, though making out of the group and into the knockouts would be an achievement that we can all be proud of.
Here at one of the oldest Inns in Wales, we’ll be supporting the mighty Red Dragons and hope they’ll allow us to celebrate some victories across the duration of the tournament. We’re sure that the Black Boy Inn Caernarfon will feel the atmosphere from across Wales, as excitement builds and the football begins.