Wales Euro 2020 reporter notebook: Is it crunch time for Wales already in Turkey clash?
Sky Sports News reporter Geraint Hughes provides an update on the Wales camp from Baku as they prepare to face Turkey in Group A on Wednesday; kick-off 5pm
Wednesday 16 June 2021 13:21, UK
Is it crunch time for Wales already? By that I mean do they have no other alternative than to beat Turkey to progress from Group A? Well yes, probably!
It's the looming final fixture for Wales against Italy in Rome that just looks such a tough ask to get a result from if they are chasing it. Italy are formidable at home, they're even better at picking off teams desperate for a result in their own back yard, so I think Wales must beat Turkey.
How do they do that? It will be incredibly tough and if Wales do manage it, a performance akin to their 3-0 demolition of Russia at Euro 2016 springs to mind. That was almost a perfect performance, it's certainly Aaron Ramsay's view that it was the best Wales have ever played while he's been part of the set-up.
To beat Turkey, Wales will not only need to overcome a very good side, but they'll need to play the crowd as well. This may as well be a home fixture for Turkey. Azerbaijan and Turkey share close links economically, politically and culturally. Thousands of Turkish citizens reside in Azerbaijan and that is why the expected 30,000 crowd inside the Baku Olympic Stadium will be utterly dominated by Turkey fans bar 250 Wales supporters.
On the pitch though, how will manager Robert Page set Wales up? Back four as they did against Switzerland? Or revert to a back three? Both systems are familiar to the players, it's just about selecting which one will give Wales the best opportunity to get tangible ball possession and therefore create chances.
Against Switzerland in hindsight it was a battling, dig deep, performance. A never-say-die attitude, but the ball possession stats were unfamiliar: they were low. Wales in recent years have not been dominated on that front, even against Belgium in a World Cup qualifier earlier this year. Wales are a team who can play with the ball at the back, through midfield and to the attacking players. Kieffer Moore is not just 'the big lad' up front, he brings much more to the party than that.
If Wales can get at least 40 per cent ball possession, better still 50-50 against Turkey, they will create chances, and one thing Wales have proven for a long time now is that they are quite clinical. Their ratio of chances to goals converted isn't at all bad, and if you go by last Saturday alone Moore had two attempts at goal, one brought out a superb save from Yann Sommer, while the other nestled into the back of the net.
I'm still not sure how Page will set Wales up, I have a feeling this time he might go back three with two wingbacks, and my reasoning is because Turkey are a very different side to Switzerland, and certainly not as quick.
Turkey do not possess great pace in their squad. Wales do. It's not just Dan James who is lightning quick, so is Neco Williams, while Connor Roberts, Harry Wilson and even someone called Gareth Bale are not exactly slow-coaches. Pace frightens the life out of defending teams and Wales need to frighten Turkey, quieten down the crowd, and if they do that the confidence and belief may well flow through the Welsh team.
So once again when discussing Wales at these Euros it's a guessing game as to which formation they will play. Page does have 26 fit players to choose from though which gives him all the options he requires.
In terms of the morale of the squad, a big factor when playing at a tournament, once again the club-family mentality is helping. The players were given a down-day on Monday and were utterly relieved it allowed all of them to get out of the Covid bubble at their hotel for a few hours.
Table tennis, F1 gaming and other games prevent boredom, but a happy camp is often a successful one. Humour is evident; Bale during a training drill nutmegged his mate Chris Gunter while it was being filmed, Gunter appealed to the cameraman with a huge smile while Bale et al were laughing like kids.
Also yesterday on the big screens at Wales training base, the message displayed said: "Yma o hyd" - translated to English it simply means: "Still here…"
Wales Euro fixtures and route
Wednesday, June 16 - Group A: Turkey vs Wales: Kick-off 5pm (Baku)
Sunday, June 20 - Group A: Italy vs Wales; Kick-off 5pm (Rome)
Top two in each group plus four best third-placed teams go through
Last 16 knockout stage
If Wales win Group A...
Saturday June 26 - Group A winners vs Group C runners-up; Kick-off 8pm (London)
If Wales finish second in Group A...
Saturday June 26 - Group A runners-up vs Group B runners-up; Kick-off 5pm (Amsterdam)
If Wales finish as one of four best third-place teams...
One of:
Sunday June 27 - Group B winners vs third-placed side from Group A/D/E/F; Kick-off 8pm (Seville)
Monday June 28 - Group F winners vs third-placed side from Group A/B/C; Kick-off 8pm (Bucharest)
Tuesday June 29 - Group E winners vs third-placed side Group A/B/C/D; Kick-off 8pm (Glasgow)
Ampadu: Bring on the boos against Turkey
Ethan Ampadu says Wales will thrive off being booed by a large Turkish support during Wednesday's Euro 2020 contest.
Around 25,000 Turkey fans are expected to attend the Group A match in Baku's Olympic Stadium and they will create a partisan atmosphere for what is a must-win game for their side.
However, having played in empty stadiums for the past 12 months, Ampadu told Sky Sports News that Wales are relishing the occasion.
"Everyone seems to have a home game but us," he joked. "It's good, it's crowd noise.
"We're all looking forward to it, we're all going to love it. It's weird to say but we'll enjoy being booed. It's the atmosphere."
