So here we go. Knockout football or as Wales defender Connor Roberts so simply put it to me the other day: “If you muck it up now, you go home!”
Too right!
The jeopardy has brought a different feeling, earlier in the week it was all very relaxed in Rome as Wales stayed on in Italy to recover and train after the group stages. Day-by-day, though, you could sense a mood shift and that is evident as the game fast approaches.
Denmark are a tough, well organised, physical side who will not underestimate Wales – indeed their manager Kasper Hjulmand has gone as far as to say Wales are the best counter-attacking side in the world. That’s one for the purists to debate. Wales are certainly up there, but Hjulmand is praising Wales in the hope of unsettling them as much as anything else. Wales love being the underdog, love teams underestimating them. Demark aren’t falling into that trap as far as the mind games go.
Wales, though, will be practical and control the controllable.
Rob Page has said he knows his starting XI, but he’s not telling anyone! It’s maybe not the most difficult guess given all players are fit and available other than Ethan Ampadu who sits the game out due to his unfortunate red card against Italy. So expect Kieffer Moore to start and expect a trio of attacking players in the form of Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Dan James to play around him. Expect the same starting XI that began against both Switzerland and Turkey.
That means a back four. Page isn’t the only one to be impressed by the development of Joe Rodon, but he’s also noticed an upturn in form with Chris Mepham and has spent a long time on the training ground working with them. Not just here at these Euros, but prior to that.
Ben Davies has to come back at left-back – he’s consistent and a defensive leader and he’s a very good player while Connor Roberts continues his journey at right-back.
Dependable, honest and an unbelievable athlete who just runs and runs and then keeps on running. He is supremely fit, something he prides himself on, while his self-deprecating nature means he constantly puts down his footballing ability, saying he’s “not the best”. It’s very unusual to hear an international footballer talk themselves down in such a way.
While Roberts’ fitness is in no doubt, the six-day turnaround between the end of the group stage and the game against Denmark has been of great use for wales.
They opted to stay in Rome after their match last Sunday and only travelled to Amsterdam on Thursday. It allowed time to relax in Rome, time to recover properly on the training pitch before ramping up the work later in the week. A useful break physically and mentally.
And it’s the mental side of the game between Wales and Denmark that could be key. So much has been talked about Christian Eriksen this week and the impact his positive recovery has had on the Danish players – just at look at the performance and result against Russia!
Emotion is difficult to gauge and the Danes are carrying momentum and goodwill in bucket loads. How Wales cope with that and the support of whatever crowd is able to make it into the Johan Cruyff Arena – which will undoubtably be supporting Denmark – will go a long way to determining the outcome of the match.
And if the outcome isn’t certain after 90 minutes and extra-time, well, we all know what comes next…
