Baku, Azerbaijan: The carnival of European football, EURO 2020 kick-started on Friday with Italy scoring 3 goals against Turkey. The second match of the tournament will be played between Wales and Switzerland. Both teams look equally placed before the start of the match. Wales will be lead by their star player Gareth Bale for the first time in Euro Cup.
Switzerland will go in with their important players including Shaqiri and Xhaka while Wales will be with Bale and Man United star Daniel James. James is known for his incredible pace.
The semi-finalists of 2016, Wales will try to repeat their 2016 performance yet again. It is the first time Wales have qualified for the Euro Cup for two consecutive times. The 31-year old Welsh captain, Gareth Bale who is currently playing for Tottenham Hotspur has opened up about his thought before their inaugural game.
"If you look at our history, I don’t think we’ve actually qualified properly before [EURO 2016]. So now, to do two in a row, it was a massive achievement for us. We’re definitely on the right track, and hopefully, this is a stepping stone for further things in the future," said Bale on the UEFA Euro website. He looked pretty confident about their team's performance.
When asked about his new role of being a captain, Bale said, 'I feel like I'm match-fit, I'm ready. I'm sharp, I’m scoring goals, so yes, I'm confident in my levels going into this. Whenever I come away with Wales, everyone sees how happy I am, how passionate I am, and whenever I cross that white line with a Wales shirt on, I’ll always give 100%."
Bale also explained that they are not looking beyond the qualification stage right now. "First and foremost, we can't really look further than getting out of the group. We know it's going to be three very difficult games [against Switzerland, Turkey and Italy] like it was first time around, and yes, we have to concentrate on trying to get out of the group first. I know it's a cliché, but we do have to take it one match at a time: the aim is to get out of the group and go from there," the Tottenham star said.
Wales Vs Switzerland Starting Line Up
Wales XI: Ward; C. Roberts, Mepham, Rodon, B. Davies; Allen, Morrell, Ramsey; James, Moore, Bale
Switzerland XI: Sommer, Mbabu, Elvedi, Schar, Akanji, Rodriguez; Xhaka, Freuler; Embolo, Shaqiri, Seferovic
When & Where To Watch In India?
The match will be available on Sony LIV and Sony Ten 3 from 6:30 pm on Saturday.