Ruth takes a look at the many positives to come out of the defeat in Nice, despite the France 3 Cymru 0 score line.
Losing 3-0 stings, but in a friendly against the world champions, without starting our best 11, and spending three quarters of the game with ten men, it doesn’t sting too badly. We’ve had our first international run in with VAR and reacted with maturity and determination.
There were a string of really good player performances. Danny Ward was outstanding. I’ve advocated for Hennessey to be in goal, but Ward has played the last four competitive games, plus this friendly against the team ranked second in the world, and all indications are that the starting ‘keeper spot is his. Other than one high ball which he dallied on, ultimately not coming out, Ward showed good awareness and fast reflexes all night. And a penalty save against Benzema is no mean feat.
Embed from Getty ImagesChris Gunter again showed his ability to play just about anywhere across a back four or five. He held things steady under a lot of pressure, especially in the second half. Chris Mepham had one of his better recent games, and Joe Rodon is just a rock. His play closing down attackers is a joy to watch. Connor Roberts demonstrated that, for some players, just running out twice a week all year is effortless. As has been said many times before, what an engine!
Embed from Getty ImagesAfter the game Rob Page made it very clear that the use of four at the back was a late adjustment after seeing the French formation. The adaptability of the players, Neco Williams in particular in this case, is a real asset of this iteration of Cymru. Williams was pulled in from left wing back to actually play left-centre midfield, asked to sit on Pogba and prevent a midfield overload.
A Holding Trio
The trio of Morrell, Allen and Williams kept the bulk of the French play contained. Allen had a relatively quiet game, thank goodness, hopefully shackled with instructions to not go anywhere near any 50-50 balls. Morrell had another outstanding game. With questions about Ampadu’s fitness, Morrell has again eased concerns and perhaps we will end up with the Joe-and-Joe show again, at least for the opening game, if Ampadu is not 100%.
Embed from Getty ImagesDan James has consistently been our best player for a while now. He does seem to light up when he pulls on the dragon shirt. His running in behind kept the French defence back tracking. This does return us the proverbial question of whether we are therefore better served with Kieffer Moore in the box. Deep in the second half, the Cardiff striker showed glimpses of how a Ramsey – Moore tag team might unlock even the best defences. Obviously, it’s a relief to see both Ramsey and Davies getting time in the second half.
Bale had a relatively quiet game, as did Wilson. Although they both contributed to the chances Cymru developed in the early part of the game.
Clearly the respective aims of the friendly, for both France and Cymru, were derailed with Williams’ sending off. When the French players are asking for him not to be sent off, and the fourth official apologises, then the Welsh team have every reason to be frustrated.
Embed from Getty ImagesRobert Pages’ Thoughts
Page identified several positives from the game in his press conference:
- Cymru started the game really well, even with the tweak that was necessary with the French in an unexpected diamond,
- Identified Dan James’ pace over the top could hurt them,
- Created chances.
But the biggest plus, he said, ‘Was giving the players minutes and getting them in the right frame of mind physically and mentally for Switzerland. ‘
I’ll add a different even bigger plus – no injuries.
Photo credit: opening image of Neco Williams: Werner100359, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons