James, aka @GalloisinFrance, looks at the twists and turns of an eventful game. And what the victory may tell us about Cymru, the Team.
Wales v Turkey Review
Before the game I tweeted out if this was Wales’ biggest game in our history. There was divided opinion but a definite feeling that this game was going to be huge. Portugal and Belgium in 2016, they said, were bigger. But we hadn’t gotten that elusive win that would have set us off so well in the first game of this tournament and the pressure was on.
Embed from Getty ImagesThen Page picked the same team as the Swiss game, which sparked flurries of debate over social media as to why he hadn’t changed it up or brought in “X” player and dropped “Y” player. Throughout the game the pressure was building and as Turkish attacks continued in the second half, it could have been asked if Page was out of his depth and looking like he was out of ideas on the touchline. How we were wrong!
“Best game since Toulouse”
It’ll take a lot to beat the fan experience and the performance on the pitch in 2016 in Toulouse when we tore Russia apart to glide in to the last 16, but this performance is up there with being one of the best. Defensively strong and not shying away from putting ourselves about, box-to-box Rambo, a stand out performance again from Danny Ward and ANOTHER last-minute goal to seal a vital win; this was really the stuff of dreams as Cymru 99.99234923942394% booked their place in the last 16.
The defence stood strong when our backs were against the ropes, with a real team effort to ensure that the Turks didn’t sneak a goal when we had been pressing well to kill the game off. The stats at full time do tell a story as well – 63.1% possession for Turkey to 36.9% for Wales, 18 shots to 16 for Turkey and 10 corners to 7, in Turkey’s favour also. Wales were under the cosh for large parts of the game but our manner of play and what we did with the ball spoke volumes for our approach and positive approach to the game. We were a menace on the counter attack and were positive when we had the ball instead of giving it away carelessly like we had at times vs. Switzerland.
Embed from Getty ImagesWe all feared the worst when Bale skyed his penalty and were left wondering if we were going to rue that miss – expecting a late Turkish equaliser to quash our fevering enthusiasm. The last 20 minutes of the game aged us all by about 10-15 years and although it seemed that we could buckle at any moment, the determination and hard work from the Welsh defence (Mepham and Rodon in particular) was just a step above and really repaid Page’s faith in them. The entire team and squad deserves a mention for this performance, it was collective, it was bursting with togetherness and it was beautiful to watch.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn the face of adversity, missed chances and mounting pressure, Cymru showed why they deserve their place at this summer’s Euros, now the last 16 and how they mean business. A changing approach to game management and a stubborn determination to see it out and score another important second half goal was key to yet another win.
Everyone loves a stat:
Last 15 games – 8 important second half goals
From a team that wilted at the end of games towards the end of the Coleman reign, Wales have started to drastically improve on their performance deep in to games. In the last 15 games, there have been 8 important second half goals scored to either win the game, grab a draw or seal a vital win.
Finland 0 – 1 Wales 03/09/2020 – K. Moore ‘80
Wales 1-0 Bulgaria 06/09/2020 – N. Williams ‘94
Bulgaria 0 – 1 Wales 14/10/2020 – J. Williams ‘85
Wales 1 – 0 Rep of Ireland 15/11/2020 – D. Brooks ‘66
Wales 3 – 1 Finland 18/11/2020 – K. Moore ’84
Wales 1 – 0 Czech Republic 30/03/2021 – D. James ‘81
Wales 1 – 1 Switzerland 12/06/2021 – K. Moore ‘74
Turkey 0 – 2 Wales 16/06/2021 – C. Roberts ‘95
La Fin? No way!
Going back to the Toulouse analogy – in 2016 we were playing to stay in the tournament, against a strong side (on paper) and after some of our mishaps against the Swiss, there were doubts and fears amongst the Red Wall that we could be facing a loss.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe media and some opposition fans on Twitter were building up the fact that there were to be 30,000 screaming Turkish fans in the stadium in Baku, creating a vicious caldron for Cymru to play in and realistically a ‘home’ game for Turkey. It was all set up for a huge gauntlet for Cymru with the odds stacking against us.
Embed from Getty ImagesAt the end of the game, the stats suggest that Turkey were on top and out of context of the score line, suggest that they were the better team. Though take heed from Rhys Ifans In the ‘Underdog – Together Stronger’ video before the Belgian game in 2016, when he famously said “football isn’t played on paper” … “it’s a different kind of test where passion, courage, heart, overrides any kind of logic”. The scenes as our players ran around the pitch in delirium after Conor Roberts’ goal; the scenes of limbs at pubs and ‘fan zones’ across Wales as fans celebrated widely; all showed how much this meant to us all and the passion we have for Cymru. They were courageous and passionate from the word go and didn’t they make us proud.
Importantly, the only stat that matters is that score line and it is beautiful. 2-0.
image of Aaron Ramsey courtesy of FA Wales