If you ask any Wales fan what their recent success has been built on, they will immediately point to their solid backline.
Before the start of Euro 2020, Rob Pages’ side had kept ten clean sheets during their previous 13 excursions, a run that started at the end of their successful qualifying campaign for this summer’s tournament.
Building solid foundations that you can develop a side is good and good, but if you do not have a little magic at the top end of the field, you will not get far in international football – or any level football for that matter.
Wales’ opening day draw with Switzerland was proof of that fact. Page’s men offered a bit of an attacking threat and they needed some brilliance from Kieffer Moore to save them a point.
If the Dragons were to score against Turkey on Wednesday night, they needed their stars, especially Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, to show us exactly what they could do.
The pair looked lively from the start when Bale picked up pockets of space between Turkey’s midfield and the back line before lifting his head and wanting to cause trouble. In the same way, Ramsey did exactly what he got the team to do and blew past Moore with late runs that the opposition just could not keep under control.
Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey celebrate Juventus man’s goal / Naomi Baker / Getty Images
Although the pair seem to be in the mood to produce match-winning performances, the Juventus man’s finish left much to be desired, especially a late run in the box, which especially gave him a brilliant opportunity to stop before choosing his place, just for him to lean on backwards and burn their effort well over the crossbar.
In order not to be discouraged, Ramsey continued to push and probe, and with just a few minutes left before halftime, he and Bale teamed up to pull their side towards a spot in the knockout rounds.
After Ramsey had run past the static Caglar Soyuncu and Kaan Ayhan, Bale did an excellent job of lifting his head and choosing an exact pass to his teammate. Even though he was in the free kick, there was still a lot for Ramsey to do, although he made the rest look easy when he killed the ball with his chest before sweeping past Ugurcan Cakır.
When the second half developed, Bale had the Turkish side in the palm of his hand and when he picked up the ball and drove into the box, they felt they were desperate to get him down – which they did.
This is the fantastic goal from Aaron Ramsey that separates the sides.
Can Wales hold on, or will they pay for that penalty miss by Gareth Bale?
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Today’s match (@BBCMOTD) June 16, 2021
Referee Artur Soares Dias showed no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot, even though the Real Madrid man’s resulting kick was genuinely deplorable when he shot far over the crossbar.
The pair had both missed great opportunities in the game but showed the courage and mentality needed to make it to the top when they continued demanding the ball and then Turkey caused no end to problems, with Bale covering a fantastic performance with a late run to strike up Connor Roberts who struck home to make it 2-0 in the dying embers of the game.
It would be appropriate to completely overlook the performance of the rest of Wales – with their backline and goalkeeper Danny Ward fantastic all the time – even if the piece of magic needed at the top end of the pitch was provided by the usual suspects when they hacked the first Euro win 2020.
