The 16th UEFA European Championship is set for kick-off on 12th June 2020 and to celebrate the tournament’s 60th birthday, 12 cities around Europe will be hosting the Euros. With qualifying concluding in March 2020, there’s still time to consider how the final teams will look – we’ve predicted what the Wales squad will look like ahead of the 2020 Euros.
Starring Roles
Manchester United midfielder Daniel James and Liverpool winger Harry Wilson, who is currently on loan from Bournemouth, are two names who could conceivably step up into more important roles in the team to assist Ramsey & Bale at Euro 2020. While Tottenham fullback Ben Davies will want to replicate his club success at a national level, it’s likely that the starring roles will be given to James and Wilson. However, Davies has stated previously that the team needs to stick together in order to perform their best and praised Giggs for bringing in younger players and providing opportunities for the younger members of the team to perform.
Will Williams Retire?
34-year-old Ashley Williams, who serves as Wales’ captain, is currently without a club and there have been some speculations that the 3rd most capped player for his country, with 86 caps, will either retire from international football or the game overall. Williams has certainly lost a step over the last couple of seasons, culminating in him being dropped by Everton and spending the last season on loan at championship side Stoke and his football statistics are getting worse & worse the last few seasons. For Williams’ part, he seems determined to serve his country and there have been rumours that American MLS side DC United are interested in bringing him stateside. However, will the drop in opposition or the ring rust of being without a side to start this season leave Williams diminished? Williams has been a stalwart of the national team and somehow it wouldn’t look right without him in the team. Expect him to make the 23-man squad, even if his role is reduced.
An Opportunity for Break-Out Talent
Eye-catching performances form Ethan Ampadu, Connor Roberts and David Brookes have been some of the highlights of a relatively disappointing Euro 2020 qualifier, meaning that the tournament could be the one for breakout talent and a step away from the usual names that fans are used to seeing. This could also be the year that we see whether Gareth Bale is truly committed to Wales – his tenure at Real Madrid looks to be coming to a close, leaving the forward’s career in something of a limbo state. It’s certainly true that any Welsh success at the tournament will require a huge input from the talismanic Bale and while his loyalty to his country was never in question before, his footballing focus may be somewhat out of line. Giggs has been reported as saying that the player is becoming something of a headache in terms of knowing where to fit him into a starting line with other attacking talents such as Brooks, James and Wilson, particularly while facing growing unrest from fans.
