Euro 2024 Play Offs

[conwy10]

I thought JJ did well. I'm not too fussed with him not being involved in everything. Before him we used to have a big hole centrally and it doesn't seem to be there anymore, if he's filling that under the radar that's brilliant.

[1gwaunview]

Agree with most marks out of 10 here. Still not convinced with Johnson, I'd give him no more than 6/6.5, drifts in and out of games too much for me, a number of offsides, but was in the right position to score from less than a yard. This will no doubt boost his confidence, and perhaps we'll see more of his club form for us in the future.
Overall, very good team performance 8/10. Da iawn bechgyn!

[athenempadu]

Mar 22, 2024 10:29:23 GMT melynwy said:

Mar 22, 2024 10:17:36 GMT iot said:

For comparison, I did a quick search on twitter for Declan Rice (plays the same position) and the first tweet I could find was his numbers against Everton earlier in the season, where he had 99 touches. It may seem trivial, but I think that's the difference between what Ampadu's currently doing and what top midfielders do. 

I think that's very unfair, and you're taking wrong conclusions from the stats. We seemed to be deliberately letting Finland have possession - with that approach it's inevitable that they'll have fewer touches. Rice does not play for that kind of team.

If we played a successful high-press against a team and looked to dominate possession, then our midfielders would probably be pushing a 100 touches too.

In fact, if a sunday league team played a successful high press and dominated possession, their midfielders would also probably see a 100 touches. 

On the other hand, a lot of teams and players have been very good and successful without seeing a lot of the ball or having a lot touches. It's just a different style of play.

Ampadu had 122 touches against Coventry, with 102 out of 108 accurate passes (94%), and they drew 1-1, so I don't think you can read too much into these stats as it depends on the tactics of the whole team, and the volume of passes by a single player does not equate to winning matches.

Wales tactics against Finland were to get the the ball forward as quickly as possible for swift counter attacks, and Jordan James only had 36 touches with 23 out of 28 accurate passes (82%). Ampadu made 44 out of 48 accurate passes (92%) from his 56 touches. If you want to do a comparison, Rice's passing accuracy vs Everton was 85 out of 91 (93%) with 101 touches, which is very similar to Ampadu when it comes to passing ability, and all that endeavour resulted in a single goal for Arsenal. 

[athenempadu]

Mar 22, 2024 12:26:14 GMT conwy10 said:

I thought JJ did well. I'm not too fussed with him not being involved in everything. Before him we used to have a big hole centrally and it doesn't seem to be there anymore, if he's filling that under the radar that's brilliant.

Yeah, James and Ampadu are controlling the space in front of the defence.

[welshrover]

What happens to yellow cards picked up in these play offs?

[smudger1]

Good to see four different scorers last night. I was surprised he started Johnson but it worked so job done. I do want to talk about our weakest links - Roberts, Mephem and Ward. Roberts for me is bang average and looks nervous in defence and never passes the halfway line with the ball, but who else have we got? I always hoped that RND would be fit and Neco would go RB. Mephem isn't playing so can't really say it's our fault but he played poorly and needs to step up on Tuesday. As for Ward I'd personally go with Wayne but can't see it changing. I feel nervous when he gets a pass back and I hope he also has a great game Tuesday.

[morg]

Yellows which didn't result in a suspension from the group stage are cancelled out.

Same for playoffs going into the June finals.

Only thing that can stuff you up I'd say, is getting a red in the semi which means you miss the playoff final or a red in the playoff final which means you miss the first group match in Germany.

[winsumluzsum]

Mar 22, 2024 11:42:51 GMT iot said:

Mar 22, 2024 10:26:02 GMT winsumluzsum said:

Agree with most of that. I think you're a bit harsh on Rodon (I would give him a 7), I'm not sure he was at fault for the goal. Mepham's starting position was very poor, and he spurned the chance to throw himself in front of Pukki's shot.

I would give Johnson a 6. He could hardly miss for the goal and was lucky to win the free kick for Neco's goal. His failure to score in the first half when clean through (he was offside anyway) illustrated his game. He cut a frustrated figure. However, his performance was an improvement on recent ones. I would start with Moore and James on Tuesday.

I'm currently watching the game back and having seen their goal again (and all the replays), to my surprise I would actually say Rodon was more at fault. Pukki was his man, Mepham was tracking the guy that received the ball and went in hard on him, then it was Rodon who made a last split-second decision to try to intercept the pass rather than sticking with Pukki. It was interesting to see that it was Rodon who Ben Davies had a go at after the goal. 

I've seen it back a few times too, and to my mind Mepham needs to realise the danger of keeping on tracking Pohjanpalo all the way in to Rodon. Rodon was bound to react to the ball coming on yo close proximity. If Mepham had held back a bit he would have been in a position to react to Pukki's movement. He also fails to throw himself in front of Pukki as he is about to shoot.

[winsumluzsum]

In the qualifying group Poland lost to Czechia, Moldova and Albania away, and only drew at home to Moldova. They clearly don't travel well.

Their standout players are Lewandowski, Zielinski and Szczęsny. The rest are decent of course but Slisz only plays in the MLS, another plays for Ludogorets in Bulgaria and two play for Verona, two points above the relegation zone in Serie A. They are marginally stronger on paper, but that should be cancelled out by home advantage.

[winsumluzsum]

The biggest concern for me is that Page will be outwitted. As well as we were set up against Croatia and Turkey from the off, Page still didn't effectively counter changes made by the opposition manager in both games. He only seems to be able to change things at half time, even when changes are obviously needed much earlier (USA match, last night, Armenia home and away, Denmark). He's a decent manager, but thinking on his feet isn't a strength. Hopefully we will do better what if planning for different tactics from the opposition.

[jimexotic]

This is the closest one manager has come to taking Wales to two tournaments, Page has to take some credit for this, well done, Rob, plenty would have totally ballsed this up.

[manulike]

Mar 22, 2024 10:43:42 GMT morg said:

Mar 22, 2024 9:58:23 GMT pclaude said:

Probably worth remembering that Poland can be hit and miss too. In qualifying they lost and drew with Moldova.

My sense is that they arent what they were when we played them 18 months ago.

Not to say I am confident, just I think home advantage makes us slight favourites. 

Agreed re Poland. Team we can now put out is a big improvement on the one that lost 1-0 in Cardiff in terms of personnel and match fitness
and if memory serves we created a fair few chances in that game. Estonia were down to 10 men after 27 minutes last night so presumably a factor in the result.

Respect but no fear. We'd have been well pleased with a one off home game v Poland to reach the finals, so every reason to be optimistic.

Agree completely. We are ahead of them in the FIFA ranking and we are playing at home.

If we get a German/Scandinavian ref - we must be favourites.

They are a team of full of drama queens. I would like nothing better than to really humble them ;-)

[pclaude]

Mar 22, 2024 21:18:07 GMT jimexotic said:

This is the closest one manager has come to taking Wales to two tournaments, Page has to take some credit for this, well done, Rob, plenty would have totally ballsed this up.

Page beating Finland at home twice isnt exactly worthy of that much praise.

[andybell84]

Horrible atmosphere Thursday night. Saw someone walk with a Dragons rugby top and being pushed and shoved. It smacks in the face of the whole together stronger vibe. He left at half time and is now selling his ticket for Tuesday. Thought we had all moved on from rugby hatred

[njdragon]

Mar 22, 2024 21:53:17 GMT pclaude said:

Mar 22, 2024 21:18:07 GMT jimexotic said:

This is the closest one manager has come to taking Wales to two tournaments, Page has to take some credit for this, well done, Rob, plenty would have totally ballsed this up.

Page beating Finland at home twice isnt exactly worthy of that much praise.

When will you start giving him praise... So much negativity when this manager has us game away from 3 tournaments in a row.

Always ready to stick the knife in

[huuareyou]

hello,

losing or not

we would like to thank for respectable behavour.

Good luck.

See you again.

br

HUUUUUUUUUUU

[marsvolta]

Mar 23, 2024 2:33:35 GMT huuareyou said:

hello,

losing or not

we would like to thank for respectable behavour.

Good luck.

See you again.

br

HUUUUUUUUUUU

Thanks to your fans too for being fantastic visitors to our country. We had a great time with you all throughout the day until the early morning.
Come back and see us again soon.

[jbt95]

Mar 23, 2024 0:27:53 GMT andybell84 said:

Horrible atmosphere Thursday night. Saw someone walk with a Dragons rugby top and being pushed and shoved. It smacks in the face of the whole together stronger vibe. He left at half time and is now selling his ticket for Tuesday. Thought we had all moved on from rugby hatred

Sorry to hear this, some idiots around.

Why not just wear a different top Tuesday? Shame to miss out.

[quetzal]

Mar 23, 2024 7:29:18 GMT jbt95 said:

Mar 23, 2024 0:27:53 GMT andybell84 said:

Horrible atmosphere Thursday night. Saw someone walk with a Dragons rugby top and being pushed and shoved. It smacks in the face of the whole together stronger vibe. He left at half time and is now selling his ticket for Tuesday. Thought we had all moved on from rugby hatred

Sorry to hear this, some idiots around.

Why not just wear a different top Tuesday? Shame to miss out.

I saw someone outside the ground with the 80’s Wales rugby top. I thought it was strange but would never call someone for that never mind push them! Why sell the ticket? Don’t let the clowns win.

[quetzal]

Word of advice. Never check the head to head record of Welsh national team against their next opponent. It never works out. How fucking bad have we been!!!

[njdragon]

When we played Poland last time in Cardiff. The atmosphere was awful, real sense of trouble, I thought. Lots of flares and that firework in the crowd. I really hope it’s not like that Tuesday

[surge]

Mar 23, 2024 7:29:18 GMT jbt95 said:

Mar 23, 2024 0:27:53 GMT andybell84 said:

Horrible atmosphere Thursday night. Saw someone walk with a Dragons rugby top and being pushed and shoved. It smacks in the face of the whole together stronger vibe. He left at half time and is now selling his ticket for Tuesday. Thought we had all moved on from rugby hatred

Sorry to hear this, some idiots around.

Why not just wear a different top Tuesday? Shame to miss out.

I don't think this is the answer though. Original poster, can you reach out to them and offer to stand next to them at the game in case the idiots are there again?

It's a massive game really and a tough challenge. Need everyone there pulling together and in a positive direction, as together stronger implies.

[hooky]

Its amazing they always look so much better than us technically (play decently against the likes of England) and from a game management perspective when you consider their squad. Given except for the one player there is no outstanding other, while half the squad are probably solid players, then we should have a great chance of winning the game giving it is at home. I really hope Page delivers but if we watch Poland dominate and beat us in our stadium again then that must be down to Page and his tactical acumen as there is no way that Polish team should be significantly between than us. Look at their record, age profile and who they play for below!

It is mad that for a country of almost 40mn with a football heritage they are relatively so poor since their golden era of the 70s and early 80s when they secured 3 consecutive #3 positions at WCs! Since then the Czechs seemed as good if not a better team and then more recently Hungary, while in qualifying many small Eastern and Central European teams got the better of them. I think our victory (and lucky draw) against Croatia will have done our mentality the world of good going into this game. Will be such a massive boost to qualify for a tournament without Bale and Ramsey and to participate in what is going to be an amazing tournament given its location!


www.skysports.com/football/poland-vs-estonia/teams/500597
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland_national_football_team

Team and squad for Estonia match:

Poland
1 W Szczesny
5 J Bednarek
3 P Dawidowicz
14 J Kiwior
19 P Frankowski 22'22nd minute 45'45th minute
10 P Zielinski 50'50th minute 72'72nd minute
18 B Slisz
6 J Piotrowski 22'22nd minute 70'70th minute 73'73rd minute
21 N Zalewski
50'50th minute
7 K Swiderski 72'72nd minute
9 R Lewandowski (c) 70'70th minute

Substitutes
22 M Bulka
2 M Cash 45'45th minute 56'56th minute
11 K Grosicki
13 T Romanchuk
16 P Bochniewicz
20 S Szymanski 72'72nd minute 76'76th minute
8 J Moder 73'73rd minute
4 T Puchacz 56'56th minute 60'60th minute
12 L Skorupski
17 B Salamon
23 K Piatek
15 A Buksa 72'72nd minute


Current squad
The following players were called up for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-off match against Estonia on 21 March 2024, and a UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-off or friendly match against Finland or Wales on 26 March 2024.[198]

Caps and goals updated as of 21 March 2024, after the match against Estonia, as recognized by the PZPN.[199][200]
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 GK Wojciech Szczęsny 18 April 1990 (age 33) 80 0 Italy Juventus
12 GK Łukasz Skorupski 5 May 1991 (age 32) 9 0 Italy Bologna
22 GK Marcin Bułka 4 October 1999 (age 24) 1 0 France Nice
3 DF Paweł Dawidowicz 20 May 1995 (age 28) 9 0 Italy Hellas Verona
4 DF Tymoteusz Puchacz 23 January 1999 (age 25) 13 0 Germany 1. FC Kaiserslautern
5 DF Jan Bednarek 12 April 1996 (age 27) 55 1 England Southampton
14 DF Jakub Kiwior 15 February 2000 (age 24) 20 1 England Arsenal
16 DF Paweł Bochniewicz 30 January 1996 (age 28) 3 0 Netherlands Heerenveen
17 DF Bartosz Salamon 1 May 1991 (age 32) 11 0 Poland Lech Poznań
DF Bartosz Bereszyński 12 July 1992 (age 31) 54 0 Italy Empoli
DF Sebastian Walukiewicz 5 April 2000 (age 23) 3 0 Italy Empoli
6 MF Jakub Piotrowski 4 October 1997 (age 26) 4 2 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad
8 MF Jakub Moder 7 April 1999 (age 24) 21 2 England Brighton & Hove Albion
10 MF Piotr Zieliński 20 May 1994 (age 29) 87 11 Italy Napoli
11 MF Kamil Grosicki 8 June 1988 (age 35) 93 17 Poland Pogoń Szczecin
13 MF Taras Romanczuk 14 November 1991 (age 32) 1 0 Poland Jagiellonia Białystok
18 MF Bartosz Slisz 29 March 1999 (age 24) 7 0 United States Atlanta United
19 MF Przemysław Frankowski 12 April 1995 (age 28) 39 3 France Lens
20 MF Sebastian Szymański 10 May 1999 (age 24) 30 3 Turkey Fenerbahçe
21 MF Nicola Zalewski 23 January 2002 (age 22) 15 0 Italy Roma
MF Damian Szymański 16 June 1995 (age 28) 17 2 Greece AEK Athens
MF Dominik Marczuk 1 November 2003 (age 20) 0 0 Poland Jagiellonia Białystok
7 FW Karol Świderski 23 January 1997 (age 27) 29 10 Italy Hellas Verona
9 FW Robert Lewandowski (captain) 21 August 1988 (age 35) 147 82 Spain Barcelona
15 FW Adam Buksa 12 July 1996 (age 27) 14 6 Turkey Antalyaspor
23 FW Krzysztof Piątek 1 July 1995 (age 28) 27 11 Turkey İstanbul Başak


Recent call-ups
The following players have been called up for the national team in the last twelve months.
Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Bartłomiej Drągowski 19 August 1997 (age 26) 2 0 Greece Panathinaikos v. Faroe Islands, 12 October 2023 WD
GK Kamil Grabara 8 January 1999 (age 25) 1 0 Denmark Copenhagen v. Faroe Islands, 7 September 2023 INJ
DF Matty Cash 7 August 1997 (age 26) 15 1 England Aston Villa v. Estonia, 21 March 2024 INJ
DF Tomasz Kędziora 11 June 1994 (age 29) 32 1 Greece PAOK v. Latvia, 21 November 2023
DF Mateusz Wieteska 11 February 1997 (age 27) 4 0 Italy Cagliari v. Latvia, 21 November 2023
DF Bartłomiej Wdowik 25 September 2000 (age 23) 1 0 Poland Jagiellonia Białystok v. Latvia, 21 November 2023
DF Patryk Peda 16 April 2002 (age 21) 3 0 Italy SPAL v. Latvia, 21 November 2023 U21
DF Przemysław Wiśniewski 27 July 1998 (age 25) 0 0 Italy Spezia v. Moldova, 20 June 2023
DF Arkadiusz Reca 17 June 1995 (age 28) 15 0 Italy Spezia v. Germany, 16 June 2023 INJ
DF Robert Gumny 4 June 1998 (age 25) 6 0 Germany FC Augsburg v. Albania, 27 March 2023
DF Michał Karbownik 13 March 2001 (age 23) 4 0 Germany Hertha BSC v. Albania, 27 March 2023
DF Kamil Piątkowski 21 June 2001 (age 22) 3 0 Spain Granada v. Czech Republic, 24 March 2023 INJ
MF Paweł Wszołek 30 April 1992 (age 31) 14 2 Poland Legia Warsaw v. Latvia, 21 November 2023
MF Karol Struski 18 January 2001 (age 23) 1 0 Cyprus Aris Limassol v. Latvia, 21 November 2023
MF Mateusz Łęgowski 29 January 2003 (age 21) 1 0 Italy Salernitana v. Latvia, 21 November 2023 U21
MF Patryk Dziczek 25 February 1998 (age 26) 2 0 Poland Piast Gliwice v. Czech Republic, 17 November 2023 INJ
MF Jakub Kamiński 5 June 2002 (age 21) 14 1 Germany VfL Wolfsburg v. Moldova, 15 October 2023
MF Filip Marchwiński 10 January 2002 (age 22) 2 0 Poland Lech Poznań v. Moldova, 15 October 2023
MF Grzegorz Krychowiak 29 January 1990 (age 34) 100 5 Saudi Arabia Abha v. Albania, 10 September 2023 RET
MF Karol Linetty 2 February 1995 (age 29) 47 5 Italy Torino v. Albania, 10 September 2023
MF Michał Skóraś 15 February 2000 (age 24) 7 0 Belgium Club Brugge v. Albania, 10 September 2023
MF Kacper Kozłowski 16 October 2003 (age 20) 6 0 Netherlands Vitesse v. Albania, 10 September 2023
MF Krystian Bielik 4 January 1998 (age 26) 11 0 England Birmingham City v. Moldova, 20 June 2023
MF Ben Lederman 8 May 2000 (age 23) 0 0 Poland Raków Częstochowa v. Moldova, 20 June 2023
MF Jakub Błaszczykowski 14 December 1985 (age 38) 109 21 Retired v. Germany, 16 June 2023 RET
FW Adrian Benedyczak 24 November 2000 (age 23) 0 0 Italy Parma v. Czech Republic, 17 November 2023 INJ
FW Arkadiusz Milik 28 February 1994 (age 30) 72 17 Italy Juventus v. Moldova, 15 October 2023

[yanto]

Mar 21, 2024 22:39:18 GMT welshrover said:

Mar 21, 2024 22:34:25 GMT conwy10 said:

Not the best thing to comment on in the current climate.

It's a left wing forum conwy, they get away with it. I feel sure if Israel had won and someone had come on here to congratulate them the post would have been deleted by now.

Yep fuck Israel, I seem to remember saying the same when we played them away and I pointed out what the actual situation is with their treatment of Palestinians. I got alot f flak then hopefully people now see the reality.

[pclaude]

Mar 23, 2024 0:34:46 GMT njdragon said:

Mar 22, 2024 21:53:17 GMT pclaude said:

Page beating Finland at home twice isnt exactly worthy of that much praise.

When will you start giving him praise... So much negativity when this manager has us game away from 3 tournaments in a row.

Always ready to stick the knife in

I was stating a fact. Page’s contribution to us being in the playoff final is beating Finland twice at home. The first of those with a side that Giggs moulded and a squad Giggs selected.

I think you will find my posts on Page being pretty fair- such as being fully deserving of the contract he got on full time appointment 18 months ago. I think he has also done enough to not be removed after this campaign.

Truth is, Giggs got us to Euro 2020 and if we win Tuesday will be 50% responsible for getting us to Euro 2024.

[njdragon]

Mar 23, 2024 9:42:17 GMT pclaude said:

Mar 23, 2024 0:34:46 GMT njdragon said:

When will you start giving him praise... So much negativity when this manager has us game away from 3 tournaments in a row.

Always ready to stick the knife in

I was stating a fact. Page’s contribution to us being in the playoff final is beating Finland twice at home. The first of those with a side that Giggs moulded and a squad Giggs selected.

I think you will find my posts on Page being pretty fair- such as being fully deserving of the contract he got on full time appointment 18 months ago. I think he has also done enough to not be removed after this campaign.

Truth is, Giggs got us to Euro 2020 and if we win Tuesday will be 50% responsible for getting us to Euro 2024.

Nah you’re complete page out Bollox. Social media moaners.

[marsvolta]

I think we’ve reached the stage where Page won’t get the credit if we qualify but it will be his fault if we don’t.

[pclaude]

Mar 23, 2024 10:59:08 GMT njdragon said:

Mar 23, 2024 9:42:17 GMT pclaude said:

I was stating a fact. Page’s contribution to us being in the playoff final is beating Finland twice at home. The first of those with a side that Giggs moulded and a squad Giggs selected.

I think you will find my posts on Page being pretty fair- such as being fully deserving of the contract he got on full time appointment 18 months ago. I think he has also done enough to not be removed after this campaign.

Truth is, Giggs got us to Euro 2020 and if we win Tuesday will be 50% responsible for getting us to Euro 2024.

Nah you’re complete page out Bollox. Social media moaners.

I cant decide if you’re taking the p***

[njdragon]

Mar 23, 2024 12:13:52 GMT pclaude said:

Mar 23, 2024 10:59:08 GMT njdragon said:

Nah you’re complete page out Bollox. Social media moaners.

I cant decide if you’re taking the p***

I see, you're easily confused

[njdragon]

Mar 23, 2024 11:35:39 GMT marsvolta said:

I think we’ve reached the stage where Page won’t get the credit if we qualify but it will be his fault if we don’t.

100%! if we qualify it’s down to the players, if we don’t qualify expect everyone to tear page apart, from tactics through to that Denmark game and something he alluded to in an interview 2 years ago.