Today, on June 5 in Cardiff, the Ukraine national team will play their final match of the 2022 World Cup qualification playoff against Wales (kickoff at 7 PM). Here is our opponent.

Wales

General Information

Confederation: UEFA. Governing body: Football Association of Wales. As of March 2022, the Welsh national team held 18th place in the FIFA ranking. Home arena: Cardiff City Stadium (33,000 spectators). Highest achievement — reaching the quarter-finals of the 1958 World Cup and the semi-finals of the 2016 European Championship. The team's first match was played on March 26, 1876 against Scotland (0:4), their biggest win came on March 3, 1888 over Ireland (11:0), while their worst defeat occurred on March 23, 1878 in a match against the same Scotland (0:9). The team has the nickname «Dragons».

Squad

Goalkeepers: Wayne Hennessey (“Burnley,” England), Danny Ward (“Leicester,” England), Adam Davies (“Sheffield United,” England).

Defenders: Ben Davies, Joe Rodon (both — “Tottenham,” England), Chris Mepham (“Bournemouth,” England), Chris Gunter (unattached), Rhys Norrington-Davies (“Sheffield United,” England), Connor Roberts (“Burnley,” England), Neco Williams (“Liverpool,” England).

Midfielders: Joe Allen (“Stoke City,” England), Joe Morrell (“Portsmouth,” England), Ethan Ampadu (“Venezia,” Italy), Matthew Smith (“Doncaster Rovers,” England), Aaron Ramsey (“Rangers,” Scotland), Dylan Levitt (“Manchester United,” England), Harry Wilson (“Fulham,” England), Daniel James (“Leeds,” England), Wesley Burns (“Ipswich,” England).

Forwards: Rabby Matondo (“Cercle Brugge,” Belgium), Sorba Thomas (“Huddersfield,” England), Jonathan Williams (“Swindon Town,” England), Gareth Bale (“Real Madrid,” Spain), Nathan Broadhead (“Sunderland,” England), Kieffer Moore (“Bournemouth,” England), Brennan Johnson (“Nottingham Forest,” England), Rubin Colwill, Mark Harris (both — “Cardiff City”).

The average age of the team is 25.6 years. The oldest player is Burnley goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, who is 35 years and 5 months old, while the youngest is Manchester United midfielder Dylan Levitt (20 years and 6 months).

Head Coach

Wales national team is coached by 47-year-old Welsh specialist Rob Page, who became the interim manager after Ryan Giggs was arrested in November 2020 and charged with assaulting two women.

Prior to this, Page worked for English clubs “Port Vale” and “Northampton Town”, as well as with the Welsh youth team.

Under his leadership, “Dragons” played 22 matches: they won nine, drew eight and lost five. The coach prefers a 4–2–3–1 tactical system.

Captain

The current captain of the Welsh national team is midfielder Gareth Bale from Real Madrid. The 32-year-old player has been with “Dragons” since September 2006, playing 102 matches and scoring 38 goals.

Bale started his career at “Southampton” (40 matches, 5 goals), then moved to “Tottenham” (146 matches, 42 goals), and then to the Spanish “Real Madrid” (176 matches, 81 goals). During the 2020/2021 season, he played on loan at “Tottenham” (20 matches, 11 goals).

With “Tottenham” he won the English League Cup, and with “Real Madrid” he became three times the Spanish league champion, once the winner of the Copa del Rey, five times the Champions League winner, and twice the UEFA Super Cup holder. He was named Footballer of the Year in England (2012/2013) and six times — Player of the Year in Wales (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016).

Gareth Bale is considered one of the fastest players and best wing-backs in the world, known for his excellent dribbling skills and ball control.