LATEST NEWS ' EURO 2016 QUARTER FINAL ' WALES V BELGIUM '

WALES v BELGIUM
EURO 2016 Quarter Final 8pm
Friday, 1 July
Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille

' Updated daily '


' WALES HAVE NO INJURY PROBLEMS '

Wales' Euro 2016 quarter-final against Belgium this Friday is their biggest match since the 1958 World Cup, according to manager Chris Coleman.


' BREAKING NEWS '

Vertonghen, Vermaelen and Kompany missing from Belgium defence v Wales

Belgium facing defensive crisis amid reports Jan Vertonghen has picked up an injury

Eden Hazard back in training
He didn’t train yesterday, but he’s back with the squad now.


Gareth Bale says Wales' Euro 2016 quarter-final against Belgium is their biggest game since the 1958 World Cup quarter-final against Brazil.

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This is the big one. Wales are through to the last 8 of Euro 2016!

Over 15,000 Welsh fans are expected to travel to Lille


Latest News

Ashley Williams will be fit for the match after suffering a shoulder injury against Northern Ireland.

Belgium will be without defender Vermaelen who picked up a yellow card against Hungary on Sunday.


Match preview

Belgium have won five of previous 12 meetings, with three draws

Gareth Bale the match-winner the last time these two sides met (12 June 2015)

Red Devils failed to score in both meetings in qualifying for UEFA EURO 2016


Likely line-ups

Wales

01 Hennessey
05 Chester
06 Williams
04 Davies
02 Gunter
07 Allen
16 Ledley
03 Taylor
11 Bale
18 Vokes
10 Ramsey

Belgium

1 Courtois
16 Meunier
2 Alderweireld
15 Denayer
5 Vertonghen
4 Nainggolan
6 Witsel
14 Mertens
7 De Bruyne
10 Hazard
9 R Lukaku


Belgium

belg2.PNG

Best result: runners-up 1980
Coach: Marc Wilmots
Leading scorers: all-time – Bernard Voorhoof, Paul Van Himst (30); current – Marouane Fellaini (15)
Most appearances: all-time – Jan Ceulemans (96); current – Jan Vertonghen (76)
Association formed: 1895
Nickname: Rode Duivels/Diables Rouges (Red Devils)
Where they play: Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels

Belgium ended a 12-year absence from major tournaments with an impressive qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, their surge up the FIFA rankings earning them seeded status for the finals draw, where they reached the last eight. The good times continued for Marc Wilmots' star-studded side as they topped their UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying section. In France they will hope to match, or perhaps even better, the achievements of previous Red Devils selections. Highlights include a runners-up spot at EURO '80 and fourth place at the 1986 World Cup.

Belgium are now firmly back among Europe's elite having ended a three-decade wait to qualify for the UEFA European Championship, in which they were regulars during the 1970s and early 1980s. They finished third on home soil in 1972 and eight years later went one step closer to lifting the trophy, losing the Rome final 2-1 to a late West Germany goal.
Since then the Red Devils have only managed two more group stage appearances, in 1984 and in 2000, when they were the tournament co-hosts, but failed to progress on both occasions. UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying came too early for Belgium's new wave, Georges Leekens' side never recovering from defeats in their first two Group A games as they finished third, two points shy of Turkey and a play-off spot. Now, though, they are four years older.


Previous meetings

11 Oct 1997 Belgium v Wales L 3-2 FIFA World Cup
07 Sep 2012 Wales v Belgium L 0-2 FIFA World Cup
15 Oct 2013 Belgium v Wales D 1-1 FIFA World Cup
16 Nov 2014 Belgium v Wales D 0-0 UEFA European Championship
12 Jun 2015 Wales v Belgium W 1-0 UEFA European Championship


Euro 2016 Form

Wales

Group Stages
Russia 0-3 Wales
England 2-1 Wales
Wales 2-1 Slovakia

Last 16
Wales 1-0 Northern Ireland


Belgium

Group Stages
Italy 2-0 Belgium
Belgium 3-0 Republic of Ireland
Sweden 0-1 Belgium

Last 16
Belgium 4-0 Hungary


Match odds

Wales 10/11
Northern Ireland 7/2
Draw 9/5


Tournament Winner Odds

Wales 5/1
Belgium 3/4


Where can I watch it?

The match will be live on BBC One, BBC Radio Wales and text commentary online & BBC Sport app


Guess the score

Post your predictions below

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My Prediction
Wales 1 Belgium 2

' THE PLAYER TO WATCH FOR '

Wales must watch out for Eden Hazard.

Eden Hazard back in the groove(Belgium/Chelsea)



One of the key differences between this Belgium side and the one Wales defeated last year is the mood and form of Eden Hazard.


Admittedly, he started that game ominously well, but he was inhibited by his club woes and looked a shell of the player that lit up the biggest stage last night.

Now playing off the left, he seems to be enjoying the release in pressure that Kevin De Bruyne's rise to prominence has brought. With more space to operate in, he is back driving at defenders in the manner that makes him almost unplayable.

More worrying is that instinctive manner he has at his best is back.

His contribution to the second goal was breathtaking.

Hazard looks like he will slide in his team-mateHazard looks like he will slide in his team-mate
As the corner (which came from his own stinging effort) comes out to him, it looks like he will try and slide in his team-mate. Unfortunately, as so often happens in these scenarios, they have switched off and are caught ambling back onside.

Hazard spots this and quickly chases his own ball to the byline.

Hungary are asleep and leave Michy Batshuayi in oceans of space in the box.

Hungary have switched off and Hazard's genius cuts them openHungary have switched off and Hazard's genius cuts them open

Wales will be hoping that they can force Hazard to dribble infield into corridors where they can crowd him out and dispossess him. They will know that leaving him in any one-on-one situations will end in disaster. They've done it before, but it will take serious discipline and composure.

Hungary never really had that. Their attacking endeavour was one of the reasons they've been such a brilliant addition to this tournament, but they were always living on borrowed time.

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" Pace and power from the Belgium bench "

Yannick Ferreira Carrasco will either start or come on from the bench on Friday.

While he featured in that 1-0 defeat at Cardiff City Stadium, a superb season at Atletico Madrid makes him a completely different proposition this time around.

He embodies more than anyone Belgium's transition to counter-attacking demons, having spent a season starring in the side that does it better than anyone on the planet.

His introduction changed the course of the Champions League final, and it is no surprise to hear reports that Diego Simeone wants to mirror Antoine Griezmann's progression and play him as a striker next year.

His intensity and direct running are a nightmare to play against. The third goal featured outstanding individual talent from Hazard, but was made possible by Carrasco.

Carrasco starts the move deep in his own halfCarrasco starts the move deep in his own half
Deep in his own half one minute, he drives forward to support Hazard. He has eaten up yards and yards of turf in seconds.

The defenders have dropped off, fearing Carrasco's run in behindThe defenders have dropped off, fearing Carrasco's run in behind
Fearing that Carrasco will now run beyond his team-mate, the defenders back-pedal and give Hazard the crucial space he needs to cut inside and get his shot away.

Minutes later he did make that run in beyond the defence and finished ruthlessly for the fourth.

Wales simply do not have the strength and depth in their squad that Belgium have, which will be a concern should the game head for extra-time.

Carrasco will be a fearsome weapon in that scenario.

It is so important that Wales' midfield do not get drawn into an end-to-end contest as they tire. The back five will need all the help they can get to cope with the fresh legs driving at them.

Chris Coleman piles the pressure on Belgium but insists they are not unbeatable ahead of Euro 2016 quarter final


Tuesday 28th June 2016

BY CHRIS WATHAN


Coleman is insists the challenge for his 'underdogs' is to simply reach the same level of performance that has got them this far



Chris Coleman has told his Wales Euro 2016 heroes they can seize their moment after turning up the pressure on Belgium boss Marc Wilmots ahead of Friday's huge quarter-final clash.

And the national boss has insisted Wales will continue to concentrate on their own strengths rather than start worrying about the talents of Eden Hazard and co. in a bid to repeat past glories over the Belgians.

Coleman has admitted Gareth Bale's winner in the qualifying clash between the two teams a year ago was the moment his men stepped up their game on the international stage and found the belief they could be a match for the very best in the game.

It is something they will have to repeat in Lille on Friday after Belgium booked their place in the last-eight with a 4-0 romp over Hungary on Sunday night.

The last-16 performance inspired by Hazard has seen Belgium reinforce belief from some they are on course to the final, but Coleman reckons that's now an expectation on Wilmots to deliver.


Many fans set to miss out on Wales v Belgium as online touts try and charge up to £75,000 for a ticket

And he said: “I think if you look at the team Belgium have they have got to produce – and not to get out of the group stages, but to get a semi-final or final. I am not saying anything that Marc doesn’t know because that it is what is being said.

“But they are not unbeatable – and we know from our experience that on our day, at our best, we can cause Belgium problems.

“They won convincingly against Hungary and they looked good, but they don’t always play like they can and they make mistakes like anyone else. It is up to us to make sure that side comes out.

“They won 4-0 the other night but at 1-0 they had moments where they weren't comfortable – and in football you have to seize those moments. You see someone when they are down, you have got to try and kick them and not feel sorry for a team that are under pressure because they wont feel sorry for you. When you got your opportunities, you have got to capitalise on them.”

And with Wales just one match away from a semi-final – or 180 minutes away from the final – there is very much a feeling that this is Wales' chance to do more than just match the hopes of a nation but go beyond them.


It is not something Coleman is being caught up in, nor will allow his team to, but he does know that there is nothing like the here and now.

With Belgium heavily fancied, there is a feeling that Wales are in a win-win situation having edged past Northern Ireland to reach this stage, and Coleman added: “We would have felt we had missed a trick if we had lost. This one, we are the underdogs and it is on Belgium and the pressure is on them.

“The pressure for us has been more about performing to certain levels. Now the question is can we bring it again and perform like we can perform? Because that is what we are going to need.

“Everyone will think it is alright because we have done well to get this far, but when you are in the quarter-final of the tournament knowing if we can get it right there are great possibilities it is different.

“We re focused on maximising performances because we know what can happen with that. I understand people saying we have done well, but I feel there is more football and more performances in this team.”


But Coleman stressed they will only come if they keep the focus on themselves rather than what is at stake, saying: “We have a vision and an identity and it is about focusing just on that.

"We know what we are good at and it is why we are here. If we get our gameplan and players right that is what matters, it is a one-off game, it will be on the night and can we bring our game and show our identity, if we do that the result is more in our control.

“This is a game in isolation when we have to forget what has happened, forget how we have played in the past, forget how they have played, this is a game right in front of us. Whether it is Belgium or whoever, it has to be about us.

"Of course you have got to concentrate on the strengths of Belgium, it would be stupid not to but in the main our work has got to be on ourselves. We have another team in front of us, standing in our way, to where we need to get to.

"We have to work out how we bring our best game to get through because this is not something we want to give up easily.

“We have taken a long time to get here, we are going to keep doing what we have been and we want to stay here.”

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Belgium have pulled Michy Batshuayi from their press conference ahead of their Euro 2016 quarter-final against Wales, at the request of his club Marseille.

He was due to speak to the media at Belgium’s Euro 2016 headquarters in Bordeaux at 2.30pm.

Chelsea look set to beat Crystal Palace to the signing of striker Batshuayi after tabling a £33.2m bid.

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Gareth Bale says Wales' Euro 2016 quarter-final against Belgium is their biggest game since the 1958 World Cup quarter-final against Brazil.

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Aaron Ramsey ‏@aaronramsey
Good weeks preparation, fully focused and cannot wait for Friday evening

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The deep freeze chambers and inflatable leggings keeping Wales' Euro 2016 heroes in peak condition

Wednesday 29th June 2016

BY CHRIS WATHAN


Gareth Bale tweeted a picture of himself last week immersed in a cryotherapy chamber reaching temperatures of -161 degrees as an example of the extents Wales’ stars and staff are going to keep this incredible summer going


While the men from the frozen north caused the shock of the tournament, Wales’ aims to keep on upsetting the Euro odds themselves have been given a sub-zero boost.

Gareth Bale tweeted a picture of himself last week immersed in a cryotherapy chamber reaching temperatures of -161 degrees as an example of the extents Wales’ stars and staff are going to keep this incredible summer going.

Chris Coleman’s side have put in every ounce of energy they have in creating history – and will be ready to do so once again when they face Belgium on Friday for a place in the semi-finals of Euro 2016.

It has been breathless stuff from Wales who have broken personal records for physical match output in ensuring the dream of thousands in France and millions at home goes on.

It has been physically and emotionally draining for the side who have had to raise themselves and their levels for four games in the space of two weeks with a fifth now fast approaching.

It has meant Wales’ backroom staff going the extra mile to make sure Coleman’s side stay at peak levels through a series of recovery procedures to enhance the rate of recovery and subsequently reduce the risk of injury and tiredness affecting chances of continuing this incredible European adventure.

Here, speaking to Wales’ respected head of performance Dr Ryland Morgans – yesterday announced as new performance director at Cardiff City – we detail how snacks, water therapy, round-the-clock masseurs, tailored programmes and ice chambers have helped Wales stay at their best.

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Does anybody know which part of the stadium has been allocated to the Welsh fans?? I've got tickets for block b...

We will nick it 1-0.

' WALES & BELGIUM TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE '
Link
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=174571
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=174571

' WALES & BELGIUM TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE '
Link
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=174571
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=174571

It gripes me that some of our most loyal fans were unable to get a ticket in the initial instance and that some now have to pay well over the odds for them. I had to purchase three of these yesterday for a friend, I had an email back within the hour confirming my purchase and the collection is from tomorrow at the Ascotel Lille Metropole, (right next to the stadium) again if you purchase these you need i.d for collection. Oh and just for peace of mind, the money isn't taken until the tickets are collected!

Great stats!

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Off topic a bit but you can fault this one from Iceland either! You never know we could play them.

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Eden Hazard back in training

He didn’t train yesterday, but he’s back with the squad now.

Under grey skies the Wales team plane has landed in Lille.

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Belgium facing defensive crisis amid reports Jan Vertonghen has picked up an injury

30/06/16

BY PHIL SMITH

The Tottenham star is an integral part of the team


Belgium could be facing a defensive crisis amid reports that Jan Vertonghen has picked up an ankle injury during training.

With Thomas Vermaelen already suspended and Vincent Kompany joining Nicolas Lombaerts missing the tournament through injury, manager Marc Wilmots could have to field an inexperienced and untested back four.

Should Vertonghen miss the game, then younger brother of Romelu Lukaku, Jordan, could be drafted in.

The 21-year-old defender has just four international caps, making his debut last October in a qualifying win over Andorra.

An exciting talent and good going forward, there are question marks over his defensive positioning.

' BREAKING NEWS '

Vertonghen, Vermaelen and Kompany missing from Belgium defence

Chris Coleman is lucky when three Welshman start in the Premier League
Wales boss would kill for a third of the Premier League, as England have
Coleman keeps tabs on just 21 Premier League players eligible for Wales
That Wales are so confident is testament to Coleman's leadership
Wales will face toughest test in Lille, but they are not going in cowed
By MARTIN SAMUEL - SPORT FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 22:32, 30 June 2016 | UPDATED: 23:06, 30 June 2016

It would have been a red-letter day for Chris Coleman on May 1 this year, when Swansea beat Liverpool 3-1.
Jurgen Klopp's decision to field the youngest Liverpool team in Premier League history meant three Welsh players started the game and were involved for 90 minutes. That doesn't happen often.
February 6 was another such occasion, Swansea 1 Crystal Palace 1. It is invariably Swansea that contribute two thirds of the Welsh contingent in these matches — Neil Taylor and Ashley Williams being first-team regulars. The other contributor is often a goalkeeper: Danny Ward in the Liverpool game, Wayne Hennessey for Crystal Palace.

Coleman must spend a lot of afternoons looking for movement on the substitutes' bench because that is where his players can often be found. Andy King came on 16 times for Leicester last season; Joe Allen 11 times for Liverpool.
Managing England, we are told, is the impossible job, because just 35 per cent of the Premier League's players are available to the national manager. How Coleman must permit himself a hollow laugh when he hears those numbers. The Wales manager would kill for a third of the Premier League to assess each week.

Even if he picked every Welsh player in the first-team squad at a Premier League club, he would not have enough to make the 23 required for this tournament — although it rather helps he can make up the shortfall with Gareth Bale of Real Madrid.
Coleman keeps tabs on 22 Premier League players — 21 since Boaz Myhill, understudy to Ben Foster at West Bromwich Albion, retired from international football in May 2014.
Of those, 10 didn't start a Premier League game last season, including six who were either loaned to divisions below or simply didn't feature, and four who made a combined total of six appearances as substitutes.

In all, Welsh players started just 219 Premier League games between them, and the unavailable Myhill accounted for more than a tenth of that slender figure.
Only two Welsh players — Taylor and Williams — started more than 30 Premier League games.
And, with the exception of Myhill, every Welsh player who started a Premier League fixture is in this Welsh squad. All bar James Collins have featured at the tournament.
So an absence of first-team opportunity for English players is a hindrance for the national manager but it is not the reason Wales are the last of the Brits standing at the European Championship this summer.
Coleman has Roy Hodgson's headaches, squared, considering that included in his shallow pool of talent are the likes of Lloyd Isgrove at Southampton, Rhoys Wiggins of Bournemouth and Regan Poole of Manchester United, who are still unsure whether they will break through into the first team at their clubs.
Jonny Williams, who has started two games here, made one substitute appearance in the league for Crystal Palace all season.

So there must be more to it than simple volume. There must be the ability to organise and motivate as Coleman has done; to develop a group with a firm idea of how they should play and their role in the team.
It isn't just that Coleman is getting more out of his players than any England manager since, arguably, Terry Venables 20 years ago.
It is that he is working with considerably thinner materials than any England manager, too, and that a collection of players with limited exposure to elite fixtures — Allen, King and James Chester all made Premier League starts in single figures last season, while Joe Ledley began just 11 games for Crystal Palace — have arrived in France with confidence and without an inferiority complex.
That is testament to Coleman's leadership. Wales may have lost to England in the last minute of injury time, but that remains their poorest performance here.
Most particularly against Russia in the final group game, Wales have played with an assurance that has been beyond England at a major tournament, probably since 2004.

Coleman has been the catalyst. He is passionate about international football, once describing his 32 caps for Wales — earned at a time when great players such as Ryan Giggs would often pick and choose games — as 'better than any club I ever played for' and within football he has an excellent reputation.
During his time at Fulham, Jose Mourinho described him as the Premier League's best manager, due to his communication and rapport with his players, and recommended him for the job at Benfica.
Those who have known Coleman throughout his career say he has changed. Much like George Graham, another unlikely manager according to contemporaries, he has grown considerably more serious about football since he stopped playing it.
Coleman is not a traditional tracksuit coach. This is his team and it plays his way, but his greatest achievement is the one Mourinho identified — the understanding with the group.
It has enabled Coleman to surmount the same obstacles that are so often advanced as the reason for England's failure.
Wales will face their toughest test in Lille on Friday night, against a Belgium team who have improved in every game since an opening group defeat to Italy, but they are not going in cowed.
Wales have won one and drawn two of their last three meetings and have been talking themselves up as Belgium's bogey team — Coleman being one of those managers who views kick-off as the moment a little red light on a press conference camera turns on.

Bale will be key and Belgium, of course, have their own version in Eden Hazard, who appears to have rediscovered the form that led Mourinho to compare him to the greatest players in the world. And they have another advantage.
When Liverpool and Tottenham met on October 17 last year, Marc Wilmots, the Belgium manager, had six players to watch in the starting line-ups.
Just the Belgian contingent at Tottenham, Liverpool, Everton and Chelsea accounted for 207 starts last season and Wilmots had more Premier League players to scout than Coleman.
It doesn't guarantee the outcome but it could explain Coleman's rueful smile when he hears talk that it is the manager of England who has the impossible job.

quarter-final against Belgium on Friday is their biggest match since the 1958 World Cup, according to manager Chris Coleman.

Wales have not reached a major finals since they were beaten by Brazil in the last eight 58 years ago.

Ranked 26th in the world, Coleman's team take on a side 24 places above them - with a semi-final in Lyon on 6 July the reward for the winner.

"We know what's at stake - it's a fantastic pressure to have," he said.

"Since that 1958 quarter-final, we have to put this down as the biggest game our country's ever been involved in.

"People have already said: 'Wales can't lose, they weren't meant to get to the quarter-final, they're the underdogs.' This definitely isn't the way we see it."

Wales are in the habit of defying the odds as a team whose unity - and sprinkling of star quality in the form of Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale and Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey - compensates for a squad lacking the strength in depth of their illustrious opponents.

Belgium, who were in the same qualifying group as Wales, lost their opening game 2-0 against Italy but have won their three matches since and have several Premier League players in their squad, including Chelsea winger Eden Hazard, Manchester City forward Kevin de Bruyne and Everton striker Romelu Lukaku.

"I'm not going to play the occasion down," added Coleman, whose team lost to England before going on to win Group B and then defeating Northern Ireland in the last 16.

"I'm going to enjoy it and savour it - but we'll only enjoy it when we perform.

"I don't need to ham this game up. We are where we are, it is what it is, we've earned it."

This is it then, the day has come. I feel so nervous about this and I believe Belgium are going to put us through our paces in what's going to be a very tough match to win ...... But, if most of our players come out and play at thier best, defend really well and frustrate the opponents...you just never know. Excited but really nervous!

THIS IS IT BOYS

Good Luck to the boys tonight from Essex, well me and a few others.

2-0 WALES

25/1 get on it

35 mins gone 1-1 . GOOD GAME

HT - 1-1.