' WALES ARRIVE/BUT NOT ALL LOOKING GOOD '

Wales at Euro 2016 live breaking news and pictures: Squad arrive in France after Sweden defeat


By Chris Wathan

Monday 6th June 2016


' THE GUARDIAN '

Wales were desperately poor, so much so that the good news for Chris Coleman started and ended with the fact that nobody got injured. What damage has been done to his players’ confidence remains to be seen.

A three nil defeat in Sweden was not an ideal preparation.

That said, whatever way you dress it up, ideal preparation this most certainly was not.

Keep in touch with all the latest from the Wales camp in France as Chris Coleman's squad arrive at their Dinard base for Euro 2016



The Wales football squad have arrived in France as their Euro 2016 adventure finally begins.

Chris Coleman and his team checked into the Dinard Novotel last night after travelling from Sweden following a heavy 3-0 loss in Stockholm.

Despite that comprehensive defeat, there were plenty of smiles among the Welsh squad as they build up to Saturday's Group B opener against Slovakia.




' HOW THE MEDIA REACTED '

The national press have not been kind to Chris Coleman’s men.

We all know it was a desperately disappointing performance from Wales, who have since checked in at their Euro 2016 base in Dinard, France.

But most of the reaction, in Wales at least, has been pretty mixed in all honesty.

For some, the scoreline and the manner in which goals were conceded comes as a concern, and for others, simply getting through it with no new injuries is all that matters.



Stuart James, writing in the Guardian, summed things up pretty well, in my opinion..

“Wales were desperately poor, so much so that the good news for Chris Coleman started and ended with the fact that nobody got injured. What damage has been done to his players’ confidence remains to be seen.
“Coleman chose his words carefully afterwards, perhaps mindful that the last thing he needed to be doing was issuing a public rollicking six days before Wales take on Slovakia in their opening group game at the finals.
“At the same time there was no way Coleman could sugarcoat the heaviest defeat Wales have suffered since being outclassed by Serbia in September 2013.”
Stuart James, The Guardian
Other nationals splashed ‘Miserable Wales run continues’ and ‘urgent improvement required’ across their pages when referring to Wales’ defeat.

But it’s important not to lose sight of the fact that key midfielders Joe Ledley and Joe Allen, who are both carrying injuries, were not risked and would have provided the defence with a bit more protection.

That said, whatever way you dress it up, ideal preparation this most certainly was not.

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Wales' James Chester (smiling) and the squad arrive at their team hotel in France

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Going to be a very tough opener against Slovakia, they are going to be very physical and will target our best players!

Hope we have a decent Ref

It's a good defeat, it has to focus the players' minds as to how tough the task is ahead of them

Its also the English media trying to get inside our players heads. It's not a great result but in the scheme of things it doesn't matter at all. Coleman was right when he said we have been complacent since we qualified; nobody has wanted to get injured in a friendly and miss out on the chance of a lifetime. I back the players to come out and put in a performance on Saturday - its our best chance of a win in the group and I think we will be fired up.

Its also the English media trying to get inside our players heads. It's not a great result but in the scheme of things it doesn't matter at all. Coleman was right when he said we have been complacent since we qualified; nobody has wanted to get injured in a friendly and miss out on the chance of a lifetime. I back the players to come out and put in a performance on Saturday - its our best chance of a win in the group and I think we will be fired up.

its a very worrying sign when a team that needs everyone to be operating at 100% of their ability 'have been complacent since we qualified'. as long as the rest of the team don't do anything stupid, and bale plays out of his skin, we have a chance, thats never changed.

if we won 3-0 you wouldn't be saying 'it doesn't matter at all'. given our recent poor form, a big loss was the last thing we needed.

It's a good defeat, it has to focus the players' minds as to how tough the task is ahead of them

I agree...and too many are taking this one meaningless game too seriously!

It was simply a run out and I ask what would Wales fans be saying right now if a couple of players (one in particular) had been told to "put everything into it" and came away injured?

The important parts are (a) the qualification itself, and (b) how Wales fare once Euro 16 kicks off (which, oddly enough, was NOT against Sweden)

Its also the English media trying to get inside our players heads. It's not a great result but in the scheme of things it doesn't matter at all. Coleman was right when he said we have been complacent since we qualified; nobody has wanted to get injured in a friendly and miss out on the chance of a lifetime. I back the players to come out and put in a performance on Saturday - its our best chance of a win in the group and I think we will be fired up.

its a very worrying sign when a team that needs everyone to be operating at 100% of their ability 'have been complacent since we qualified'. as long as the rest of the team don't do anything stupid, and bale plays out of his skin, we have a chance, thats never changed.

if we won 3-0 you wouldn't be saying 'it doesn't matter at all'. given our recent poor form, a big loss was the last thing we needed.

Actually this game was of little interest to fans or players alike. Hence the complacency quote. As Sven said the match that matters is on Saturday and I for one am glad we didn't put everything into achieving a result yesterday and risk injuries.

We can just go to France and enjoy it,we are massive underdogs,nobody expects us to win it,all the pressure will be on the big sides,so if we cause an upset great,if we lose?,well it's what we expected anyway

Tbh everything looks fantastic for Welsh football right now... The Engerlish press can keep on printing this crap as much as they like. I hope Woy and his naive diamond formation feel the same way. They'll be in for a hell of a game then

It's a good defeat, it has to focus the players' minds as to how tough the task is ahead of them

I agree...and too many are taking this one meaningless game too seriously!

It was simply a run out and I ask what would Wales fans be saying right now if a couple of players (one in particular) had been told to "put everything into it" and came away injured?

The important parts are (a) the qualification itself, and (b) how Wales fare once Euro 16 kicks off (which, oddly enough, was NOT against Sweden)

the point is that its a worrying trend and not a one off poor performance. we have one draw and three losses from our last four internationals.

players and managers frequently state that players going in at 50% are more likely to get injured, anyway.

To be fair we should have played a home game to give the players a send off .even though i take all you're opinions on board we have got to start winning again yes the Sweden and other friendlies we have played have been to give other players a run out which I agree with but we need the winnining mentality again .im sure come Saturday we will be well up for it and I hope we can win which I think we can do

To be fair we should have played a home game to give the players a send off .even though i take all you're opinions on board we have got to start winning again yes the Sweden and other friendlies we have played have been to give other players a run out which I agree with but we need the winnining mentality again .im sure come Saturday we will be well up for it and I hope we can win which I think we can do

We did. We played Northern Ireland at the end of March, but not everyone turned up