The US’s Kellyn Acosta is a big admirer of LAFC teammate Gareth Bale, whose Wales team meets the US in the World Cup Monday. But Acosta is also open about defending Bale: “We’ve got literally to start kicking him around the field, make him feel us.” Story: https://t.co/RXyfq1PANk pic.twitter.com/Nr4vy7Ldqe
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Bale's supporting cast, which still includes mainstays from 2016 like Ramsey and Joe Allen, might be lacking in starpower, but Wales' best asset is their commitment and chemistry. That can make them hard to beat and a threat to pull off an upset against a team like, say, England, but it's also not going to be enough for this team to realistically make a deep run. The ceiling for Wales is that they will provide a couple of big moments and perhaps sneak into the knockout stages
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Drawn into a group with their eternal rivals, England, the USA and Iran, it's really a coin flip on whether or not Wales will advance. In all likelihood, Wales will need a result from their opener on Nov. 21 to get through
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Wales have shown that their style of play and chemistry make them a tough out in these formats. If the World Cup was played over the course of six months and teams played 20 games, the Dragons would eventually be doomed by their lack of talent and depth. But in a short format, where four points is usually enough to get you through to the Round of 16, all bets are off.
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Wales are a classic international soccer underdog. They'll typically set up in a defensive posture, like a 4-4-2, and do everything they can to hang around in a contest and hope that a moment of magic from Gareth Bale or one of their attacking players can be the difference.
It might not be the most exciting brand of play to watch for a neutral, but it does provide the Dragons with their best path to success. This is a well-drilled, cohesive unit that demands every player know and embrace their role. Nobody, outside of Bale and maybe Daniel James, will go off-script on this team.
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These are players that are well-versed in grinding out 1-0 and 2-1 results.
that's Intl soccer for ya. Canada, CRC, Panama, and Jamaica got us on that in qualifying. I don't trust our CB pair. Hope it's Zimmer and Ream, but Greggg hadn't had Ream in camp in over a year so I wonder if we start Zimmer and Long on the first match-day and Long was not good vs Japan in the September friendly. We've got to be really connected on our back line and hold strong.Ken Scarborough said:
Pretty much park the bus and counter.
I don't like that against the US.
Ream will also get beat on a counter… perhaps more so than Long. Ream is our best CB in many facets of the game, but pace is a big weakness.oh no said:that's Intl soccer for ya. Canada, CRC, Panama, and Jamaica got us on that in qualifying. I don't trust our CB pair. Hope it's Zimmer and Ream, but Greggg hadn't had Ream in camp in over a year so I wonder if we start Zimmer and Long on the first match-day and Long was not good vs Japan in the September friendly. We've got to be really connected on our back line and hold strong.Ken Scarborough said:
Pretty much park the bus and counter.
I don't like that against the US.
Which makes goal difference a biggie for advancement out of the groupaggiephoenix02 said:
USA 1 Wales 1
We've already beaten Iraq in the Gulf War.Ken Scarborough said:
We're going to lose to Wales. 0-1. Tie England. 2-2.
Wales will lose to England and tie Iraq. 4points. -1 GD 1-0. 0-3. 1-1.
We're going to need to beat Iraq to advance. And we'll lose.
RealTalk said:We've already beaten Iraq in the Gulf War.Ken Scarborough said:
We're going to lose to Wales. 0-1. Tie England. 2-2.
Wales will lose to England and tie Iraq. 4points. -1 GD 1-0. 0-3. 1-1.
We're going to need to beat Iraq to advance. And we'll lose.
We're facing Iran this time.
Ken Scarborough said:
We're going to lose to Wales. 0-1. Tie England. 2-2.
Wales will lose to England and tie Iraq. 4points. -1 GD 1-0. 0-3. 1-1.
We're going to need to beat Iraq to advance. And we'll lose.
Never mind then.texagbeliever said:Ken Scarborough said:
We're going to lose to Wales. 0-1. Tie England. 2-2.
Wales will lose to England and tie Iraq. 4points. -1 GD 1-0. 0-3. 1-1.
We're going to need to beat Iraq to advance. And we'll lose.
Is GD the first tie breaker? I thought h2h so we wouldn't qualify.
jeffk said:
Good try, good effort. Your post was exactly what this WC deserved.
My USMNT World Cup Hype Video! Go get 'em boys!
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looks like they have about 10 of their 26 currently playing in the EPL plus several others at English Championship clubs that were recently in EPL (sheffield and burnley currently top of championship table), plus their well-known players like Bale at Ramsey at LAFC and Nice. There's some quality depth here.Aston94 said:
Wales Roster:
Goalkeepers: Wayne Hennessey, Danny Ward, Adam Davies
Defenders: Ben Davies, Ben Cabango, Tom Lockyer, Joe Rodon, Chris Mepham, Ethan Ampadu, Chris Gunter, Neco Williams, Connor Roberts
Midfielders: Sorba Thomas, Joe Allen, Matthew Smith, Dylan Levitt, Harry Wilson, Joe Morrell, Jonny Williams, Aaron Ramsey, Rubin Colwill
Forwards: Gareth Bale, Kieffer Moore, Mark Harris, Brennan Johnson, Daniel James
If we beat them we make it out of this group. I'm just hoping we tie Wales & England, the only win I'm expecting is the Iran game (1998 revenge)…KCup17 said:
They have some quality but I think we can beat them.
