Kozak’s men will be the first opponents a Welsh side has faced at a major tournament since the 1958 World Cup finals.
Advertisement
Wales and England open their Euro 2016 campaigns against Slovakia and Russian Federation respectively on Saturday, before facing off in Lens on Thursday June 16. He was just as good for his club team as he was for Wales, scoring 0.99 non penalty goals per 90 minutes this season, better than his last season in England when he scored 0.65 non penalty goals per 90 minutes, according to Squawka.com.
“We know why we’re here, but what’s coming is something we’ve never experienced”.
“We’ve always felt like underdogs”, Earnhaw said.
“I don’t think we stopped believing but we had to get more experience, grow together”.
“We have done something that we have not done in a long time, but now we want to do even better”.
“It’s not the time to sit back and enjoy the moment. We’re well prepared, training hard, and come game time we’ll be focused and ready”.
Bale became the youngest Wales goalscorer in October 2006 when he netted in their 5-1 defeat by Slovakia, aged 17 years and 83 days.
Asked which star from yesteryear he would like to play alongside, Bale selected Giggs, explaining: “For me, he was my hero growing up”.
“If we perform, that’s what it’s all about”.
“I want to enjoy myself on the football pitch, like you do when you’re a kid”, he said.
“It is about what makes the team good and successful”. You have a guy like Bale who just came off playing a full 120 minutes in the Champions League final for Real Madrid and Milton Keynes Dons striker Simon Church, who had to move to Aberdeen due to limited first-team opportunities in the Championship with the relegated side.
“The fact we’re at a tournament is the icing on the cake”.
Bale and Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey were the main attractions for the locals. “If we are exhausted, we don’t do our job properly which means that rubs off on the players”.
“I remember the Belgium game [in qualification for the Euros], we were all exhausted [late on] and the whole stadium just started singing it”.
Bale says the death of Gary Speed, manager Chris Coleman’s predecessor, as well as 58 years without appearing at a tournament has left him and his team-mates more appreciative of worldwide football.
Reading have four players officially at the Euros – Oliver Norwood for Northern Ireland, Chris Gunter and Hal Robson-Kanu for Wales and the Republic of Ireland’s Stephen Quinn.
Advertisement
Coleman confirmed that Joe Ledley, who has made a miraculous recovery from a broken leg suffered on May 7, would play on Saturday.
