MX23RW : Monday, July 1 19:29:43| >> :600:236575:236575:
[monks data]
Attendance: 31,617
Wales national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Mar 24, 2019 at 2pm UK
 
Slovakia national football team

1-0

James (5')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Ryan Giggs unapologetic over Wales team selection

Group rivals Slovakia play in Cardiff less than 72 hours after their Euro 2020 opener against Hungary.

Ryan Giggs says his determination to press home Wales' "advantage" at the start of their European Championship campaign was the reason behind fielding a second-string side in the 1-0 victory against Trinidad & Tobago.

Real Madrid striker Gareth Bale and other key players were missing as Ben Woodburn's injury-time winner secured Wales a narrow success at Wrexham.

The game marked Wales' return to the Racecourse Ground – the oldest existing ground in the world to stage international football – for the first time since 2008, and much had been made of the national team's return to the north after 11 years.

But the 10,326-capacity crowd were left disappointed by Giggs' team selection with the senior players stood down four days before the opening Euro 2020 qualifier against Slovakia in Cardiff.

Slovakia start their Group E campaign at home to Hungary on Thursday night before playing Wales less than 72 hours later on Sunday afternoon.

"We have the advantage in this first game," Wales manager Giggs said.

"Slovakia play Thursday then Sunday, it's a two-and-a-half day turnaround.

"I wanted to make sure that we made that advantage count this week, both physically and mentally.

"Of course it's disappointing for the fans. They want to see the likes of Gareth, but it's my job to make sure we are ready for Sunday."

Bale completed his first 90 minutes of 2019 on Saturday when he scored in Real's 2-0 LaLiga victory over Celta Vigo.

But the 29-year-old took a breather in Wrexham alongside the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Ben Davies, David Brooks and Joe Allen.

In fact, skipper Ashley Williams, who has had limited game-time at Stoke lately, could be the only member of the starting line-up at Wrexham to play in Cardiff.

On Bale's absence, Giggs said: "It was just too much of a risk with Sunday in mind. That was the case with a few of the players.

"Originally when I planned the game, it was going to be a first half and then we make changes.

"But Brooksy took a knock at the weekend on his ankle. Harry (Wilson) has played a lot of games, Connor (Roberts) has played a lot of games.

"Aaron picked up that little knock. It gave me the opportunity to look after them at the start of the week."

Trinidad & Tobago are ranked 93rd in the world – and Soca Warriors boss Dennis Lawrence had spoken before the game how he wanted his side to come up against Wales' "world-class players".

Lawrence, who spent five years at Wrexham between 2001 and 2006 and also played for Crewe and Swansea, said: "I was a bit surprised Gareth didn't play.

"I thought they would have wanted the fans to get the opportunity to see him.

"But they made the decision that was best for Wales and for Gareth."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Phil Blanche, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '5985bd11-ce03-47d1-8799-d231c18ba37f');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Giggs determined to seize Euro advantage from longer rest period'});

ID:354045: cacheID:354045:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:14160:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Trinidad & Tobago manager Dennis Lawrence pictured in March 2019
Read Next:
Trinidad & Tobago boss Lawrence ready for Wrexham return
>
rhs 2.0
Euro 2024 fixtures header
Tuesday, July 2
 
8pm
Friday, July 5
 
5pm
Quarter-Finals
Spain
vs.
Germany
Saturday, July 6
 
5pm
Tuesday, July 9
Wednesday, July 10
Sunday, July 14
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England31205
Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
4 Serbia Serbia30212

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria32016
Q France France31205
Q Netherlands Netherlands31114
4 Poland Poland30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!