Wales vs Azerbaijan (A) and Hungary (H)

Great half that. You can see though that we're definitely missing Ash at the back and his organisation, Mepham's lack of minutes are showing.

I'd be looking to get Rabbi on for Bale as well, who's not offered much and leaves us a bit exposed in terms of shape defensively. He doesn't look fully up to speed, he'd still be worth keeping of if we needed a goal but he's going to need all the rest possible at this level of fitness for the Hungary game.

Morrell, Ampadu, Dan James and Harry Wilson all been brilliant. Been really impressed by Kieffer Moore in this game as well, he does his job really well, reminding me a bit of John Hartson for us.

 

Best we've played in a long time, should have been more convincing but wasted some chances.

Feeling far more optimistic about Tuesday now, but we need Croatia to do us a favour first.

Ampadu was immense, Dan James seems to improve with every performance and that might be the best Harry Wilson's played for Wales. Great to see Rambo looks up to speed, hopefully Bale and is leaving more in his locker for Tuesday.

Defensively I think we could do with more leadership, and hopefully Ash comes in for Tuesday to give us that. Other than that no complaints.

 

Player ratings for yesterday.

Hennessey - 5/10. Did all that was asked of him, but it wasn't much.

Mepham - 5/10. Looked rusty, which is to be expected given that he's not played a game in two months. Gave the ball away a couple of times in silly areas.
Lockyer - 7/10. Had a good game, probably his best in a Welsh shirt.
Roberts - 7/10. I think he can offer a lot more for us going forwards, but generally did fine. Wasn't helped out by Bale defensively at all.
Davies - 7/10. Solid performance, no mistakes.

Morrell - 8/10. Superb performance, looked completely comfortable on the international stage and it's first time that we've had Joe Allen out for a game where we haven't missed him badly.
Ampadu - 7/10. Broke up play really well, very unfortunate to get a booking which didn't help him and he tired towards the end again down to the lack of starts he's had this season.

James - 8/10. So lively for us going forward, could have had a couple more assists with some of the chances he created. His all round game has improved so much since this time last year, which is really encouraging going forward.
Wilson - 8/10. Brilliant cross for the first goal, good positioning for the second and could have had a couple more. He's sometimes gone missing but not at all yesterday.
Bale - 6/10. Didn't do a lot, the occasional moment of quality but defensively left Roberts having to do more than he should have. Hopefully he was saving his legs for Tuesday.

Moore - 8/10. His first touch is poor but he's great in the air, left their defenders not knowing how to handle him and someone we were able to play off. Took his goal well, and the first goal against a side like this is always vital.

Ramsey - 7/10. Looks sharp, and ready to start the Hungary game. Offers so much for us going forward.
Matondo - 5/10. Didn't do much but his technical ability is clear to see, great talent for us to have.
Vaulks - 5/10. Not sure if he touched the ball.

 

Yeah, Allen's definitely available, he missed Azerbaijan with suspension.

I'd go with:

Hennessey
Roberts - Lockyer - Williams (C) - Davies
Ampadu - Allen
Bale - Ramsey - James
Moore
​

Subs: Wilson for Ramsey, Morrell for Ampadu, Matondo for Moore.

Wilson for Ampadu, with Ramsey going deeper is things aren't working. Lockyer ahead of Mepham after a better performance yesterday, probably because he's had more minutes recently and looks less rusty.

 

Struggling today with the nerves. Can't stop thinking about the game.

I think Rambo can, he looked sharped when he came on, has started a game for Juve going in to the international break and I think has 120 minutes in him over a few days. He seems in the better shape of the two. Bale I'm not so sure on, but has to start really.