Wales v England: Time for the talking to stop

Chris Coleman’s men are brimming with confidence after the victory over Slovakia and they’re not afraid to say so.

The Wales players are loving every minute of their first major tournament.

In contrast, England seem to be doing what England nearly always do on the biggest stage.

After a disappointing 1-1 draw with Russia, Roy Hodgson’s men appear tense and most of them look as if they’d rather be anywhere else than France right now.

But once the whistle blows today all of that should count for very little.

England know they need to win and their record against Wales suggests they will do just that.

Wales have not beaten their old rivals since 1984 and have not scored a goal against them in four defeats since then.

Since the Second World War Wales have only come out on top four times and in the 101 meetings since 1879 England have won 66 and lost just 14, with 21 draws.

History is clearly against the men in charcoal (a ridiculous decision) tonight then.

And, whatever Gareth Bale might say, England do clearly have the better individual players.

Bale will be the best player on the pitch but, in truth, only Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen and Ashley Williams would join him in most people’s composite side.

But as Craig Bellamy, Bale’s predecessor as chief agent provocateur in the media, pointed out Wales have a decent argument to say they are the better team at present.

It’s a viewpoint that Ramsey was happy to endorse.

“We have had some really low points and we are now experiencing some fantastic time,” said the Arsenal ace this week.

“We have been thought so much and it has made us stronger as a unit.

“Everybody knows their roles and responsibilities, we give everything and leave nothing out there.

“We have so much passion and belief in what we do, we are all going in the same direction.”

And Bale, too, is singing from the same hymn sheet.

“I don’t know too much about England and whether they are individuals but for us literally everything is about the team,” he said.

“We’ll all do what we have to do to help the team and I think that is the big difference for us.

“We really are a strong team, we’re united as one and we’ll do anything for each other.”

Nothing illustrated that togetherness more than the way Bale rushed to the bench and was joined by the whole team as they celebrated his free-kick opener against Slovakia.

“For me it felt like a historic moment,” said the Real Madrid star.

“It was the first time that we scored in the Euros and I wanted to share it with everybody.

“I scored and it was an amazing feeling. To share it with everybody and to have everybody there celebrating was an amazing moment.”

Can they repeat the trick today? My money would be on a draw and that would be a fantastic result for Wales and one that would leave England sweating on their place in the last 16 – especially after Slovakia’s win over Russia.

I expect Saturday’s match-winner Hal Robson-Kanu to start in place of the unfortunate Jonny Williams.

Joe Ledley could come in for David Edwards from as well but Coleman’s big worry is in goal.

Danny Ward fared pretty well on Saturday but if Wayne Hennessey is not judged to be fully over his back spasm then that is a real concern for Wales against the likes of Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney.

Hennessey trained at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis last night and looked in decent shape but his inclusion is still far from certain.

As for Robson-Kanu and Ledley, both of whom have recovered from recent injuries, Coleman said: “Maybe I can start someone and I know he’s going to give me an hour.

“Maybe I’ll just be saving him to bring him on, because physically – and I’m talking about the boys who’ve had problems – my thinking will be around that.”

Whoever plays and whatever the result Wales will still be in a strong position going into Monday’s final group game against Russia.

The one big hope is that by then we’re talking about the action on the pitch rather than any unsavoury incidents elsewhere.