The Rise of the Red Dragon - A Welsh Story

[eddybw]

Nice update buddy, finally drawn one though! still undefeated bud (touch wood) awesome awesome awesome!!

I couldn't believe it when Vokes missed that 1 on 1, was gutted!!! But equally they had a goal disallowed that maybe should have stood. Hows your updates coming along?

 

[dani3w]

I couldn't believe it when Vokes missed that 1 on 1, was gutted!!! But equally they had a goal disallowed that maybe should have stood. Hows your updates coming along?

ah if adebayor and anelka finished their one on ones i'd be fine in every game lol! just got another update on its way

 

[eddybw]

ah if adebayor and anelka finished their one on ones i'd be fine in every game lol! just got another update on its way

Fantastic I'll have to finish off my updates for the group in a bit. I'll keep an eye out for yours.

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Group G - The Final Week

Wales go into October top of the group with 16 points, and two matches left to go with England trailing in second place with 13 points but having played a game more.

With the final two fixtures of the Euro 2012 Qualifying Campaign on the horizon Wales will be looking to capitalise and secure the top spot of the group. This will prevent them from having to go into the treacherous play off's where they could meet any number of top countries.

"We know that if we work hard in these fixtures then we will get our just rewards, so it's important that team just continue to work as hard as they have done and keep focused. Switzerland are a tough team to play against, so we are not expecting an easy match. It's keeping your concentration in matches like these that define you."

7.10.2011

Wales vs Switzerland

Wales Lineup:

Prediction: 1 - 0 Wales

Marc Jones scores first Wales Goal as Wales win

Sam Vokes and 16 year old Marc Jones got on scoresheet for Wales

Result

Wales - 2
Sam Vokes (12)
Marc Jones (31)

Switzerland - 0
Stephan Lichtsteiner injured (36)

Match Summary

In a match where Wales needed to win to secure the top spot in the group they managed to do in relative style. That was mainly down to the thanks to a wonder strike from young Marc Jones who unleashed a wonderful shot from Aaron Ramsey's pass, the keeper didn't stand a chance. Wales looked comfortable for the whole match and even more so after Lichtsteiner went off injured for Switzerland.

11.10.2011

Bulgaria vs Wales

Wales Lineup:

Prediction: 1 - 1 Draw

Giggs scores 2 as Wales dominate a lacklustre Bulgaria

Result

Bulgaria - 1
Zhivko Zhelev (45+3)

Wales - 4
Ashley Williams (6 )
Ryan Giggs (12, pen 89)
Gareth Bale (55)

Match Summary

In a match that was billed to be a close affair with Bulgaria with nothing to lose, it was anything but. Ashley Williams opened the scoring with a great diving header in just the 6th minute after Ryan Giggs whipped a fantastic free kick to the far post to make it 1 -0. Just 6 minutes later it was 2 - 0 with Ryan Giggs popping up with a goal from close range. Zhivko Zhelev looked to have given Bulgaria a way back into the game making it 2 - 1 just before the break. However it was not to be as 10 minutes into the second half Gareth Bale lashed home from the edge of the area to put the game beyond Bulgaria. To add insult to injury Ryan Giggs then scored his second of the day, from the spot to make it 4 - 1 to Wales.​

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Wales Qualify for Euro 2012

Wales against all odds have won Group G and in some style under new boss Ryan Giggs

In a group many had thought it would not have been possible to qualify from. Wales have defied the odds and put in some incredible performances, none more so than Ryan Giggs, in the qualifying campaign he has scored 5 goals and assisted 7 more an incredible effort for someone who many people thought would be retiring at the end of the season.

Ryan Giggs spoke to us regarding the Qualification.

"Its absolutely unbelievable I am still struggling to actually believe that we have qualified for Euro 2012, it's a fantastic achievement for us as a nation, and we will do Wales proud. The team have worked so hard to achieve this and we have, but this is where the real work starts. We've got several months off from international duty now to focus on our domestic campaigns and then we are back together in February for a friendly. I am delighted with the teams effort and we are really looking forward to representing our small nation in Poland and Ukraine."

This is how the Group G looked after all 8 games had been played with England slumping to 2nd place after some poor performances over the course of the qualifying campaign and now face a play off match against Greece in a bid to get to the Euro 2012 Finals, it would be disastrous if they once again failed to qualify.​

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Shock as 2 European Giants fail to qualify for Euro 2012 Finals

Spain finished below Scotland and Czech Republic as they failed to qualify

From Hero to Zero, Spain World Cup 2010 Winners and Euro 2008 Winners have failed to qualify for the Euro 2012 Finals.

The news of these 2 top European nations not qualifying for the finals has sent shockwaves around the World, as well as given hope to some of the nations that have managed to qualify. The biggest shock was World Cup and European Cup Holders Spain failed to qualify from a group that consisted of:

Scotland,
Lithuania,
Czech Republic,
Liechtenstein,

An unbelievable failure for a country so proud of their footballing roots. Their failure was mostly down to the fact that they suffered a shock defeat at Hampden Park away to Scotland where Darren Fletcher scored the important winner. As well as a shocking draw at home to Scotland where if they had won they would have taken Scotland's place with the last 16 teams in Poland and Ukraine.

Germany finished behind Austria and Turkey as they failed to qualify

Euro 2008 finalists Germany were the other team that failed to qualify for the competition as they tripped up in the group stage despite some incredibly strong performances.

Germany will also be looking back at their qualifying campaign and thinking 'what did we do that for?' After suffering 2 shock defeats against neighbouring Austria and a shock defeat against Belgium it left their qualification dream in tatters. Their group overall consisted of:

Austria,
Turkey,
Belgium,
Azerbaijan,
Kazakhstan,

Despite being the groups top scorers as well as having the groups best defence, it was the 3 defeats that did indeed cost them qualification to the finals. Some might say a loss but to others its an opportunity.​

 

[dani3w]

Wow! top your group! Spain and Germany! out! astonishing! makes it a good twist for the story them two not being favorites! keep it up mate!

 

[eddybw]

Wow! top your group! Spain and Germany! out! astonishing! makes it a good twist for the story them two not being favorites! keep it up mate!

Got the draw coming out in the next update, and that should be in the next 10 minutes or so, I've tried to make it more interesting and involve the reader a bit so will like to know what you think when I post it.

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Euro 2012 Draw - Coverage

Hello and welcome to BBC Sport's coverage of the Euro 2012 - Poland and Ukraine draw, with 16 teams all anticipating which group the will find themselves in and who they will have to face.

I'm Gary Lineker and I'm here with Alan Shearer, Mark Lawrenson and Alan Hansen ahead of the Euro 2012 draw. We are all anticipating who England, Wales and of course Scotland will be draw up against. Before we discuss the teams chances lets have a look at the team's who've qualified.

Team List:

Austria,
Croatia,
Czech Republic,
Denmark,
England,
France,
Holland,
Italy,
Poland,
Portugal,
Romania,
Scotland,
Slovakia,
Sweden,
Ukraine,
Wales,

So three home nation's have managed to qualify for the Euro 2012 Finals, England having to go through a play off, which they won comfortable on aggregate against Greece. Wales qualified with relative ease from Group G. A surprise is a certain Scotland team who in turn knocked out the current World Cup and European Cup Holders Spain after taking 4 points away from them. It's an incredible story for Wales and Scotland about the way they have managed to qualify for these finals and we're only minutes away from the draw. Alan (Hansen) what are your thoughts ahead of the draw tonight on the home nation's chances.

"Well I think all of the home nations have a great chance with Germany and Spain missing out the two teams who previously contested the European Championships Final. But obviously so will all of the other teams involved. I think that Scotland have a good chance, obviously dependant on who we get in the draw. But we have played well so far and with the victory against Spain in the qualifiers morale should be high. As for Wales and England, I feel that Wales played well on their way to the Finals whereas England have struggled for form and only just beat Greece 5 - 3 in the play off so it's going to be tight, they'll have to make sure all of their players are fit for the competition."

Indeed it's certainly going to be a fantastic competition despite the fact it will indeed be without Spain and Germany. I am hearing that the presentation has begun and the draw is imminent its time to cross over LIVE to the draw.

Euro 2012 Draw - Live

Hello and welcome to the Euro 2012 Finals Draw, all of the teams who are here have worked incredibly hard and all deserve to be here. We look forward to a great competition in Poland and Ukraine. We have 16 teams all ready and waiting for the draw, so without further a do we shall start.

And the first team out of the hat starting in Group A is...

Poland,

The first team stating in Group B is...

Sweden,

And in Group C...

Now to Group D...

France,

Now to the second line of teams, back to Group A...

Wales join Poland in Group A

And Group B...

Sweden
Ukraine,

For Group C...

Scotland join England in Group C

And Group D...

France
Holland,

Now we move to our 3rd line of teams, in Group A is...

Poland
Wales,
Denmark,

and for Group B

Sweden,
Ukraine,
Austria,

finally Group D

France,
Holland,
Portugal,

And now to our final line of teams firstly the team to finish Group A...

Wales,
Denmark,
Poland,
Czech Republic,

and the final team in Group B...

Austria,
Sweden,
Ukraine,
Slovakia,

Group C's final team is...

England,
Scotland,
Italy,
Croatia,

And the final team of the day to complete the draw in Group D is...

France,
Holland,
Portugal,
Romania,

And that completes the draw for Euro 2012 - Poland and Ukraine thanks for joining us.

Back to the Studio...

So with the draw completed lets just recap those groups.

Group A - Group B - Group C - Group D

Wales - Austria - Croatia - France
Poland - Slovakia - England - Holland
Denmark - Sweden - Italy - Portugal
Czech Republic - Ukraine - Scotland - Romania

So some tasty groups there with England, Scotland, Croatia and Italy all in one group certainly going to be some high class teams falling out at the group stages. Mark what do you make of the draw firstly for England.

"Well I think that it's a terrible draw for England, they've got a Scottish team that's been in great form, an Italian team that has only conceded 1 goal in 10 European Qualifiers and a Croatian team that will be looking to humiliate England yet again. Its going to be very tough for them certainly, de Rossi has been unbelievable for Italy in the qualifiers so if he stays fit for the European Cup then I expect Italy to come out winners of the group, and then it's going to be a battle between the other three."

So, Mark's certainly not giving England much hope in Group C, it is certainly a tough one to put it mildly. Alan (Shearer) what do you make of Wales' chances in Group A with Czech Republic, Poland and Denmark as oppositions?

"It's certainly going to be a challenge, Czech Republic were one of the teams responsible for keeping Germany from attending this competition so they'll be the team to beat, I expect Wales to beat Poland, and maybe ****** a draw against Denmark so I think they have every chance of qualifying from the group but they will certainly need Captain Fantastic to perform as well as their other top players, or they won't stand a chance."

If you think England and Wales have got it tough then Scotland must be wondering what they can get out of the matches in the competition, facing England, Croatia and Italy is certainly going to be a challenge and it's going to depend on whether Craig Levein can recreate that wonderful performance that saw them defeat Spain in the qualifiers.

So Alan (Hansen) what do you make of your team's chances in the European Finals?

"Tough - incredibly tough, they have certainly got a challenge ahead. Italy, England and Croatia some of the top teams in the World I really do worry for them they will have to play extremely well if they are to get anything out of the group stage. I could easily see them not getting a win, but it's up to the manager to motivate the team and convince them that they can qualify and they've got 6 months to prepare so it's best to get started."

Well that's all we've got time for, and it certainly looks like the Home Nations have got their hands full in this draw. Thanks for joining us and hope you enjoyed.​

 

[dani3w]

mate thats an incredible update! really good aspect and brilliantly thought through! best update i think iv seen! pure brilliance!

 

[eddybw]

mate thats an incredible update! really good aspect and brilliantly thought through! best update i think iv seen! pure brilliance!

Cheers mate I was thinking of what ways I could make the draw more interesting and that was something that came to mind, can't wait to get to the tournament going to be a challenge, Gutted Scotland got a terrible group though!!! Although Group D is a bit of a killer too, all the better for me I guess!!!

 

[dani3w]

Yer group C is an awesome draw for you, your group will be hard but you can over come that buddy just keep working hard

 

[eddybw]

Yer group C is an awesome draw for you, your group will be hard but you can over come that buddy just keep working hard

Yeh I will, going to be tough!!! Look forward to the competition though!!!

 

[dani3w]

Yer i bet! i look forward to the competition updates!!

 

[eddybw]

Yer i bet! i look forward to the competition updates!!

Yeh I'll get em coming as soon as possible got some other ones to do in the mean time.

 

[dani3w]

Yeh I'll get em coming as soon as possible got some other ones to do in the mean time.

Oh yer course, wasn;t rushing you bud, just eager aint i

 

[eddybw]

Oh yer course, wasn;t rushing you bud, just eager aint i

Haha thats good then, trying to think of some more stories to put in between now and the competition.

 

[JackMason]

Hello mate this is brilliant a real interesting read. My only regret is not spotting it sooner. Also how did you make that formation picture the red shirts and names underneath?

 

[eddybw]

Hello mate this is brilliant a real interesting read. My only regret is not spotting it sooner. Also how did you make that formation picture the red shirts and names underneath?

No worries I'm going to be keeping it going for along time, I use http://www.footballuser.com/ its a really great site, I feel that it works alot better than typing out the formation every time.

I'll have another update tomorrow.

 

[dani3w]

May look into using that tactic thing if you don't mind mate? my update is finally up!

 

[JackMason]

Thanx... and glad your keeping it going mate. Brilliant!

 

[eddybw]

Thanx... and glad your keeping it going mate. Brilliant!

Oh no doubt I'm loving being Wales boss!!!!

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May look into using that tactic thing if you don't mind mate? my update is finally up!

Of course I think its a good way of doing the tactics, will be good to see your formation and ridiculous lineup for the SPL haha!!

 

[JackMason]

Yeah can I use that line up formation thing aswel?

 

[dani3w]

Of course I think its a good way of doing the tactics, will be good to see your formation and ridiculous lineup for the SPL haha!!

Hahaa will draft it in for my next update as i havent got many games this month! will be an update around tomorrow evening following this a treat though! its awesome!