Ryan Giggs believes Wales need to win all five remaining games to make Euro 2020
Posted Wednesday, June 12, 2019 by PA
Ryan Giggs responded to defeat in Hungary by conceding Wales must probably win their five remaining group games to make the finals of Euro 2020.
Wales lost to a late Mate Patkai goal in Budapest, their second defeat in the space of four days and one which leaves them off the pace in Group E.
Giggs’ side trail leaders Hungary by six points, albeit with a game in hand, and are three behind Slovakia and Croatia in the race for a top-two spot.
“We have to probably win nearly every game now,” Giggs said after the back-to-back defeats in Croatia and Hungary.
“I know it’s early doors and there are still a lot of points, but we have made it really difficult for ourselves.
“We are probably relying on teams around us to drop points, which they will do because it is competitive.
“Obviously we have to start winning and if not win all the games, then the majority of them.”
Wales’ next game is at home to bottom-placed Azerbaijan in September and Giggs will pray for his talisman Gareth Bale to return to form.
Bale, who has not scored for three months, horribly missed Wales’ clearest opening after an hour.
The Real Madrid forward tamely scooped the ball straight at Peter Gulacsi from 12 yards when he only had the Hungary goalkeeper to beat.
It summed up a lethargic performance from Bale who looked off the pace throughout.
“You have seen it in both games, a lot of the players are short of match fitness,” Giggs said.
“Asking Gareth to play two games in a short space of time, the way he plays, after not playing for six weeks.
“We are asking players to perform miracles really.
“Ethan (Ampadu) has not really played. I did well to get 50 minutes out of him. Brooksy (David Brooks) was the same.
“We have given soft goals away in both games, and you can’t do that as this level.
“But in our defence we are playing one game less and we had two tough away games, five weeks after the season finished.”
Hungary manager Marco Rossi was banned from the dugout after being sent to the stands in the weekend win at Azerbaijan.
Rossi’s assistant Cosimo Ignuscio took his place on the touchline and felt victory – Hungary’s third in four group games – was based on their plan to “suffocate” Bale.
“We know what he (Bale) is good at and we did not want to leave him any room to run forward,” Ignuscio said.
“That was our primary focus. We wanted to virtually suffocate him.
“He has a great opportunity to score but thanks to our goalkeeper he couldn’t score.
“He had one great chance, but you must not forget that before that the Hungarian team had more than one opportunity to score too.”
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