Wales EURO 2020 Preview - History and Expectations

Published on 29 Feb 2020 | Last updated on 01 Jul 2026 | Reading time: 5 minutes

Wales is heading to the European Championships this summer to recreate the magic of participating in the 2016 tournament in France. After reaching the top four of Euro 2016, Wales disappointingly missed the 2018 World Cup in Russia but qualified for this tournament from their qualifying group E. They finishing second after Croatia with 14 points and just two defeats of eight matches. Wales also won promotion to Division A of the UEFA League of Nations for the 2022/23 season.

Check out our preview of Wales at the 2020 European Championships and what we can expect from the "Dragons".

Wales European Championships - History and successes

Wales is a country with almost no experience in major international tournaments. The upcoming participation will be the second for the country at the European Championship. However, Wales made its debut with a bang in the European finals, after reaching the semifinals at Euro 2016. There the team was defeated 2:0 by the future champions of Portugal. On the way to the semi-finals 5 years ago, Wales defeated the strong team of Belgium with 3:1 and Northern Ireland with 1:0. In the group stage, Wales finished as the winner in the company of the teams of England, Slovakia, and Russia and we will see at Euro 2021 whether the small country can offer a new surprise.

The Road to Euro 2020

The Welsh team placed 2nd in qualifying group E and thus secured a place in the European finals. The Dragons collected 14 points from 8 matches, finishing three points behind the first in the group, Croatia. Wales did not impress with their results in their qualifying campaign, scoring ten goals, but their good play in defense was the basis of the good results. In just one of the eight matches, Ryan Giggs' team conceded more than one goal - during the visit to Croatia (1:2). Otherwise, Wales impressed with home victories against Slovakia (1:0) and Hungary (2:0), thanks to which they secured a place at Euro 2020.

Euro 2020 fixtures

Wales is in Group A of Euro 2020 with the teams of Turkey, Italy, and Switzerland.

• June 12, 3:00 pm: Wales - Switzerland / Olympic Stadium, Baku /
• June 16, 6:00 pm: Turkey - Wales / Olympic Stadium, Baku /
• June 20, 6:00 pm: Italy - Wales / Olympic Stadium, Rome /

Wales squad for the European Football Championship 2020

Wales has a bunch of players with experience from the Premier League. Danny Ward will most likely be the main choice for the goalkeeper position, although Wayne Hennessy and Adam Davis will provide competition, while in front of the goalkeeper the trio in the center of defense will be Rodan, Chris Mepham, and Ben Davis. The position of midfielders is another area of ​​serious competition. Swansea's Connor Roberts seems to be on the right, but the performances of youngster Neco Williams in Liverpool could give him a chance to play in the European Championships. On the left, after Ben Davis is in the role of central defender, it is expected to see Rhys Norrington-Davies. If he is able, Ramsey will obviously be the main midfielder, supported by Ethan Ampadu, who will have to help the central defenders. Next, Harry Wilson (or maybe even David Brooks) must provide support in the front positions of Daniel James and Gareth Bale.

Goalkeepers: Wayne Hennessey (Crystal Palace), Daniel Ward (Leicester City), Adam Davies (Stoke City)
Defenders: Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Joe Rodon (Tottenham Hotspur), Chris Mepham (Bournemouth), Chris Gunter (Charlton Athletic), Rhys Norrington-Davies (Sheffield United), Neco Williams (Liverpool), Connor Roberts (Swansea City), Ben Cabango (Swansea City), Tom Lockyer (Luton Town)
Midfielders: Joe Allen (Stoke City), Joe Morrell (Luton Town), Ethan Ampadu (Chelsea), Matthew Smith (Manchester City), Jonathan Williams (Cardiff City), Aaron Ramsey (Juventus), Harry Wilson (Liverpool), David Brooks (Bournemouth), Dylan Levitt (Manchester United), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff City)
Forwards: Tyler Roberts (Leeds United), Kieffer Moore (Cardiff City), Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Daniel James (Manchester United)

Source: www.goal.com

The Big Star: Gareth Bale

Real Madrid footballer Gareth Bale is the big star of the Welsh national team. Is there a player who is more important to the country's chances of success this summer than Gareth Bale? Even without Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal has an incredible team capable of reaching the final, and the same can be said for England without Harry Kane and France without Killian Mbappe. But for Wales, Gareth Bale will almost certainly be the deciding player. Bale, who played on loan at Tottenham in the 2020/21 season, scored more goals (33) than any other player in Welsh national team history. While Ramsey is the only other player to receive a call-up in the last 12 months with more than five goals on his account. With three goals in the group stage of Euro 2016, Bale was one of the big stars of the past European. He is a player with a number of honors, having won four Champions League titles and two La Liga medals, so he can offer a lot of experience and class to the Welsh team.

Expectations for Wales at Euro 2020

"We want to take our chance, just like in 2016," Giggs said when Wales was drawn into a group with Italy, Turkey, and Switzerland. There are many great teams in the group and it will be a surprise if Wales reaches the direct eliminations in the European finals again. The Dragons have a high odds to advance to the next phase and we don't believe that they can replay the good games from Euro 2016. Switzerland and Turkey have more class to play in the 1/8 finals of the tournament.

Odds for Wales

We think that group A is very balanced. Bookmakers give Wales a very low chance to win Euro 2020 and this is understandable given the class of so many teams in the tournament. They are giving a very low probability to win the group and go through the 1/8 finals. Here are the current odds for the Dragons:

To win Euro 2020	201.00
To win Group A	8.00