An anticipated close match between FIFA's 26th-ranked Wales and 24th-ranked Slovakia is scheduled on Saturday, June 11 at the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux as Group B competitions in the 2016 UEFA European Championship begins.
Group B is considered as one of the toughest groups, if not the toughest, in the said tournament as it also includes world no. 11 England and world no. 29 Russia. Of the four, Wales is deemed by pundits as the weakest among the four despite their higher ranking over the Russians.
Head coach Chris Coleman's squad are not playing their best football lately as they had not won a single pre-tournament friendly. They lost to the Netherlands, 2-3, in November of last year to start a four-game friendly series before this summer's Euro, then pulled off a 1-1 draw with Northern Ireland in March before getting nipped by Ukraine, 1-0, also later that month.
Their Euro send-off game versus a Zlatan Ibrahimović-led Sweden side ended in a 0-3 thrashing, which shows where they are in terms of the level of play as compared to one of the favorites in the tourney, via Goal.
One bright spot for Coleman's squad is Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale, who had been the sole reason why they qualified in this tournament. The rest of the roster is bound to support the 26-year-old or else they will find themselves eliminated after the group stage.
Team captain Ashley Williams is another key player, especially on the defensive end, and should be able to keep his team balanced during games.
Meanwhile, Slovakia is the slightly stronger team not because of offense, but because of their defense.
The Falcons boast off one of the best backfields in the competitions, spearheaded by team captain Martin Skrtel of Liverpool. The backline also includes Hertha Berlin's Peter Pekarik, Roma's Norbert Gyomber, Lokomotiv Moscow's Jan Durica, and Sampdoria's Milan Skriniar.
Head coach Jan Kozak's squad is not big on the offensive end, but the presence of Napoli playmaker Marek Hamsik would be enough for them to be considered as threat in that area of the pitch.
In their most recent friendly, Slovakia held on to a goalless draw with 25th-ranked Northern Ireland, ESPN reported.
The predicted result is a close 1-0 victory for Slovakia.
Wales starting lineup (5-4-1 formation): Hennessey; Gunter, Chester, A. Williams, Davies, Taylor; King, Ramsey, Ledley, J. Williams; Bale
Slovakia starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Kozacik; Pekarik, Skrtel, Durica, Gyomber; Kucka, Hrosovsky; Mak, Hamsik, Weiss; Duris