Cymru v Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera/Svizra

[3 Colours Red]

Oh, Kieffer you handsome beast.

[Bored Of Education]

Really really pleased with that point obviously. Yes, with people attacking Bale and Ramsey's free kicks, we may have got another goal but, equally, Switzerland were denied a fair few due to Ward, Embolo staying on his feet and the ref's generosity. We not only sat back too much when we didn't have the ball but, to me, were too narrow as well inviting crosses into the box. Moore did some great defensive headers but I couldn't work out who he was marking at the corners in the second half while smaller players such as James seemed to be up against the likes of Embolo. Also, we look like, James aside, we have no pace at all which we need if we are going to stick to this counter attacking.

Embolo is a player that, after this game, I am looking forward to seeing a bit more of. Indeed, next Sunday, I may be urging him on.

[David Agnew]

It's really weird seeing how much Kieffer Moore has improved every aspect of his game since he left Ipswich. When we signed him, he couldn't get into the Forest Green side (and they were in the National League), and never did anything to suggest that FGR were wrong.

Ward was superb, and it's a crime how a keeper capable of saves like that hasn't played a league game for four years.

It seems like the VAR gods are doing their best to try and make me like the thing,

[Kowalski]

*Deleted post in the light of what happened at Denmark v Finland, felt a little unseemly.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Savage is just carrying on the bt sports house style . You prove your alpha male status by stridently demanding that your team should not only win the game, but should dominate from beginning to end, and not just outplay the opposition, but out run them at all times too.

Which is odd if you can remember these pundits as players.

In fairness though Wales looked like Dan James and ten lads who won a raffle until the goal, and Dan James is not figo. It might be a tournament too late for bale, Ramsey and Allen, which is unfortunate, but it's just the way these things go for a smaller country with a core of key players. I fear that similar things will hold true for Croatia later

[Bizarre Löw Triangle]

If I was Swiss I'd be fuming - how Wales kept fouling Embolo and getting away with it, I'll never know. Some proper league 2 defending at times which I'm astonished wasn't referred to VAR.

That said, I quite enjoyed that game. Switzerland were a good side and a good opening test for a team without a lot of experience on this stage. Rode our luck at times but we also showed a lot of the qualities that have got us this far - an ability to adapt and grow into games and threaten late on. I think it's a really good result and stands us in good stead for progression - which IMO is the best we can realistically hope for.

As an aside, if ever there's a good reason for anyone to learn Welsh, it's so you never have to hear the "expert" summarisation of Robbie Savage (or worse, Dean Saunders) on a Wales game ever again.

[Ray de Galles]

Moore did some great defensive headers but I couldn't work out who he was marking at the corners in the second half while smaller players such as James seemed to be up against the likes of Embolo. Also, we look like,

Seems a bit silly commenting on our game after what has happened since but given they've restarted the other match :

Moore wasn't a marker, his job was to cut the ball out at the near post with a clearing header before it made a Swiss player. It was Roberts or Allen marking Embolo at set pieces, not quite as short as James but similarly outmatched.

I'm more than happy with a point however much we rode our luck to get it. Surprised at the lack of substitutions from Page in the heat but I suspect he may always have planned to make significant personnel and formation changes for Wednesday's game against Turkey so wanted to keep the other squad members fresh. James was clearly spent though however much he protested at being subbed.

Switzerland are ranked four places above us and, as someone said upthread, the heat aided their style of play. I hope Turkey continue to look as weak as they did last night as we really have to win that game.

Mepham continues to worry me and James Lawrence's withdrawal looks ever more significant. Ward was immense as he has been in general for us.

[Bored Of Education]

Seems a bit silly commenting on our game after what has happened since but given they've restarted the other match :

Moore wasn't a marker, his job was to cut the ball out at the near post with a clearing header before it made a Swiss player. It was Roberts or Allen marking Embolo at set pieces, not quite as short as James but similarly outmatched.

Cheers for that. Is it his normal position at corners? Haven't noticed it before.

[Ray de Galles]

I think so and it's quite a common role for a centre forward, for instance Drogba was immense at it.

[steveeeeeeeee]

Savage is just carrying on the bt sports house style . You prove your alpha male status by stridently demanding that your team should not only win the game, but should dominate from beginning to end, and not just outplay the opposition, but out run them at all times too.

Which is odd if you can remember these pundits as players.

In fairness though Wales looked like Dan James and ten lads who won a raffle until the goal, and Dan James is not figo. It might be a tournament too late for bale, Ramsey and Allen, which is unfortunate, but it's just the way these things go for a smaller country with a core of key players. I fear that similar things will hold true for Croatia later

Savage constantly said that Switzerland were the better side, literally at least once every 5 minutes. He also said Switzerland deserved to win the game based on performance.

I wish people would just give up with criticising Savage for the sake of it. He reads the game better than most in the UK and is definitely the best pundit for calling-out refereeing when it is both bad and good, as he did with Mbabu's yellow card which he emphasised was an outstanding tackle and not deserving of a card.

He's his own worse enemy in some respects, he's built up this reputation for "banter", which he clearly enjoys, but he has made 606 worth listening to again, his work with Sutton on giving ex-players suffering with Alzheimer's and their families a voice was highly commendable, as was his attempts to resolve issues with the pause in grass roots football and his assistance to Macclesfield Town. He was a aboslutely horrible little sh*t as a player, but he's one of the good guys as a pundit and knows far more than most give him credit.

[3 Colours Red]

Problem is his voice is nails down a blackboard to me.

[Patrick Thistle]

Savage constantly said that Switzerland were the better side, literally at least once every 5 minutes. He also said Switzerland deserved to win the game based on performance.
.
.

He said it several times. Enough to get slightly annoying

I was half joking about him being sent to Baku. He's better as a co-commenter than a studio pundit where he clowns around more.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

as he did with Mbabu's yellow card which he emphasised was an outstanding tackle and not deserving of a card.

If that's the one on james, he cleaned him out with his other leg. It was a pretty dangerous tackle.

It's one thing to acknowledge that the opposition is better (For every positive thing that wales did, like having a shot, or getting one on target, or completing a pass, Switzerland managed 2) but it's another thing to keep banging on about it.

[mirko bolesan]

I wish people would just give up with criticising Savage for the sake of it. He reads the game better than most in the UK and is definitely the best pundit for calling-out refereeing when it is both bad and good, as he did with Mbabu's yellow card which he emphasised was an outstanding tackle and not deserving of a card.

Winning the ball is one thing, but if you have to go through a player to get it then it's a foul. I think Savage was wrong with that call.

[Bizarre Löw Triangle]

A good thing about Wales' result is if Switzerland lose to Italy and Wales don't beat Turkey, Italy will have already won their group by the time they play Wales, so hopefully will elect to rest players.

Even if Wales beat Turkey, if Italy also beat Switzerland, then they're still through and likely to rest players since there's not much difference in difficulty between finishing first and second in terms of last 16 game difficulty - it probably means meeting France in the semis rather than the final.

[scratchmonkey]

Chris Coleman was on the US studio commentary for this and I agreed with him that this was both a point won for Wales and two points lost for the Swiss and that Wales also spent too much time incredibly deep and then immediately trying to land a punt to Moore, who was incredibly isolated pretty much the entire time. I spent a good portion of the game texting a Swiss friend who became increasingly apoplectic about Seferovic's wayward finishing.

Petkovic really dropped the ball (not that I would say it to his face) by taking off the Power Cube for a defensive midfielder -- part of the reason that Wales spent so much time pinned back was because the Swiss press was working so well. Dropping a player out of that final third allowed Wales to finally get Allen and Ramsey on the ball and they played their way back into the game, and if they were better at attacking free kicks into the box, they may well have won it.