Cardiff comes to standstill to welcome home Wales

More than 100,000 fans are expected to line the streets of Cardiff tomorrow when Wales ‘ Euro 2016 squad return home from France.

Wales has arranged a huge homecoming party for its Euro 2016 team as politicians, actors and sports stars showered Chris Coleman’s squad with praise on Thursday despite their semi-final defeat by Portugal.

Playing in their first tournament since 1958, Wales reached the last four for the first time in their history. It’s where we get 30,000 sell-outs, where the atmosphere is electric, where we spent our last campaign, ‘ said Coleman. This will be my last hit at it, so I will give it my best shot, Coleman was quoted as saying by Sky Sports on Friday.

“We may have to look at how we approach it slightly differently in terms of what the opposition are going to do to us”. I know there were one or two unsavoury moments at the start of the tournament but, predominantly, all we’ve seen is positivity from people from all different countries’.

“The chemistry between the team is evident in the way we play, we work our socks off for each other”. “I’ll give everything I’ve got in this next campaign”.

Welsh band Manic Street Preachers, who wrote and sang the official Wales Euro 2016 anthem, performed on stage before the players and staff were presented to the crowd. “But we are in the middle of something, not the end”, the coach added.

There was a question and answer session with Coleman and some of the players on the pitch at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Fans greeted the players and backroom staff at Cardiff Airport before the squad went on an open-top bus parade through the city.

Wales manager Chris Coleman said: “They didn’t want to let their country down and they certainly didn’t”.

The chief executive of the Football Association of Wales, Jonathan Ford, said: “We feel this event is a great way of everyone celebrating what has been a historic period for Welsh football”.

“We are hoping that this story and journey we have been on will change Welsh football forever”.

Aaron Ramsey has paid tribute to the “amazing” Wales fans after the team received a heroes’ welcome on the streets of Cardiff.

“We need that little bit of luck, the same hunger and desire and good things will happen”.

“With the quality we have got in the team, the set-up we have, we are confident we will do that”.