England ‘big themselves up before they’ve done anything’ – Bale

BORDEAUX, France Wales coach Chris Coleman believes Slovakia would be unwise to dwell on his team’s poor form ahead of their opening Euro 2016 Group B match on Saturday. He is integrated with the rest of the team and has done what they have in training.

Coleman is expected to start with Joe Allen alongside Dave Edwards in midfield, with Joe Ledley, who broke his leg playing for Crystal Palace on May 7th, set to be among the substitutes.

He was just as good for his club team as he was for Wales, scoring 0.99 non penalty goals per 90 minutes this season, better than his last season in England when he scored 0.65 non penalty goals per 90 minutes, according to Squawka.com.

Allen was a late substitute in Liverpool’s Europa League final defeat to Sevilla on May 18, and is the most likely to start in Bordeaux on Saturday.

The three players have been carrying injuries and the Wales manager said that it would be “reckless” to name the trio in his first XI when they are in a race to prove their fitness.

“It’s a good memory, I’ve still got the record”, said Bale, who insists that this match is as important as next week’s Battle of Britain. Only the match will show how we are able to put this into practice.

“Qualification was one thing, but we have not come here just to participate”. They tried their best, but it’s hard when the owners are not what you expect. “We are reiterating to the players what our strengths are and why we are here”.

For me we should see a pulsating encounter here but I dont see many goals.

Slovakia were held to a goalless draw by Northern Ireland in their final Euro 2016 warm-up game.

“Walking out will be something special but we’ve got to remember we’re not just here to smile and have a laugh and a joke – we’re here to perform”, he added. It is one we are looking forward to.

“I expect Slovakia to pay him attention, everyone we play against pays him attention”.

“We are really excited because a lot of time has passed since we qualified [for the 2010 World Cup, Slovakia’s only previous major tournament] and we can’t wait”.

“But the players know why it happened”.

In contrast, Jan Kozak’s side come into the tournament on the back of an eight-game unbeaten streak and can also be backed at 9/5 (2.80) to get the better of an evenly-poised game.