Gareth Bale insists Wales are not one-man team at Euro 2016

The Welsh have always been absent from summer showpieces in the past, but all that changes today when they take on Slovakia in the Group B opener in Euro 2016.

It was not as though the Welsh had outclassed their opponents but certainly were the better side, created more chances, and importantly looked like making good use of it. Gareth Bale had put Wales in the lead with an expertly taken free-kick.

Robson-Kanu’s strike ended Wales’s four-game winless run and tees the European Championship debutants up perfectly for Thursday’s hotly anticipated second Group B fixture against neighbours England in Lens.

“I think we’ve got a lot more passion and pride about us than them”.

“We were just lacking some luck, because they scored a goal where the player didn’t hit the ball properly, but unfortunately for us, it went in”. “Of course, I’m not going to give anything away, but he’s available to play some part tomorrow – whether that’s a start, or to come on as a substitute”.

“It is a game you relish, like any derby, and you never want to lose to the enemy”.

After a 58-year wait to qualify for a major tournament, it was just the outcome Wales had hoped for and their fans forming the majority of the 37,831 crowd celebrated rapturously as the players went into an equally delighted huddle in front of them. I’m sure it will be a very good game, hopefully we can come out on top. For me it is probably the stand out game in the tournament in the group stages.

Slovakia coach Jan Kozak has placed key man Marek Hamsik in the number 10 position which allows the Napoli man the roam in a free role.

“He is used to having the eyes of the world on him and he is looking forward to it”.

“People can write what they want, but we all know that we work very hard on the training pitch every day”.

“He’s a top player”, Kozak told a news conference on Friday.

But Wales lost that Cardiff game 5-1, and there have been plenty of dark days on the field as the current generation matured into the players they are today.

At Wales’ media centre in Dinard, Bale also spoke by video link to Gwyn Morris, his former Whitchurch High School PE master, and two current pupils of his old Cardiff school.

Slovakia coach Jan Kozak, whose side face Russian Federation on Wednesday, said the result was not an accurate reflection of the game.

“I have been playing for Wales for 10 years and it was a massive goal of mine to get to a major championship”, the twice Champions League victor said.