STARTING XI
REMAINING SQUAD MEMBERS
3 best players not in the squad:
Wales' best achievements were reaching the quarter-finals of the 1958 World Cup and the semi-finals of Euro 2016. Gareth Bale was the star player of the 2016 side, while John Charles picked up an injury the match before the 1958 quarter-final against Brazil, which Wales 'might have won' with him in the side, according to their manager Jimmy Murphy. 7 players come from this 58 squad, more than any other era here. Charles is still probably Wales' greatest ever player, but Gareth Bale runs him very close. Jones and England were probably the two strongest Welsh best centre-backs, so it made sense to start Ratcliffe as a makeshift left-back ahead of Hopkins as I didn't want to leave him out. Ratcliffe can then be an extra centre-back option if needed, so there was no need for Ray Daniel. The central midfield options weren't too spectacular, but Burgess and Mel Charles were certainly the best two. Since there was already two holding-midfield options on the pitch, there wasn't much need for one on the bench, so I could afford to choose the strongest midfielders to cover them in Ramsey and Yorath, just ahead of Gary Speed. Wales' strength lies in their attacking players - their front 4 is very strong. Meredith, Jones, Hughes and Allchurch are back-ups in these positions. I considered picking John Charles as a centre-back so I could start Billy Meredith, but I had the opportunity to play him in his best position upfront, and the team was stronger this way. I wanted to choose Terry Medwin for the final spot, but already had enough wingers, so went for Trevor Ford as an extra striker. Players by Decade: 1950's (6), 1960's (4), 1980's (3), 2010's (2), 1990's (2), 1940's (2), 1900's (2), 1970's (1), 1920's (1) Top 10 Welsh Players of All-Time (World Class Players in Bold - 6)
(& their all-time positional rank)
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