Wales have not been lucky in qualifying for a major finals since1958 World Cup. The 2016 Euro draw saw them with Belgium, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Israel, Cyprus and Andorra in Group B. Wales twice faced Belgium during a failed 2014 World Cup bid, but Ashley Williams said: “Our two performances against Belgium in the last group means we’ve got nothing to fear again.”
That last campaign began with a 2-0 home defeat by Belgium and ended with a 1-1 draw against them. But the Swansea defender accepted that Belgium are the favorites for the top position in the group. “We’ve got Belgium again so everyone would expect them to be the top team and we are going to compete.”
“And then you look at the next group and you’ve probably got us, Bosnia, Israel trying to compete for second and third. But I think this time we can… really attack the group and I think our two performances against Belgium in the last group means we’ve got nothing to fear again.”
Wales start their journey to Andorra on Tuesday, 9 September, then face Bosnia-Hercegovina at home on Friday, 10 October following the welcoming Cyprus on the following Monday. Chris Coleman’s men face Belgium away on 16 November, with the return fixture on 12 June, 2015.
Wales are said to complete their campaign at home to Andorra on 13 October, 2015. The Euro 2016 finals are being hosted by France, who qualify automatically, and include 24 nations an increase from the current 16 nation format.
The top two teams in each of the nine groups will reach the tournament finals. The remaining eight third-placed teams will go for play-offs in November 2015. Coleman claims a finals place is surely up for grabs, when they are at full strength with players such as Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen and Williams.
Williams he stated: “We’ve got a lot of work to do before then, a lot of things to nail down. But this is one we really want to focus on and try and qualify. I feel like we’ve got enough in our team to qualify outright. We need to keep everyone fit and away from suspensions.”
“We need to get our best 11 on the park every game, if we can I think we’ll give ourselves a chance.”