Wales put one foot in knockout stages by beating Turkey

Wales have taken a huge step towards progressing from Group A after beating Turkey 2-0 at Euro 2020.

Aaron Ramsey scored the opening goal of the game when he beat the offside trap to retrieve Gareth Bale’s chipped through ball to place the ball into the net.

Connor Roberts then added a second deep into second-half stoppage time to guarantee the win after more superb work from Bale.

The result guarantees Wales a place in the top three of the group ahead of Switzerland’s meeting with Italy this evening.

Turkey now need Italy to beat Switzerland tonight and to defeat the Swiss themselves on Monday to give them any chance of progressing.

A win for Italy would also strengthen Wales chances of finishing in the top two.

Ramsey was at his best throughout the match. The Juventus man could have given Wales the lead early on but Ugurcan Cakir pulled off a superb save.

It was Ramsey again that led the Wales attack midway through the first half but he finished a good team move by firing over.

And Ramsey’s persistence paid off on the verge of half time. A superb ball over the top of the Turkish defence by Bale found Ramsey on his own in the box to roll the ball into the net from 12 yards.

Bale should have got on the scoresheet himself on the hour mark from the penalty spot. Zeki Celik committed a foul in the box but Bale blazed the ball high over the bar.

The Real Madrid man nearly made amends immediately though, closing down Cakir but the deflection from the goalkeeper’s kick bounced narrowly wide.

Turkey pushed for a late equaliser but Danny Ward was equal to a Merih Demiral header to keep Wales ahead.

Roberts confirmed the Wales win in the 96th minute when he finished from six yards after superb skill from Bale inside the penalty area.

Cover Photo: “Flag flying” by Bods is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0