Giggs praises team's composure

Published on: 24 March 2019

Wales manager Ryan Giggs said his team showed good composure to beat Slovakia and get their Euro 2020 qualifying off to a winning start.

They won 1-0 at Cardiff City Stadium with a fifth minute goal from Daniel James separating the sides.

Slovakia got their campaign in Group E underway on Friday night, beating Hungary 2-0, Croatia beating Azerbaijan at the same time.

There were so many outstanding performances and we dug in at the end to get that clean sheet.

Ryan Giggs

So Wales were made to wait for their own kick-off but reduced the pressure with the early goal.

With Gareth Bale in their line-up they missed chances to extend their lead and the visitors created opportunities of their own, Albert Rusnak and Robert Mak both forcing Wayne Hennessey into saves.

However Wales held on to collect the three points that got them up and running. They, Croatia and Slovakia all have three points at the top of the group.

Afterwards Giggs was delighted with the way his team showed character and composure to get the win.

He said: "It's not easy. I tried to play it down because I knew other teams played first but you do feel the pressure. There were so many outstanding performances and we dug in at the end to get that clean sheet.

"In the first half we showed real composure. We rode our luck a little bit in the second half and I thought we could have scored a few more in the first but some of the play was fantastic, paired with great determination."

Wales have a tough task in their next Euro 2020 qualifying game, playing World Cup 2018 finalists Croatia away in June.

Wales were semi-finalists at the last European Championships, in 2016 and will hope to feature next year when the tournament is being held throughout Europe rather than in one host country.

However, England's Wembley Stadium will be used for the semi-finals and final. England got their own campaign off to a winning start, beating the Czech Republic 5-0 on Friday night.

They travel to Montenegro for their second game on Monday and are 1/3 for the win with the hosts 10/1 and the draw 7/2.

Raheem Sterling scored a hat-trick against the Czech Republic and is 15/8 to score at any time on Monday while England are 7/1 to win the game 3-0.

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Wales manager Ryan Giggs said his team showed good composure to beat Slovakia and get their Euro 2020 qualifying off to a winning start.

They won 1-0 at Cardiff City Stadium with a fifth minute goal from Daniel James separating the sides.

Slovakia got their campaign in Group E underway on Friday night, beating Hungary 2-0, Croatia beating Azerbaijan at the same time.

There were so many outstanding performances and we dug in at the end to get that clean sheet.

Ryan Giggs

So Wales were made to wait for their own kick-off but reduced the pressure with the early goal.

With Gareth Bale in their line-up they missed chances to extend their lead and the visitors created opportunities of their own, Albert Rusnak and Robert Mak both forcing Wayne Hennessey into saves.

However Wales held on to collect the three points that got them up and running. They, Croatia and Slovakia all have three points at the top of the group.

Afterwards Giggs was delighted with the way his team showed character and composure to get the win.

He said: "It's not easy. I tried to play it down because I knew other teams played first but you do feel the pressure. There were so many outstanding performances and we dug in at the end to get that clean sheet.

"In the first half we showed real composure. We rode our luck a little bit in the second half and I thought we could have scored a few more in the first but some of the play was fantastic, paired with great determination."

Wales have a tough task in their next Euro 2020 qualifying game, playing World Cup 2018 finalists Croatia away in June.

Wales were semi-finalists at the last European Championships, in 2016 and will hope to feature next year when the tournament is being held throughout Europe rather than in one host country.

However, England's Wembley Stadium will be used for the semi-finals and final. England got their own campaign off to a winning start, beating the Czech Republic 5-0 on Friday night.

They travel to Montenegro for their second game on Monday and are 1/3 for the win with the hosts 10/1 and the draw 7/2.

Raheem Sterling scored a hat-trick against the Czech Republic and is 15/8 to score at any time on Monday while England are 7/1 to win the game 3-0.

View all Soccer betting

Source: bet365.com

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