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Attendance: 18,350
Hungary national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Jun 11, 2019 at 7.45pm UK
 
Wales national football team

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Patkai (80')
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Giggs not focusing on threat of racism in Hungary

Giggs not focusing on threat of racism in Hungary
© Reuters
Hungary were punished by UEFA after their fans caused trouble away to Slovakia in March.

Ryan Giggs has brushed aside fears that his Wales players could be the target for racism during their Euro 2020 qualifier against Hungary.

Some 3,000 seats will be unfilled at Budapest's Groupama Arena on Tuesday after UEFA ordered a partial stadium closure following the behaviour of Hungary supporters in Slovakia in March.

Hungary fans were found guilty of racist behaviour, vandalism and the setting off of fireworks, and the Hungarian Football Federation must display a banner with the wording 'EqualGame' on it in the closed sector on Tuesday.

The Groupama Arena
The Groupama Arena will be partly empty when Wales visit (Tim Goode/PA)

"There will be less fans in the stadium, but I understand it's a very good atmosphere," Giggs said when asked about the threat of racism from Hungary fans.

"I've talked before about sanctions on racism not being strong enough. They need to be stronger.

"But for me it's all about concentrating on the game. I've got enough to worry about with winning this game.

"We hope that all the fans behave as always in all the games as they should."

Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale has a key role to play for Wales (Adam Davy/PA)

Wales are seeking inspiration from captain Gareth Bale as they attempt to bounce back from their 2-1 weekend defeat in Croatia, which left them three points behind Group E leaders Hungary.

Bale has not scored since mid-March, lost his first-team place at Real Madrid towards the end of the season, and his club future is in doubt this summer.

But Giggs said: "I was happy with Gareth's performance in Croatia, he had a couple of chances and on another day they go in.

"It was his first game in six weeks, we had a great build-up in Portugal and a great week at Colliers Park (their training facility in Wrexham).

"Gareth grew into the game, not playing for six weeks that might be understandable. Hopefully's he's saving it for Hungary."

Chris Gunter, left, embraces Ryan Giggs
History beckons for Chris Gunter, left (Nick Potts/PA)

Giggs is likely to make changes after the draining demands of playing in 30-degree heat in Osijek on Saturday.

Chris Gunter is set to replace Connor Roberts at right-back and win a record 95th cap.

David Brooks and Ethan Ampadu, who both impressed as late substitiutes against Croatia, will also come into contention if they can prove their match fitness.

"I realise after the impact they made, a lot of fans are asking why I didn't start them," Giggs said.

"Ethan hasn't started a game for six months and Brooksy didn't end the season with Bournemouth. He only trained for two days.

"You're already giving up two substitutions and you're not being fair on the other players. That's my job and it's our job as staff to assess what's best.

"Brooksy's ankle seems fine and Ethan was feeling his back a little bit, but I think that was more from a knock that he got. After the training session we'll know a lot more.

"I thought a lot of the players did well but we have to take the heat into consideration.

"Some of the players are short of minutes at the end of the season, so maybe it's about freshening the side up a little bit but also assessing how the recovery has gone."

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Ryan Giggs in charge of Wales on March 20, 2019
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Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain870121
Q Scotland flag Scotland852117
3 Norway Norway832311
4 Georgia Georgia82248
5 Cyprus Cyprus80080

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France871022
Q Netherlands Netherlands860218
3 Greece Greece841313
4 Ireland Rep. Ireland82066
5 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar80080

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England862020
Q Italy Italy842214
3 Ukraine Ukraine842214
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia82248
5 Malta flag Malta80080

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Turkey Turkey852117
Q Croatia Croatia851216
3 Wales flag Wales833212
4 Armenia Armenia82248
5 Latvia Latvia81073

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania843115
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic843115
3 Poland Poland832311
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova824210
5 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands80262

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Belgium Belgium862020
Q Austria Austria861119
3 Sweden Sweden831410
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan82157
5 Estonia Estonia80171

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Hungary Hungary853018
Q Serbia Serbia842214
3 Montenegro Montenegro832311
4 Lithuania Lithuania81346
5 Bulgaria Bulgaria80444

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark1071222
Q Slovenia Slovenia1071222
3 Finland Finland1060418
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan1060418
5 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland103079
6 San Marino flag San Marino1000100

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania1064022
Q Switzerland Switzerland1045117
3 Israel Israel1043315
4 Belarus Belarus1033412
5 Kosovo flag Kosovo1025311
6 Andorra flag Andorra100282

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal10100030
Q Slovakia Slovakia1071222
3 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg1052317
4 Iceland Iceland1031610
5 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina103079
6 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein1000100


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