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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

1-0

Patkai (80')
FT(HT: 0-0)

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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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Cyprus Cyprus00000
2 Georgia Georgia00000
3 Norway Norway00000
Q Scotland flag Scotland00000
Q Spain Spain00000

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France00000
2 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar00000
3 Greece Greece00000
Q Netherlands Netherlands00000
5 Ireland Rep. Ireland00000

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England00000
Q Italy Italy00000
3 Malta flag Malta00000
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia00000
5 Ukraine Ukraine00000

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Armenia Armenia00000
Q Croatia Croatia00000
3 Latvia Latvia00000
Q Turkey Turkey00000
5 Wales flag Wales00000

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania00000
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic00000
3 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands00000
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova00000
5 Poland Poland00000

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria00000
2 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan00000
Q Belgium Belgium00000
4 Estonia Estonia00000
5 Sweden Sweden00000

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Bulgaria Bulgaria00000
Q Hungary Hungary00000
3 Lithuania Lithuania00000
4 Montenegro Montenegro00000
Q Serbia Serbia00000

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark00000
2 Finland Finland00000
3 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan00000
4 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland00000
5 San Marino flag San Marino00000
Q Slovenia Slovenia00000

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Andorra flag Andorra00000
2 Belarus Belarus00000
3 Israel Israel00000
4 Kosovo flag Kosovo00000
Q Romania Romania00000
Q Switzerland Switzerland00000

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina00000
2 Iceland Iceland00000
3 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein00000
4 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg00000
Q Portugal Portugal00000
Q Slovakia Slovakia00000


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