MX23RW : Thursday, December 12 07:55:08| >> :600:1089919:1089919:
[monks data]
Bulgaria national football team
Nations League | League B
Oct 14, 2020 at 7.45pm UK
Stadion Slavija
Wales national football team

Bulgaria
0 - 1
Wales


Cicinho (51'), Karabelyov (52'), Traychev Dimitrov (59')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Williams (85')
Davies (28'), Wilson (49'), James (50'), Williams (90+4')

Aaron Ramsey becomes latest Wales player to withdraw from squad

Aaron Ramsey becomes latest Wales player to withdraw from squad
© Reuters
The Juventus playmaker captained the Dragons in the 0-0 draw with the Republic of Ireland on Sunday.

Aaron Ramsey has added to Ryan Giggs' selection headache by being ruled out of the Nations League trip to Bulgaria.

Wales boss Giggs defended the decision not to strengthen his squad at a lunchtime press conference after losing four players for the Group B4 game in Sofia.

But little more than two hours later Juventus playmaker Ramsey – who captained Wales in the 0-0 draw against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday – was also out of the game.

"Aaron Ramsey has withdrawn from the squad due to injury and will not travel to Bulgaria," the Football Association of Wales posted on its Twitter account.

Tottenham defender Ben Davies captained Wales in the friendly defeat to England at Wembley last Thursday and is set to wear the armband again.

Wales have now lost five players from an original 27-man squad and are short of forward options, with David Brooks, Kieffer Moore and Hal Robson-Kanu dropping out alongside suspended midfielder Joe Morrell.

Giggs says being in a Covid-19 bubble has made the situation "more problematic", although other countries have called up players after being hit by withdrawals.

But he insisted he has enough players at his disposal without attempting to draft others in to bolster his squad.

"We all got tested (for coronavirus) after the Ireland game on Sunday," Giggs said.

"After that it would have been very difficult (to bring players in). Players would have had fly to Dublin and then Bulgaria.

"We just have to deal with the players we've got, which is fine."

Wales v Denmark – UEFA Nations League – Group B4 – Cardiff City Stadium
Bournemouth's David Brooks will be a big miss for Wales in Bulgaria on Wednesday (Mike Egerton/PA)

Asked if he should have called up a replacement when Robson-Kanu was ruled out with a broken arm two days before the England game, Giggs said: "We had 26 players so that was fine.

"I felt with Dan James, Harry Wilson and Brooksy not involved in the England game that they would be three new players coming into two games.

"So we felt we were fine in that respect.

"It has been more problematic because of the Covid situation. But that wasn't solely the reason, we felt we had enough players."

Wales head to Eastern Europe top of Group B4 with seven points from three Nations League games and yet to concede in the competition.

Giggs has reined back on his initial attacking approach – Wales scored 10 goals in his first four games – to tighten up a defence which has seen goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey keep five clean sheets in six games.

"I always feel that we need to get the defensive aspect as we do have players who can hurt teams," Giggs said.

"It is always about getting the balance. You don't want to give chances away but we need to be better going forward.

"That is about creating relationships between players, whether full-back, winger, number 10, centre-forward, midfielders, and that is difficult with the turnover of players we get. But it will come."

Wales v Hungary – UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying – Group E – Cardiff City Stadium
Wales defender Chris Mepham has been declared fit after missing the 0-0 draw with the Republic of Ireland in Sunday (Nick Potts/PA)

Bournemouth defender Chris Mepham has boosted Wales by being declared fit after missing Sunday's goalless draw with the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.

Mepham picked up a knee injury in the England defeat at Wembley.

"It's not easy with this being the third game," Giggs said. "But every country's in the same boat so you have to deal with it.

"There is a lot of juggling with players and making sure they've had enough minutes, but also that they're still sharp.

"We have to be ready and we have been in the two (Nations League) games so far. We've done well, a draw and a win, and we've been solid."

ID:418230: cacheID:418230:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:10372:
Written by
P A
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Wales manager Ryan Giggs pictured in September 2020
Read Next:
Wales boss Ryan Giggs happy with squad depth despite losing four players
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

League A1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal642014
Q Croatia Croatia62228
3 Scotland flag Scotland62137
4 Poland Poland61144

League A2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France641113
Q Italy Italy641113
3 Belgium Belgium61144
4 Israel Israel61144

League A3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany642014
Q Netherlands Netherlands62319
3 Hungary Hungary61326
4 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina60242

League A4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain651016
Q Denmark Denmark62228
3 Serbia Serbia61326
4 Switzerland Switzerland60242

League B1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic632111
2 Ukraine Ukraine62228
3 Georgia Georgia62137
4 Albania national flag Albania62137

League B2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England650115
2 Greece Greece650115
3 Ireland Rep. Ireland62046
4 Finland Finland60060

League B3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Norway Norway641113
2 Austria Austria632111
3 Slovenia Slovenia62228
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan60151

League B4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Wales flag Wales633012
2 Turkey Turkey632111
3 Iceland Iceland62137
4 Montenegro Montenegro61053

League C1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Sweden Sweden651016
2 Slovakia Slovakia641113
3 Estonia Estonia61144
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan60151

League C2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania550015
2 Kosovo flag Kosovo540112
3 Cyprus Cyprus62046
4 Lithuania Lithuania60060

League C3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland632111
2 Bulgaria Bulgaria62319
3 Belarus Belarus61417
4 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg60333

League C4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Macedonia N. Macedonia651016
2 Armenia Armenia62137
3 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands61326
4 Latvia Latvia61144

League D1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q San Marino flag San Marino42117
2 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar41306
3 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein40222

League D2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Republic of Moldova Moldova43019
2 Malta flag Malta42117
3 Andorra flag Andorra40131


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!