JUNE 11, STADE DE BORDEAUX, 5PM

WALES kick off their campaign with a Bordeaux clash against Slovakia on the second day of the tournament.

If the match follows the pattern of the previous two games between the countries, one of the sides is going to get hammered!

Gareth Bale’s full debut for Wales came in a 5-1 Millennium Stadium thrashing by the Slovaks. He still scored that day, mind, and shone like a beacon even amidst the carnage and humiliation.

A year on, it was tables turned as John Toshack’s young side triumphed 5-2 in the return clash in Trnava, one of their biggest scorelines away from home in years.

Bale played in that one, too, although it was a rampant Craig Bellamy who led the revenge mission.

And so we move onto Wales-Slovakia 3... and this time it really does matter.

It is generally assumed that Bale and co have a reasonably comfortable start to their first major finals in almost 60 years, but Chris Coleman certainly won’t be under-estimating the Slovakian threat.

They may be one of the more unsung national sides in Europe, but under Jan Kozak, a wily old fox of a manager, Slovakia have become something of a force.

A mix of Euro qualifying and friendly internationals saw them win Paul Abbandonato Head of Sport 12 games out of 14, including impressive victories over Ukraine, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic.

At one stage they stood six out of six in qualifying, before the campaign at least petered out a little.

You can argue about the quality of some of the opposition like Belarus an Macedonia, but Slovakia achieved something beyond anyone else in European football for almost a decade when they overcame Spain 2-1 in Zilina in their second qualifier.

That was Spain’s first qualifying defeat in fully eight years, Slovakia ending a 37-game streak which had stretched back through World Cup and European Championship qualifiers since 2006. A prized scalp indeed. Since cementing their position in France, their record has been rather more mixed. They have beaten Switzerland and Iceland, but could only manage draws with Latvia and Ireland. Most surprisingly of the lot, they were defeated 1-0 at home to Belarus.

So just what can Wales expect in Bordeaux? Well, the Slovakian team is built around old-fashioned virtues of a rock-solid, experienced defence which is spearheaded by no-non- sense skipper Martin Skrtel. The Liverpool man and the rest of the back four have been together for years and provide the foundation from which the more gifted forward players can flourish.

Playmaker supreme is Marek Hamsik, whose creativity and energy fires Napoli, while Adam Nemec is the main goal threat.

He plays for unsung Dutch side Willen 11, perhaps underlining the unsung nature of so many of Slovakia’s players.

They are dotted around the likes of Ferencvaros, Slovan Bratislava, Viktoria Plzen, Hertha Berlin and Lokomotiv Moscow, but together they come together as a decent enough national force.

That said, Wales will be happy enough with the start fate has dealt them. It could certainly have been a lot harder.

The game in Bordeaux surely will NOT follow the pattern of what’s gone on before. The two teams have made enormous strides since those previous two meetings in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup and this time we can expect a cagey, cat and mouse affair, with goals at a premium.

Perhaps the best Wales can expect is 1-0, Bale.

It may be, however, that the two teams will each be content with a 0-0 draw this time around.