MONUMENTAL EFFORT FOR THE RED DRAGONS
THE squad and coaching staff flew across Europe to their base in Baku on Monday, ahead of their two fixtures in Azerbaijan’s capital.
Boxes of kit, footballs and lateral flow Covid-19 tests were among the extensive list of items carted from Cardiff to Baku, while the FAW have produced a monumental behind-the-scenes effort to prepare four floors of their team hotel for the arrival of the 26 men selected for Euros duty.
Other FAW delegates have been housed at a hotel next door to that of the team – such is the scale of the travelling party.
Based on the glorious Baku promenade, their hotel overlooks what is the largest bay on the east side of Azerbaijan and into the Caspian Sea, while the iconic Flame Towers can be spotted in the distance.
Away from their living quarters, the Red Dragons’ training base is situated at the 31,000-seater Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium, which is around six miles to the south-east of the Olympic Stadium where they will take on Switzerland and Turkey.
The squad were put through their paces at the training ground for the first time on Tuesday – with temperatures reaching as much as 28°C.
They have continued to operate at the venue normally used by Qarabag FK for the remainder of the week before getting a feel for their surroundings at the 69,870-seater Olympic Stadium today – with Page and one senior player (most likely captain Gareth Bale) set to face the media ahead of their tournament opener against the Swiss tomorrow.
Wales will return to base camp for training sessions on the Sunday and Monday after their opening game before once again holding a session at the Olympic Stadium on the Tuesday in preparation for the contest with Turkey on Wednesday.
That game will likely feel like an away match, with thousands of Turkish fans expected to hop over the border to support their team.
While there will be some Wales fans in Baku later this week, the pandemic and Government advice mean the travelling Welsh army we saw at Euro 2016 will simply not be present this time.
Following that encounter, Wales will remain in Baku for a further two days before travelling to Rome next Friday evening ahead of the final group fixture against Italy two days later.
Wales tasted success in Baku – dubbed the City of Winds due to the strong gusts that hit from the coastline – en route to qualifying for this summer’s European Championships.
They will now hope their meticulous planning will play a key role in ensuring they can blow away their first two group opponents and travel to Rome with points in the bag ahead of their final fixture against Italy.