Live match preview – Wales vs Czech Rep 29.03.2022

Wayne Hennessey is aiming to prolong his Wales career for as long as possible after joining the 100-cap club on Tuesday.

Hennessey, who will wear the captain’s armband for the Cardiff friendly with the Czech Republic, becomes the third Welshman after Gareth Bale and record caps holder Chris Gunter to reach the three-figure milestone.

Former Wales goalkeeper Neville Southall has urged the Burnley man to set his sights on winning 150 caps for his country.

“I’m not sure about 150 but that’s nice coming from Nev,” Hennessey said. “Everyone knows what I think about Nev. He’s my hero. I’m just going to keep going for as long as I can and represent my country for as long as I can.”

It has been a long road for Hennessey, who was released from the Manchester City academy at the age of 16 before joining Wolves.

The Anglesey product has played over 320 senior games for Wolves, Stockport, Yeovil, Crystal Palace and Burnley.

But being part of Wales’ success and qualifying for two major tournaments – Euro 2016 and Euro 2020 – is what Hennessey will always be associated with.

“Every cap is special,” said Hennessey, who made his Wales debut against New Zealand in a May 2007 friendly. Whenever I step over that white line, it’s a special occasion.

“You want to give your best, you’re representing your nation and hopefully I can do it as much as possible. Whenever I’m selected, I’ll do that.

“I’ve had so many special moments, qualifying for major tournaments. Through the years for Wales it never really happened. As a kid growing up it never happened.

“But 2016 was special (when Wales reached the semi-finals of the European Championship) and it’s come on leaps and bounds.”

Hennessey will lead a much-changed Wales side from the one that beat Austria on Thursday to move within one win of reaching the World Cup in Qatar later this year.

Manager Robert Page has promised to make changes with the likes of Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen set to be rested.

Page wants to give younger members of his squad an opportunity against opponents reeling from their World Cup play-off defeat to Sweden.

On handing Hennessey the captaincy, Page said: “Wayne deserves that. To lead the boys out is a great honour and I would love to give him the armband to do that.

“He’s an absolute legend of this football team. For what he’s given to the country over the years, he deserves all of the plaudits he’s going to get.”

The Czech clash has been arranged at short notice as Wales await the winners of the play-off semi-final between Scotland and Ukraine.

Funds raised from the game will go to the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

Page said: “The important game for us is done and thankfully we got the positive result. This gives me an opportunity to see some of the fringe players, those that didn’t play on Thursday and who haven’t played a lot of minutes for us but are doing really well at club level.

“It gives us an opportunity to use it as an exercise to give them minutes.

“We want to have a look at them at this level and expose them to international football ahead of a big month in June.”

How to follow

Watch Wales vs Czech Republic live on Sky Sports Premier League on Tuesday from 7.40pm; kick-off 7.45pm. Full match highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel at the final whistle.

Bale breather?

Gareth Bale has dominated the Wales headlines on and off the pitch this week.

The Real Madrid forward went into the Austria clash with doubts over his fitness and criticism from Spanish media ringing in his ears.

Bale responded with a brilliant brace that leaves Wales one win away from their first World Cup for 64 years.
The Wales captain then went on the warpath, hitting back at a Spanish newspaper column which had described him as a “parasite” and saying he wants to use his profile to “change the way we publicly talk and criticise people”.

Bale could probably do with a quiet night, and may get one ahead of his return to Madrid by starting on the bench.

Young blood

Boss Robert Page is planning to make changes after the physical and mental energy spent against Austria. Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Daniel James and Joe Allen could be candidates for breathers, with Page saying he has to be mindful of club situations.

Dylan Levitt may be a midfield option and Cardiff’s Rubin Colwill is hoping to play at his club ground with his three previous appearances all coming away from home.

Exciting winger Brennan Johnson is a probable starter given outstanding form which has brought him 12 goals in Nottingham Forest’s Championship play-off push.

Rodon motivation

Joe Rodon has started as many games for Wales as Tottenham this term – five each – but there the similarities end.

Whereas Rodon has struggled for game-time under three different Spurs managers – Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte – he is one of the first names on the Wales team sheet.

Rodon made light of having less than three hours of first-team football since November’s international break to produce another eye-catching Wales display against Austria.

The 24-year-old centre-back appears to be in the shop window on international duty and, unless his fortunes improve at Spurs, a summer move could be on the cards.

Familiar foes

This will be the third meeting between the two sides in the last 12 months. Wales and the Czech Republic were paired in the same World Cup qualifying group and the Dragons had the better of the two games. James’ late header secured a 1-0 Wales win in Cardiff last March.

Ramsey and James were on target in a 2-2 Prague draw in October as Wales took second spot behind group winners Belgium. The Czechs’ only win in this fixture was a 2-1 home success in Euro 2008 qualifying, with two other games finishing goalless.

Opta stats

• This will be only the second non-competitive encounter between Wales and Czech Republic (including as Czechoslovakia), and first since a goalless draw at the Millennium Stadium in March 2002.
• Wales have only won one of their last eight meetings with Czech Republic in all competitions (including as Czechoslovakia), a 2-1 World Cup qualifying win in March 2021 (D4 L3).
• Including as Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic have only won one of their eight international away games against Wales (D3 L4), a 3-1 European Championship qualifying victory in April 1971.
• Wales are unbeaten in eight matches in all competitions (W4 D4); they haven’t enjoyed a longer run without defeat since October 2017 (run of nine).
• After losing 1-0 in extra-time to Sweden last time out, Czech Republic are looking to avoid suffering back-to-back international defeats for the first time since March/June 2021, when one of those defeats was to Wales.
• Wales have only won one of their last six international friendlies (D3 L2), a 1-0 win over Mexico in March 2021. The Dragons have only scored one goal in those six matches.
• Gareth Bale has played 321 minutes of international football for Wales since August 2021, more than he has at club level for Real Madrid in 2021-22 (270). Bale has scored five goals in his last four international matches for Wales, more than he had in his previous 28 such appearances beforehand (four goals).
• Jan Sýkora has scored three goals in his last three internationals for Czech Republic, this despite coming on as a substitute in each of those matches. Sýkora netted a brace in a friendly against Kuwait and once against Estonia in a World Cup qualifier, both in November 2021.