This archive report was first published on 12 June 2021.
On June 12, 2021, the European Championship Group A match between Wales and Switzerland kicked off in Baku. The highly anticipated match saw Gareth Bale, Wales' all-time leading goal scorer, captaining the team in their tournament opener.
Bale, who has scored 33 goals for Wales in 92 games, was looking to end an 11-match goalless run for his country. He had previously scored against the Swiss on both occasions, and was joined by fellow attacker Daniel James in the Welsh side.
Switzerland, on the other hand, relied on the pace of Breel Embolo and Xherdan Shaqiri down the wing, with Haris Seferovic providing support up front. The Swiss team employed a 3-4-1-2 system, which had proven difficult to break down in previous matches.
The teams for the match were as follows:
- Wales: Danny Ward; Connor Roberts, Chris Mepham, Joe Rodon, Ben Davies; Joe Allen, Joe Morrell, Gareth Bale (captain), Aaron Ramsey, Daniel James; Kieffer Moore.
- Switzerland: Yann Sommer; Kevin Mbabu, Nico Elvedi, Fabian Schar, Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodriguez; Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka (captain), Xherdan Shaqiri; Breel Embolo, Haris Seferovic.
