Chris Coleman has revealed that Wales would be open to the idea of taking on Portugal in a friendly at the Millennium Stadium next month, in a match that would inevitably be billed as Gareth Bale against Cristiano Ronaldo.
Wales are keen to bring a top-10 nation to Cardiff on the back of their qualification for the European Championship finals, which was confirmed on Saturday despite them losing 2-0 against Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Coleman said that Portugal would fit the bill. With Bale and Ronaldo lining up against one another, it is a fixture that would fascinate Real Madrid supporters as much as fans of the two nations involved.
Whether the match gets off the ground remains to be seen. Coleman said that nothing is close in terms of coming to an agreement with any nation and there are also doubts about whether Wales would be able to meet Portugal’s financial demands for a friendly fixture in Cardiff.
“There’s a lot of teams we’ve got in mind, we obviously want some tough teams, we’re looking at top-10 opposition if we can, but it’s not always that easy,” Coleman said. “There’s a lot of teams on the list, but there’s nothing, nowhere near, being agreed with anyone at the moment.”
Asked specifically about facing Portugal, Coleman replied: “That would be a good one. There’s a rumour, though, that there’s a mini-tournament in Miami [in November] and they may be part of that. If they’re not, then of course we would be interested in that, that would be a good game.”
Coleman agreed that Bale against Ronaldo would be a fascinating prospect. “Exactly. And we want it in Cardiff if we can,” the Wales manager said. “Portugal would be something that we would be interested in, of course. It would be a good time to play [at the Millennium], if it’s going to be a bigger crowd.”
Bale will start against Andorra on Tuesday night in the final match of the qualification campaign, with Coleman confirming that Real Madrid have not asked for the forward to be rested in a fixture that has nothing riding on it now that Wales have secured their place at France.
“Osian Roberts [the Wales assistant manager] got a text from Rafa Benítez saying: ‘Congratulations, well done’, which was nice. There has been no demand from Real Madrid on if he starts, how long he can play. Real Madrid have always been first class with us. I have to say that.”
Coleman has said he will make a couple of changes to the team that started against Bosnia-Herzegovina, although he plans to field a strong side on what promises to be a special occasion in the Welsh capital.
“I certainly won’t be experimenting,” Coleman said. “That would be me being hypocritical – on the one hand saying to the players every time you pull the jersey on it has to mean everything for you, and then saying well I’m going to mess about with my formation. Tomorrow will be a full-house, the atmosphere will be electric, we don’t want it to be a damp squib. We want to finish well.”
