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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Robbie Savage

Wales can seize a golden opportunity even if the odds are stacked against them

Wales can win their emotionally-charged Euro 2020 tie with Denmark – even though it's not a level playing field – if they feed their fab four up front.

Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Dan James and Kieffer Moore hold the keys to the last eight, and I fancy them to pick the lock for manager Rob Page in the Johan Cruyff Arena.

First and foremost: Some things are more important than football, so above all I want to wish Christian Eriksen a continued and lasting recovery after his frightening collapse on the pitch a fortnight ago.

And what happened to Eriksen has undoubtedly given the Danes extra motivation to progress beyond the last 16.

Like Leicester when they won the title five years ago, Denmark have become everyone's second-favourite team in the tournament.

If I wasn't Welsh, I would be cheering for them this weekend as well.

(UEFA via Getty Images)

But somebody's got to stand their corner for Wales, especially as they will feel – for the second time in four matches – that the cards are stacked against them.

In Baku, they braved the intimidating wall of noise from 30,000 Turkish fans who poured over the border and made it feel like an away game in Istanbul.

And in Amsterdam, they will feel isolated again. Not that it affects events on the pitch, but it cannot be right that Danish fans have been afforded a loophole to attend the game if they spend fewer than 12 hours in the Netherlands - but Wales supporters have been told not to travel at all.

So Denmark will have pretty much all the backing in the permitted 16,000 crowd, and they did fantastically well to qualify after losing their first two games.

But if Wales cut through all the emotions, and stay compact on the pitch, they have the firepower to reach another quarter-final.

It may not be pretty, like their 1-0 win against Northern Ireland at the same stage of the competition five years ago, but it's a real opportunity.

James has had an outstanding tournament carrying the ball at pace, and carrying the fight on the counter-attack. Wales will need to set him free, with space to run at the Danish defence.

Bale does not have the same devastating turn of pace as the player Tottenham sold to Real Madrid for a world record fee eight years ago, but he is still world-class at picking a pass.

Ramsey's late runs into the box against Turkey, and work ethic helping out his back four in Italy, were the hallmarks of a player back to his best.

And Moore's physical attributes – both defending set pieces and as a focal point up front, hopefully giving Andreas Christensen all the trouble he can handle – will be vital.

If Wales can play to those strengths, and those four are on top of their game, they will make the difference – and we'll be going back to Baku for the quarter-finals.

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