April 28, 2024

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Wales player ratings v Finland: Forwards flourish as Wales progress

Wales progress to the EURO 2024 play-off finals with a 5-1 win over Finland at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Dan James celebrates scoring Wales fourth against Finland

Daniel James celebrates his goal for Wales v Finland in Euro 2024 Championship Qualifier Play-off Semi-Final at Cardiff City Stadium on 21st March 2024. Credit: Perry Dobbins.

Wales secured a 4-1 victory against Finland at the Cardiff City Stadium to book their place in Tuesday night’s final against Poland for a place at Euro 2024.

First-half strikes from David Brooks and Neco Williams followed by second half goals from Brennan Johnson and substitute Daniel James was enough to see Wales over the line.

Their opponents for Tuesday night’s final will travel to Cardiff in high spirits having beat Estonia in convincing fashion 5-1.

Here is a look at our player ratings from Rob Page’s side after their entertaining clash with Finland.

Wales player ratings v Finland

Danny Ward – 7

A solid performance from the Wales number one. He was calm with his distribution from the back and wasn’t really troubled. There wasn’t much he could do with Finland’s goal.

Connor Roberts – 7

Great performance down the right hand side for Wales. He was dangerous going forward and solid defensively with some key interceptions and a very important block in the first half to deny Pohjanpalo a certain goal.

Joe Rodon – 6

Overall a decent night from the Leeds United man. He was part of the mix up that lead to the Finland goal but overall played his part well.

Chris Mepham – 5

Mepham was also involved in the mix-up for the Pukki goal and was wasteful at times in possession, including a sloppy pass across the defence that almost lead to a goal. It wasn’t his best night at the back.

Ben Davies (c) – 7

The skipper was solid defensively and yet again showed his leadership qualities to help the nation move a step closer to a place at a major international tournament.

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Neco Williams – 8

The scorer of the second goal and what a strike it was! Williams is always a threat going forward down the left-hand side and done the defensive work when needed.

Ethan Ampadu – 7

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At 23-years old Ampadu has amassed 50 caps for his nation. There is no arguing that he is now one of the most experienced members of the squad and a vital part of it despite his age. Ampadu was brilliant at breaking up play and distributing forward for Wales to break away.

Jordan James – 7

It was another composed and confident night from the 19-year old Birmingham City midfielder. He showed real courage in a game of such high stakes to get on the ball and look to drive forward.

Harry Wilson – 9

The Fulham man was a constant problem for the Finland back line with him popping up all over the field and always capable of defence splitting runs and passes. He was the architect of the opening goal, won the free-kick that lead to the second and delivered the pinpoint free-kick that lead to the third. You simply can’t ask for much more.

Brennan Johnson – 8

The Spurs man was dangerous running in behind and linked up well with his teammates. He managed to get his goal with poachers like instinct to slot home at the back post.

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David Brooks – 9

The amazing story of David Brooks continues as he opened the scoring in the 3rd minute. He latched on to the rebound from Wilson’s strike setting Wales on their way to the final.

Kieffer Moore – 5

Moore had a great chance to add a fourth but couldn’t finish, but it wasn’t to matter much. He did his job when entering the field being an outlet for the defence to relieve pressure.

Daniel James – 8

The Leeds United forward is in terrific form for his club and he continued his goal-scoring exploits with the finishing touch in Wales’ clinical display. He stole the ball on the half-way line before breaking away, rounding the keeper and slotting home the fourth.

Nathan Broadhead – 5

He was a late substitute for Wales so didn’t have much of an opportunity to impact the game.

(Featured image: Perry Dobbins)

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