Wales open their Euro 2016 campaign with a clash against Slovakia on Saturday in Bordeaux. The tournament will be just the second the Dragons have qualified for in their history, with their last only other appearance coming at the World Cup in 1958.
Undoubtedly their star man in qualifying was Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale, who netted seven times in his ten qualification appearances.
His contribution to qualification was unquestionable, but the former-Tottenham has been very humble about his contribution to Wales cause, instead talking about the team in interviews.
The team spirit he talks about will be crucial in France, as Wales’ team is definitely more than the sum of its parts. The Welsh do not have the largest amount of players to choose from, so like any country with such a small pool of player’s team spirit can be a key ingredient to success.
There are numerous examples down the years of team spirit taking teams along way, think Greece at Euro 2004, or Leicester winning the Premier League title last season. The vital ingredient for both was that they managed to foster a fantastic team spirit.
They may have had a sprinkling of quality, but by in large the team was better than the individuals. Bale is the only world-class performer in the Wales side and may be their main match-winner.
However, football is a team game and the forward has been talking up his teams in the run-up to Euro 2016. Bale will be important to Wales chances of making it to the knockout stages, but team spirit maybe be even more than important than Bale’s presence for the Dragons.