Wales return to action when they take on European minnows Gibraltar on Thursday evening.
Gibraltar vs Wales odds
Find the latest match odds for Gibraltar vs Wales. All odds are provided by our best-reviewed football betting sites. Odds are subject to change.
⚡Quick Gibraltar vs Wales betting tips
Gibraltar vs Wales predictions
While England and Scotland are preparing for the Euro 2024 kick-off next week, Wales do not have much to look forward to this summer.
Rob Page’s side finished third in their qualifying group, five points behind Turkey and four adrift of Croatia. Their Nations League performance earned them a place in the play-offs, where Wales thrashed Finland 4-1 in the semis but lost the final on penalties to Poland.
That was a huge disappointment and it led to discussions over whether or not Page would be kept on as manager. The Football Association of Wales (FAW) ultimately opted to stick with Ryan Giggs’ former assistant, who will be at the helm for the start of the 2024/25 Nations League in the autumn.
Wales will also be looking ahead to the 2026 World Cup, qualification for which begins next March. In the first 48-team edition of the tournament, there will be 16 berths for European nations compared to 13 in 2022.
Wales reached the competition in Qatar 18 months ago but they were unable to advance to the round of 16, picking up just one point in a group that also contained England, the United States and Iran.
Even though Welsh players would no doubt prefer to be on holiday after a gruelling club campaign, Page will welcome the friendlies against Gibraltar and Slovakia set to take place in the coming days.
The latter game will be more useful overall, with Gibraltar unlikely to cause Wales too many problems in Thursday’s encounter.
Page will still be looking to see how his team fares against opponents that will sit deep and have little possession. Wales must move the ball quickly and ensure they do not just keep it for its own sake.
Anything other than a convincing victory would lead to fresh questions being asked of Page, but this weekend’s clash with Slovakia is the more significant of the two friendlies involving Wales in this international break.
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Gibraltar vs Wales betting tips
Wales will be looking for a handsome victory over Gibraltar in this international friendly on Thursday.
First goal 21-30 minutes – 9/2 (bet365)
Gibraltar will have been pretty pleased with how their friendly against Scotland went last time out. Steve Clarke’s side laboured to a 2-0 victory, with the opening goal coming just before the hour mark.
Gibraltar’s confidence will only have been boosted by keeping Scotland out for almost 60 minutes. They will aim to show similar resolve and focus when Wales head to the south of Portugal.
Wales must find the right balance here. Gibraltar will try to disrupt their flow by whatever means necessary, and the Dragons need to ensure they keep their calm and stick to the game plan.
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But while Wales should not necessarily attempt to do things at one hundred miles per hour, they must also be careful to not let the game drift. Put simply, Page’s men need to find the sweet spot between patience and urgency.
An early goal would help their task immensely. Gibraltar could have some success in the first quarter of the game, but we expect Wales to make the breakthrough much earlier than Scotland did.
⚽ Back the first goal to be between the 21st and 30th minutes at 9/2 with bet365 ⚽
Second half higher scoring – 9/10 (Betfred)
Most of Gibraltar’s players ply their trade in the local league, which is semi-professional. The 17-year-old James Scanlon is in Manchester United’s youth setup, with the three other England-based players on the books of King’s Lynn Town, Wealdstone and Chesterfield.
Needless to say, we will see a huge gulf in quality between these two teams on Thursday.
Connor Roberts, Joe Rodon, Harry Wilson, David Brooks, Aaron Ramsey and Wayne Hennessey are among the absentees for Wales, but Page will likely name a strong XI from the players available.
As we saw against Scotland, Gibraltar are often able to frustrate their opponents for a few minutes, but the superior team almost always makes a breakthrough at some point.
Once Gibraltar’s backline has been breached, the floodgates could open. We anticipate more goals after the interval than before it.
⚽ Tip the second half to contain more goals at 9/10 with Betfred ⚽
Daniel James to score any time – 5/6 (bet365)
Page looks set to stick with his preferred 3-4-3 formation here. Kieffer Moore is the favourite to lead the line, with Daniel James and Brennan Johnson in line to feature either side of the targetman centre-forward.
Johnson is Wales’ most important attacker following Gareth Bale’s retirement, although he is clearly not at the former Real Madrid man’s level.
We favour James in the anytime goalscorer market, though. For one, he is available at a better price than Johnson.
James’ tally of seven goals in 51 caps for his country is not particularly impressive, but he will view this as an opportunity to add to his tally.
Given Gibraltar are 203rd in the FIFA World Rankings (above only seven other nations), James has a chance to shine on Thursday.
⚽ Go for Daniel James as an anytime scorer at 5/6 with bet365 ⚽
📺 How to watch Gibraltar vs Wales
- Location: Estadio Algarve, Algarve, Portugal.
- Date and time: Thursday 6th June, 5pm.
- How to watch: Premier Sports 1.
About the author
Greg Lea
Greg Lea is a freelance football writer from London. He predominantly covers the Premier League and has had work published by the Guardian, FourFourTwo, ESPN and others.
Follow Greg on X: @GregLeaFootball
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