By Paul Jones Three of the top Wales internationals will be strangely hoping they miss out on this year’s men’s Welsh Amateur Championship, including defending champion Archie Davies. That’s because Davies and fellow internationals James Ashfield and Matt Roberts have got prized invitations to the Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale and if they make the cut to play over the weekend they will miss the Stroke Play stages of the Welsh Amateur at Pyle and Kenfig. It means they may miss the chance to be part of a bumper field of 140 when the top men’s event in Welsh amateur golf returns after a two year gap following last season’s Covid cancellation, the previous time the event missed a year was during World War II.

Gareth Bale has vowed to continue to play for Wales until he retires. The clarification – which came in a post-match interview after Wales’ exit from Euro 2020 following a 4-0 thrashing by Denmark – still leaves his immediate playing future open to question. But at least the Wales captain – who had earlier walked out of a BBC interview when asked about his future – seemed to indicate with S4C that he wants to hang around until next year’s World Cup.

Gareth Bale expressed his pride after Wales made the knockout stage of Euro 2020. Wales went down to a 1-0 defeat to Italy in Rome on Sunday but finished second in Group A, above Switzerland on goal difference. Ethan Ampadu was shown a straight red card for his late challenge on Federico Bernardeschi and Wales played the final 35 minutes at the Stadio Olimpico with 10 men.

Gareth Bale believes Wales could benefit from a knockout Euro 2020 game at Wembley. Wales have not yet qualified for the round of 16, but they play Italy in Rome on Sunday knowing victory would see them top Group A and set up a Wembley date against probably either Austria or Ukraine. Italy will take that Wembley spot by avoiding defeat to Wales who, if they finish second in the group, will head to Amsterdam and meet the runners-up of Group B – most likely Denmark, Finland, or Russia.

Robert Page has revealed the reason Gareth Bale is Wales captain is all about his character rather than just his talent. The Wales interim manager was full of praise for his skipper after Bale shrugged off a penalty miss to inspire his team to a magnificent 2-0 victory over Turkey at Euro 2020. Bale made Aaron Ramsey’s first-half opener with some superb vision before missing a penalty which could have put the result beyond doubt, but made amends in the final minute of the game in Baku to tee up Connor Roberts to double Wales’ lead and leave them on the brink of the last 16.

Robert Page insists his Wales players will be happy to put “tin hats on” as they prepare to fight for a place in the knockout stages of Euro 2020. The caretaker manager is preparing his players for a crunch clash against Turkey in heavily Turkish-populated Baku on Wednesday and then a final group match against Italy in Rome. Those two games will hold the key to Wales’ progress in the tournament following the opening 1-1 draw with Switzerland – a game that showcased Wales’ durability but also exposed plenty of shortcomings.

Five years on from France 2016, a year later than anticipated, the Euros are back. And so are Wales. It starts on Saturday for Gareth Bale and his team when they face Switzerland in Baku. Only the advanced guard of the Red Wall army will be there and Fraser Watson says they deserve our thanks and unstinting admiration. So, here we are. At last. Euro 2020-cum-2021 is about to lift off with Welsh football in unchartered territory.

Robert Page is confident both Aaron Ramsey and Ben Davies will be fit and ready for Wales at the start of Euro 2020. The Wales manager is preparing his final week of plans before his team kick off their campaign against Switzerland on June 12, with one final warm-up match on Saturday when they host Albania at Cardiff City Stadium. Page’s side lost 3-0 to World Champions France on Wednesday and were forced to play most of the match with 10 men as defender Neco Williams was sent off after 25 minutes.

Wales supporters watched on in excitement over the weekend as Harry Wilson and Gareth Bale both registered hat-tricks for their respective clubs at a crucial time, with EURO 2020 set to commence next month. The two players are integral for Robert Page’s side and both look certain to be central to Wales’ ambitions this summer – possibly paired up front together – so, to see them in such devastating goalscoring form must have been heartening for the stand-in manager. Bale dons the armband and offers a unique, world-class x-factor in the final third, whereas Wilson’s invention and craft is also hugely important.

Gareth Bale praised Wales’ “heart and desire” after Daniel James’ late header gave them a 1-0 World Cup qualifying victory over the Czech Republic in Cardiff. James headed home Bale’s cross nine minutes from time to get Wales’ campaign up and running after their opening defeat in Belgium last week. Both sides had been reduced to 10 men following separate second-half incidents – Patrik Schick for the Czech Republic and Wales wing-back Connor Roberts.

Gareth Bale has admitted his international career could be drawing to a close, with the current World Cup qualifying campaign possibly his last in a Wales shirt. Wales play the Czech Republic in Cardiff this evening, seeking their first points in Group E after an opening defeat to Belgium. Caretaker manager Rob Page’s team still have the delayed Euro 2020 to look forward to, starting in June, but Tottenham’s Wales captain will be 33 by the time of the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar.

Gareth Bale blamed “sloppy mistakes” for Wales’ defeat in their opening 2022 World Cup qualifier to Belgium. Wales led through Harry Wilson’s superb 10th-minute opener – the product of a sweeping 17-pass move and Bale’s brilliant through ball – before Belgium fought back to win 3-1 in a manner befitting the world’s number one team. It was a mirror image of the famous scoreline from five years ago when these countries last met, complete with the same scoring sequence of the losers taking the lead.