Ahead of their round of 16 clash in Paris on Saturday, Wales and Northern Ireland UAE-based fans give their verdict on the game.
To gain an insight into the mindset of the fans we asked UAE fans to share with us their predictions, likely line-ups and players to watch.
Do you agree or have they missed the mark? Use #360Fans to share with us your thoughts.
WALES – Danny Phillips (Dealer Development, Dubai)
So here we are after reaching the promised land and it feels great! Northern Ireland have done fantastically well to progress and though Spain vs Italy looks pretty good on paper I actually think this could be one of the ties of the round.
The big question is how will Wales approach this? Our qualifying for Euro 2016 was built on a strong defence, but Chris Coleman took the handbrake off in the final Group B game against Russia to brilliant effect – it would be great if he does the same against Northern Ireland and if they perform as well again they will totally blow Northern Ireland away.
Wales will find a much more organised and stubborn defence than that of Russia, however, and I expect Northern Ireland to make it much harder for Chris Gunter and Neil Taylor to get forward. There will certainly not be as much space in behind the Northern Ireland backline.
Joe Allen has beeen one of the players of the group stage and I fully expect Northern Ireland’s striker Conor Washington to squeeze the space he is afforded when Wales have the ball. The final challenge will be getting past Michael McGovern in the Irish goal. His display against Germany was outstanding, and with Gareth Bale raining down of the Green and White Army’s goal, it is set to be a fantastic duel.
Cymru am byth!
PREDICTION: Wales 3-1 Northern Ireland
LIKELY WALES XI: Hennessey, Gunter, Chester, Williams, Davies, Ledley, Taylor, Allen, Ramsey, Bale, Robson-Kanu
WALES PLAYER TO WATCH: Gareth Bale – Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Three games, three goals – Bale has been utterly heroic and always seems to step up in our time of need. Let’s hope he can do it again.
NORTHERN IRELAND PLAYER TO FEAR: Steven Davis – The Southampton midfielder has been immense for Northern Ireland in this tournament, his box-to-box presence making him a real nuisance for opponents in attack and defence.
WHERE TO WATCH THE GAME: ON42 at the Media One Hotel.
NORTHERN IRELAND – Stephen McWilliam (Fire Station Manager, Dubai)
We’re still pinching ourselves but Northern Ireland have qualified for the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed team, helped by a surprise 2-0 win over Ukraine. We lost to both Germany and Poland by the same 1-0 score line, meaning we conceded just two goals in three games – our defence has certainly performed incredibly so far in France.
Wales are the opponents in Paris and the last time the two sides met was in a friendly in Cardiff in March. That was a draw and I think that could be the result again – it will almost certainly be a bruising, physical encounter. We may not have the star quality that Wales do and our attack has certainly been lacking, but our hard-working unit and resilient backline is capable of helping us cause an upset.
Coach Michael O’Neill believes results elsewhere have put Northern Ireland on the ‘favourable’ side of the draw and Wales certainly offers us a greater chance of continuing this amazing journey. Tactically O’Neil has got things right lately after rectifying the issues we saw against Poland, now all eyes will be on his plans for this weekend. If he gets things right he will take his side to the quarter-finals, which is frankly beyond any Irishman’s wildest dreams.
PREDICTION: Wales 1-1 Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland to win on penalties!)
LIKELY NORTHERN IRELAND XI: McGovern; Cathcart, McCauley, Hughes, J. Evans; Dallas, Norwood, Davis, C. Evans, Ward; Washington
NORTHERN IRELAND PLAYER TO WATCH: Michael McGovern – Will need to be on top form to deny Gareth Bale & Co. His performance against Germany was one of the best ever by a Northern Ireland player – making eight saves against the world champions.
WALES PLAYER TO FEAR: Gareth Bale – With three goals in three games, Bale’s threat is obvious. But his pace accuracy and ability to create as well as score from set-pieces will also be troubling. The Real Madrid star will need shackling, good luck to Johnny Evans!
WHERE TO WATCH THE GAME: The Media One Hotel is proving a big hit with the home nations’ teams.
