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Andorra national football team
European Championship | Qualifiers
Sep 9, 2014 at 7.45pm UK
 
Wales national football team

1-2

Lima (6' pen.)
FT(HT: 1-1)
Bale (22', 81')

Player Ratings: Andorra 1-2 Wales

Sports Mole rates the individual performances from Wales's 2-1 win over Andorra during their Euro 2016 qualifier.

Wales survived a scare against Andorra to make a winning start to their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign this evening.

Gareth Bale scored twice as the visitors came from behind to beat the Andorrans 2-1 in their new national stadium.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the individual performances from the Group B clash.


Andorra's defender Ildefons Lima (C) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the Euro 2016 qualifying round football match Andorra against Wales on September 09, 2014© Getty Images

ANDORRA

Goal

Ferran Poli: Despite letting in two Gareth Bale goals, the goalkeeper actually played very well for the hosts, making several stops to prevent Wales taking the lead sooner, and was only beaten by two superb finishes. (7/10)

Defence

Emili Garcia: The left-back was haunted by Bale for much of the evening, but made a couple of solid blocks, including taking one Bale cross to the face in the second half. (6/10)

Ildefons Sola Lima: The captain scored Andorra's first goal in four years with a confident penalty in the first half, and made several important blocks and clearances, particularly in the second half as Wales pushed for the winner. (7/10)

David Maneiro: Maneiro had a solid if unspectacular evening, coming forward a couple of times in a bid to set up a couple of goalscoring chances, but struggled with the pace of Bale and Ramsey at the back. (4/10)

Christian Martinez: Also capable of playing in midfield, Martinez mainly stayed at the back this evening, making a crucial block on the line in the second half when Poli was off his line, but he was forced off early with an injury. (5/10)

Midfield

Marco Valez: Playing a holding role in midfield, Valez spent much of the evening marking Bale. He made a couple of important tackles early on, but got messy towards the end of the match, picking up a booking in stoppage time. (5/10)

Carlos Eduardo Peppe: After getting booked at the end of the first half, Peppe forced his manager to make an early change after opening the second half with a two-footed challenge on Bale. He had shown pace while running at the Wales defenders early on, but was caught offside while trying to get a shot away. (3/10)

Josep Ayala: Ayala spent most of the night helping out at the back rather than contributing up front, but failed to make much of an impact before being subbed off late on. (3/10)

Ivan Lorenzo: Probably the pick of the Andorra players, Lorenzo showed plenty of pace, and was keen to test the Wales defenders early on, winning the penalty that gave the hosts the lead. (7/10)

Jordi Rubio: Rubio also ended up playing a more defensive role than intended as he tried to help Andorra hold on to a point in the second half, but he failed to make any big contributions to the match. (3/10)

Attack

Gabi Riera: Despite being the sole striker, Riera never got a decent shot away. The striker also encroached during Bale's late free kick, giving the Wales forward the second chance that he needed to fire home the winner. (3/10)

Substitutes

Oscar Sonegee: The defender only came on for the last seven minutes following Martinez's injury and had little to do as Wales sought to keep the ball to see out the win at that point. (3/10)

Marcio Vieira: The midfielder was the first substitute to be introduced, replacing Peppe shortly after the restart. He added a bit of pace in midfield, but also gave away a couple of unnecessary free kicks. (5/10)

Juli Sanchez: The striker was thrown on for the final four minutes in a last-gasp attempt to get back on level terms by Andorra, but his teammates were unable to set up a chance for him. (2/10)


Wales forward Gareth Bale (C) celebrates with teammates forward Simon Church (R) and defender Lewin Nyatanga after scoring a goal during the Euro 2016 qualifying round match against Andorra on September 9, 2014© Getty Images

WALES

Goal

Wayne Hennessey: It is hard to judge Hennessey's performance, as Andorra's only on-target effort was the penalty, but the keeper was sent the wrong way by Lima's spot kick. (4/10)

Defence

Chris Gunter: Gunter managed to get forward to help the attacking effort while also making a number of contributions at the back to complete a solid performance. (6/10)

Neil Taylor: The Swansea City man made a couple a important blocks, but his evening was marred early on by the costly mistake which gave Andorra the penalty. (3/10)

James Chester: On his debut, Chester showed promise going forward, linking up with Bale on a couple of occasions, while also taking care of his defensive duties. (7/10)

Ashley Williams: The captain seemed to struggle to get to grips with the artificial pitch, being caught out by some of the unusual bounces, but he did provide a threat up front during corners. (5/10)

Ben Davies: While quiet at the back, Davies was certainly involved higher up the pitch, setting up Wales's equaliser with a superb cross for Bale to head in. (7/10)

Midfield

Joe Allen: The Liverpool midfielder lost his temper a little in the first half, earning himself a booking, but he composed himself for the second half, working well with Bale and Ramsey to set up several goal-scoring opportunities. (6/10)

Andy King: King had a good chance to find the back of the net in both halves, being denied by a good block before misjudging a header. He tired towards the end though and was replaced with 15 minutes still to play. (5/10)

Aaron Ramsey: Ramsey's pace and footwork caused problems for Andorra from the start as he linked up well with Church and Bale, and could have been on the scoresheet himself on a couple of occasions. However, he was forced off in stoppage time with an apparent ankle injury. (7/10)

Attack

Gareth Bale: The Real Madrid playmaker showed why he is the most expensive player in the world, creating numerous chances and scoring with two superb finishes while continuing to push deep into stoppage time (9/10)

Simon Church: The only out and out striker to start caused problems for the Andorran defenders at the start of the match and worked well with Bale and Ramsey, but was taken off after just over an hour after appearing to tire. (6/10)

Substitutes

Joe Ledley: The midfielder replaced Church for the final half-hour and covered the entire pitch, making a block at the back before trying to turn the ball in from a corner down the other end a few minutes later. (7/10)

Emyr Huws: The youngster only came on deep into stoppage time to replace the injured Ramsey, and did not get chance to contribute. (2/10)

George Williams: Williams added plenty of pace up front inside the final 15 minutes after replacing King. (6/10)


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Wales forward Gareth Bale (C) celebrates with teammates forward Simon Church (R) and defender Lewin Nyatanga after scoring a goal during the Euro 2016 qualifying round match against Andorra on September 9, 2014
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Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

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Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

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Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
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Group D

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Q France France31205
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Group E

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Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

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Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


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