2) Joe Allen
Wales produced one of their finest performances on the world stage at the Stade de Toulouse on Tuesday night as they romped home to a convincing 3-0 win over Russia. Surprisingly, it wasn’t their talisman, but a certain diminutive powerhouse in the centre of the midfield who ran the show.
Joe Allen produced a complete performance, orchestrating the Welsh musical as the Liverpool man patrolled the midfield with such calmness and authority, fully encapsulated and capped off with the exquisite through ball to Aaron Ramsey for Wales’ opener. Dare I say it, almost Pirlo-esque!
Northern Ireland have often shown a tendency to start with a compressed three-man midfield, which could mean room in the centre of the park may be hard to come by. As such the ability of Allen to constantly strangle, press and switch play with his impressive passing range could be the key factor in creating space for Wales to exploit.
