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Can Aaron Ramsey lead Wales to the knockout stages?

Wales will feature at the European Championship for the very first time this summer after Aaron Ramsey and Real Madrid star Gareth Bale inspired Chris Coleman’s side through the qualifying campaign.

During the preliminary rounds, Wales went toe-to-toe with some of the best sides in Europe, including Belgium and Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Welsh will be quietly confident of causing an upset or two this summer.

At the time of writing, Coral are pricing Wales at 4/6 in their Euro 2016 bet markets to advance past the group stages and it would take a brave man to back against them – especially with Ramsey and Bale playing at their very best.

However, it could be argued that Wales’ success this summer will be built on their defensive foundations, particularly if captain Ashley Williams is on-song. The Swansea City defender has been rested specifically with this summer’s competition in mind and Wales should benefit from his added freshness at the back.

Earlier this year, Wales showed they can cope without Ramsey and Bale in their international friendlies with Ukraine and Northern Ireland.

While they weren’t at their brilliant best, Wales showed plenty of grit and created enough opportunities to suggest they may be a force this summer – even if Ramsey and Bale fail to up their game. After all, Wales are maturing into a well-organised, solid football nation.

A solid tip to bet on in Coral’s Euro 2016 bet markets is for Wales – priced at 19/5 – to beat England in Lens on June 16th. Coleman’s men were keen to avoid England when the draw was made but Wales will be fired up and ready to prove a point against their more experienced rivals.

If nothing else, Ramsey and Bale will cause problems for Roy Hodgson’s side and England will have to be at their best to keep the Welsh attack quiet. While Wales are much more than a two-man team, Aaron Ramsey’s contributions could be crucial to their chances of reaching the latter stages of the tournament.

The Arsenal midfielder has finished the campaign strongly and Welsh fans will be excited at the prospect of seeing Coleman’s men oust the English on their way to a successful tournament. They are certainly capable of beating all three of their Group B rivals and Ramsey may be expected to carry the burden of scoring goals alongside Bale.

It would be foolish to make any concrete predictions relating to Wales’ chances but you’d have to fancy them to pick up at least four points – which might be enough to advance to the next round. And while Gareth Bale will attract most of the attention after his impressive qualifying campaign, Aaron Ramsey could be Wales’ talisman at this summer’s tournament.