Shilton: Portugal’s class will be too much for Wales

Wales have surprised a lot of people, including myself. I didn’t rate them coming into the tournament because I thought they were just a one-man team, but the more you look at them the more you have to admire their 3-5-2 set-up and their teamwork. I think the manager Chris Coleman has done a terrific job and they’ve grown in stature and belief as the tournament has gone on.

Chris has got the best out of his players with the system he plays and they don’t let teams go through the middle of them. They are good at defending balls coming into the box and you have to be wary of leaving space in behind because Hal Robson-Kanu is always on that last defender looking for balls coming in over the top ready to run onto. That means teams can’t afford to play too high up the field because of their pace.

They’ve got one world class player, who is a great leader, in Gareth Bale and another very good player in Aaron Ramsey, who has had a terrific tournament but is sadly suspended for the semi-final. I think that will be a big blow for them, but the rest of the players have been giving their maximum and will continue to do so, including Joe Allan who is just as industrious in midfield as Ramsey.

When you get to the semi-finals however, I think you’ve got to say Portugal are still the favourites.

They’ve been vulnerable at the back and have given a lot of goals away. They should have won a couple of their group game draws and probably could have avoided letting Croatia take them to extra time or Poland take them to penalties. In that way they have been very fortunate.

They have a soft underbelly but are very talented going forward. They’ve got two very special players in Ronaldo and Renato Sanchez, who for me has been the find of the tournament. Both have the ability to make things happen and get goals out of nothing.

I’d give Portugal the edge but it wouldn’t surprise me if Wales completed their miracle either. Chris has made it very clear that he’s not just here to say ‘we’ve done well to get this far’, he wants to win it. I just think Portugal will have too much class.

Anything can happen at this stage of the tournament however, and Wales have proven they can pull off a surprise.

They’ve come back from being under the cosh a few times and have that fighting spirit to get goals. They are quite capable of defending for their lives and breaking away to get goals against the run of play like they did against Belgium and that could easily happen again against Portugal.

It’s great to see a British team doing so well and it’s great to have a team like Wales coming so far as upsets are good for the tournament but normally class tells at the end of the day.

In the other semi-final, I think Germany made a rare error to concede a penalty that gave Italy the equaliser and to miss three penalties in the shoot-out was also very un-German-like. It’s a mystery to see them wobble like that but Italy are a tough opponent and Germany still look like the best team in the tournament. France will be a tough nut to crack, they’ve got plenty of talent and will be strong at home. But Thomas Mueller hasn’t scored yet and while he has been in struggling form, could still be their ace in the hole against France — and in the final. It goes without saying that whoever wins between Germany and France looks nailed on to become champions — and my money is on Germany.

— Peter Shilton OBE is the global ambassador for Seattle Sports Sciences, Inc. and brand ISOTechne. For more information, visit www. isotechne.com