Gareth Bale to captain Wales in next month's Euro 2020 qualifiers
The Real Madrid forward will take the captain's armband back from Ashley Williams in next month's Euro 2020 qualifiers Azerbaijan and Belarus in Cardiff.
Ryan Giggs has announced his squad list for Wales' Euro 2020 qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Belarus in Cardiff next month. One of the surprise omissions is Ashley Williams, who is currently without a club after leaving Everton but is close to joining Bristol City. That means that Gareth Bale will take the captain's armband although Giggs has made it clear that Bale's captaincy will only be a temporary measure: "Ash still remains my captain; I spoke to him last week and he was fine about it - it wasn't a surprise to him. If he plays games, he will still be involved".
The rest of the list
The other news concerning the list was the return of Aaron Ramsey who missed June's meeting with Croatia and Hungary through injury. Manchester United newboy Daniel James will also be one of the names tio watch in next month's qualifiers in Cardiff. Giggs has also given two players their first call-up with the senior side - Swansea City defender Joe Rodon and Bristol City midfielder Joe Morrell.
Hungary top Group E
Wales take on Azerbaijan at Cardiff City stadium on 6 September and face Belarus at the same venue three days later. Both matches are crucial to their ambitions of making next summer's tournament. Wales sit fourth in Group E with just 3 points from three games, three points behind Slovakia and Croatia and trailing leaders Hungary by 6 points. The top two teams in each of the 10 groups will progress to the finals and will be joined by a further four teams who will qualify through the play-offs.
Wales squad
Wayne Hennessey (Crystal Palace), Danny Ward (Leicester City), Adam Davies (Stoke City), Chris Gunter (Reading), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Neil Taylor (Aston Villa), Connor Roberts (Swansea City), Ethan Ampadu (RB Leipzig), Chris Mepham (Bournemouth), Tom Lockyer (Charlton Athletic), James Lawrence (Anderlecht), Joe Rodon (Swansea City), Aaron Ramsey (Juventus), Joe Allen (Stoke City), Jonny Williams (Charlton), Harry Wilson (Bournemouth), Matthew Smith (QPR, on loan from Manchester City), Daniel James (Manchester United), Will Vaulks (Cardiff City), Joe Morrell (Lincoln City), Gareth Bale (Real Madrid), Sam Vokes (Stoke City), Tom Lawrence (Derby County), Ben Woodburn (Oxford United), Ryan Hedges (Aberdeen), Kieffer Moore (Wigan Athletic).