Taylor admits to Wales nerves

Swansea City’s Neil Taylor says there is an enormous amount of pressure on the two upcoming friendlies for Wales as Euro 2016 preparations ramp up.

Chris Coleman’s men booked their place in the tournament after finishing second behind Belgium, who are ranked number one in the world, in their qualifying group.

Just one defeat was suffered from 10 matches as Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale played a key role throughout the campaign, having bagged a brilliant seven goals.

Wales will take on Northern Ireland, who have also booked their place at Euro 2016, in a friendly on Thursday before going up against Ukraine four days later.

Both matches provide an opportunity for boss Coleman to experiment with his team and possibly give some of the fringe players a chance.

The likes of Tom Lawrence, George Williams, Lloyd Isgrove, Andrew Crofts and David Cotterill will all be hoping for a starting spot in at least one of the games to boost their chances of making the final squad.

Taylor, who has earned 26 international caps, is expected to feature heavily for Wales in France this summer but admits there is a lot of tension.

“I have to admit it is a nervous time,” he said. “People talk about friendlies as meaningless sometimes, but these are not meaningless.

“For the coaches that narrowing-down process to that 23 is under way and there are not many chances to lay down a marker between now and then.”

Wales, who are 51.00 to win Euro 2016, have been drawn in a tough group with Slovakia, Russia and England.

Coleman’s side open up against the Slovakians on June 11, with the Welsh 2.30 favourites to win. The draw is priced at 3.10 and Slovakia are 2.88.