We could just rehash all the good old stereotypes about the rivalry, dislike, David vs Goliath stories that so often surround any sporting occasion involving England and Wales.
But for this meeting between the two countries, the bragging rights will remain firmly in the stands as the fans can, will and should have their fun.
For the Welsh team though this is not a one-off match. It’s the last in a series of three tests every four days against the best opposition a global tournament could throw at them.
A chance to see and learn how the great and the good of the women’s game play close up, to soak up the differences, to mitigate the mistakes you normally get away with and to push yourselves physically to a place you may not have been to on a football pitch before.
Rhian Wilkinson, the Wales manager, and her coaches are not the sort of people to provide worthless soundbites. Wilkinson is here to make Wales better than they were yesterday, last week, last year and to push harder in the coming months and possibly years to come to get Wales regularly to Euros and World Cups.
Away from the elite squad, the aim is to grow the player pool, broaden the talent so that a small nation Wales may be, but they have a structure and pathway as ambitious and productive as say… an England.
Wales won’t have a game-plan to just block England, to place 11 behind the ball and frustrate, dare I say irritate England. What would that achieve? A battling 0-0? I can tell you now that won’t get anyone roaring with delight.
A 0-0 vs England – so what? Wales would prefer 4-4. They would learn a lot more from defeat to an England side giving it all both defensively, but attacking with purpose and belief as well.
If anyone has actually been listening to Wilkinson (which I have) she’s been leaving rather unsubtle clues throughout the Euros that she’d rather lose 4-1 – as they did to France – but going toe-to-toe with the best of the best for huge chunks of the game, having the temerity to score and rattle the giants of the women’s game. That’s how to learn, to progress, to be better, to prepare for a grander future.
It’s an admirable, but also a challenging attitude to have and if after the game against England, Wales stats read ‘played three, lost three, doubtless many will say ‘well they just lost the lot, got tonked… they’re rubbish.’ That’s okay, but that would be from a position of ignorance.
Don’t expect Wales to beat England. Expect Wales to be better than they were against the Netherlands, better than they were against France. Demand that, yes.
If they do somehow pull off a miracle victory, quite rightly Wales will celebrate and it may well be their finest performance and result against a top tier nation ever, but something will be very wrong in the England camp.
For Wales to emerge with a future looking bright, it’s about a good England team turning up and Wales competing as equals for long as they can, and if that’s 90 minutes, well then the Wales fans will have even more fun than they’ve already had during their time out in Switzerland.
Only after the match has ended and the players and coaching staff let the adrenaline and emotions subside will a clearer picture of these Euros emerge for Wales. The players will know if they’ve done a good job then and it won’t require them to beat their nearest and not-so-dearest neighbours England.
Bigger picture now. Brighter future.