Bale, Ramsey, Robson-Kanu: What happened to Wales' Euro 2016 squad? | OneFootball

Wales' journey to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 was one of the headline stories of the tournament.

They emerged as a surprise dark horse contender but succumbed to the eventual winners Portugal having already overseen the challenge of Belgium in the quarter-finals.

Every member of the Wales squad emerged as a hero during that tournament, particularly those players that starred in the win over Belgium.

At the heart of the 3-1 victory was Hal Robson-Kanu, and he reflected on the scale of the achievement during his recent appearance on the High Performance Podcast.

"I think that for myself was 100 percent a massive pinnacle, not only in my career, but in mylife, said Robson-Kanu, who went on to talk up Gary Speed's revolutionary influence in tweaking every aspect of the Welsh footballing psyche ahead of the tournament.

"It was a it was a journey which ultimately stemmed over a decade because all of the squad which was there within the Wales team at Euro 2016, we'd played with or against each other for nearly 10 years, whether it was youth academy with the first-team football, Premier League football.

"And so we came together as a group, and I think the biggest moment was when Gary Speed took charge of the national team and he came in and he instilled a culture of high performance.

"He began looking at the finer details. What were we eating? How are we preparing? What was our travel like? What was our analysis like of the opposition? How did we tactically set up? How could we affect the opposition at international level.

"All of these individual elements he brought that culture into the group and into the squad.

"At that moment in time, we had come off the back of a culture which was, we accept to lose - we're a small nation and we haven't got the best players in the world."

Despite seemingly lacking the personnel to progress at Euro 2016, Wales proved to be the surprise package of the tournament.

But what happened to the Wales squad after the dust settled on their historic tournament?

Here, GIVEMESPORT look at where the 23 players are now...

Wayne Hennessey

The 34-year-old goalkeeper is due to be released by Crystal Palace in July following a seven-and-a-half year stint at Selhurst Park.

Chris Gunter

Chris Gunter currently plays at right-back for Charlton Athletic.

Neil Taylor

Aston Villa are set to release Neil Taylor in July after four-and-a-half years with the Midlands outfit.

Ben Davies

Ben Davies, who remains a regular for the national side, remains at Tottenham Hotspur but found himself playing second fiddle to Sergio Reguilon in the 2020/21 season.

James Chester

James Chester played every minute of Wales' Euro 2016 campaign and remains a solid option for Stoke City in the Championship.

Ashley Williams

Ashley Williams retired from football in January earlier this year and has featured as a pundit for Wales' fixtures during Euro 2020.

Joe Allen

Wales continue to rely on Joe Allen's industry and technical attributes in central midfield despite his struggle to earn game time with Stoke at club level.

Andy King

The former Leicester City midfielder now plays his football for OH Leuven in Belgium.

His last appearance for Belgium arrived in 2018.

Robson-Kanu's contract at West Bromwich Albion is due to expire in July this year and it remains to be seen what his next step will be, while he retired from international football in 2018.

Away from football, Robson-Kanu is the CEO of The Turmeric Co.

Aaron Ramsey

One of the best footballers in Wales history continues to provide energy at the heart of Robert Page's midfield but his club career has stagnated somewhat since he joined Juventus.

Gareth Bale

Like Ramsey, Gareth Bale remains a key player and his club career is also up in the air following his season-long loan at Tottenham Hotspur.

Owain Fon Williams

The 34-year-old goalkeeper plays for Dunfermline in the Scottish second tier and is unlikely to build on his single cap for Wales.

George Williams

four goal contributions in 19 games during 2020/21.

David Edwards

David Edwards is set to join Welsh outfit Bala Town in July as he winds down his career at 35 years of age.

Jazz Richards

Having spent the best part of a year as a free agent following his release by Cardiff City in July 2020, Jazz Richards joined Haverfordwest in March 2021 and remains without an international cap since 2018.

Joe Ledley

Joe Ledley made just four appearances for Newport County last season and is being released when his contract expires this month.

David Cotterill

David Cotterill will be released by Barry Town at the end of June.

Sam Vokes

Sam Vokes played 30 matches for Stoke in 2020/21 without scoring a single goal, so it's no surprise he hasn't played for Wales since 2019 and didn't earn selection for Euro 2020.

James Collins

The legendary West Ham centre-back retired from the game in October 2020 and finished his career with 51 international caps.

Jonny Williams

Jonny Williams remains part of the Wales setup for Euro 2020 despite struggling for game time at Cardiff City following his move from Charlton on 1 February 2021.

Danny Ward

Despite hardly featuring for Leicester City last season, Danny Ward is Wales' number one at Euro 2020 and has started all three matches so far.

David Vaughan

David Vaughan retired from football in July 2019 following a one-year spell at Notts County.

Simon Church

Like Vaughan, Simon Church also called time on his career not too long after 2016 as he hung up his boots following a six-month stint with Plymouth Argyle in 2018.

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