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The pre-match team photo is so innocuous and brief that it hardly even registers when watching it take place. Like players holding the hands of little child mascots when entering the field, it's just one of those things that happens. Don't question it, don't even think about it, let's just get it over with.
The starting XI gets in two balanced rows, the players in the back drape their arms over one another and everyone stares blankly into the camera for a moment. What’s the point of the exercise? Where does the photo end up? Who’s getting any joy from this photo op?
Well, apparently the Welsh national team is taking a great joy in this otherwise largely forgotten ritual. The Welsh appeared to have asked themselves a similar vein of questioning, namely, why in the hell are we doing this?
To spice things up and, for the first time ever, get people talking about this oft-forgotten exercise, Wales have turned their pre-match team photo into headline news. The Welsh have begun crafting their own contemporary art installations on the pitch, and there's something strangely striking about the glare of the heavily bearded Joe Ledley in the haphazard arrangement.
Five in the back, offset to the right. Photo: @TheFootballRep | Twitter
Four in the back, offset to the right. Photo: @TheFootballRep | Twitter
Four in the back, offset to the left. Photo: @TheFootballRep | Twitter
THREE IN THE BACK! Photo: @TheFootballRep | Twitter
Wales captain Gareth Bale, who has a knowing smile on his face throughout, has denied any kind of knowledge with regards to the formations, saying: “I don’t know what you’re on about.”
When asked if the team were just really bad at lining up, he said: “I think it must just be that, yeah.”
Following their sensational run to the semifinals of Euro 2016, Wales have stalled in their qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup. After opening with a resounding 4-0 victory over Moldova, they’ve since drawn matches with both Austria and Georgia.
(H/T: Wales Online)
Follow me on Twitter: @ConmanFleming
