Aaron Ramsey wants to take Wales to the summit before Three Peaks Challenge

The Dragons took four points from their opening two Euro 2024 qualifiers in March.

Phil Blanche
Thursday 15 June 2023 16:15 BST
Wales captain Aaron Ramsey has a hectic week ahead of him with two Euro 2024 qualifiers and the Three Peaks Challenge (Adam Davy/PA)
Wales captain Aaron Ramsey has a hectic week ahead of him with two Euro 2024 qualifiers and the Three Peaks Challenge (Adam Davy/PA) (PA Wire)

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Aaron Ramsey is hoping to scale his next Euro 2024 qualifying challenge before climbing the three highest peaks of Scotland, England and Wales within 24 hours.

Wales skipper Ramsey will lead the Dragons into battle against Armenia and Turkey and then turn his attention to the National Three Peaks Challenge and ascending Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Yr Wyddfa on Wednesday.

The walking distance is 23 miles and total ascent 10,052 feet with a driving distance of 462 miles.

“I am fully focused on the Welsh games, but we get back and fly up to Scotland and start there first,” said Ramsey, who is embarking on the journey with 10 others to raise funds for the @its.neveryoucharity created in memory of six-year-old Hugh Menai-Davis who died from rhabdomyosarcoma in September 2021.

“The plan will be to do that and work our way down to Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa).

“It’s for a cause that’s really close to my heart as a good friend of mine lost his little one.

“So, I’ll be putting on my walking boots and trying to get my way up those mountains.

”Let’s just focus on these two games first, and get to the top of the table before the Three Peaks.”

I’ll be putting on my walking boots and trying to get my way up those mountains

Aaron Ramsey on his Three Peaks Challenge

Wales host Armenia in Cardiff on Friday before meeting Turkey in Samsun on Monday.

Rob Page’s side are looking to build on a promising start to the campaign in March when they took four points from two games, a 1-1 draw away to World Cup semi-finalists Croatia and a 1-0 home victory over Latvia.

Ramsey said: “We got off to a fantastic start after a difficult World Cup for many reasons.

“It was important for us to hit the ground running, away to Croatia. It has set us up quite nicely now and we’ve got some momentum going.

“But football can change very quickly and we’ve got to treat the Armenia game with respect.

“They’ve been dangerous in certain periods of their games, they scored a very good goal against Turkey for example.

“But it’s all on us. We are at home, fans behind us and we have a game plan.”

Wales are at full-strength with Brennan Johnson and Ben Davies back after missing the March qualifiers and Neco Williams cleared to play after breaking his jaw in April.

The Nottingham Forest full-back has taken a full part in training and manager Page confirmed that there was no need for him to wear a protective mask.

Williams’ Forest team-mate Johnson has been the subject of a reported £30million offer from Brentford and Page insisted it will not be a distraction for the 22-year-old forward.

Page said: “He is a great lad and he has got a great support network around him.

“I know his dad (David) – I used to play against him – and I know the messages his dad will be giving him.

“I was impressed with the way they conducted themselves in January when his head could have been turned.

“He could have had the opportunity to go to one of the so-called bigger clubs, and he didn’t. I thought he made the right decision for his future.

“He’s a level-headed lad, he’s sensible. His focus will be on this game on Friday.”

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