Not for the first time in his life, Gareth Bale has got it absolutely spot on.

The Wales players will have more passion this afternoon (Thursday) than the England ones. No matter how much Jack Wilshere and Adam Lallana and any other player they wheel out will say the correct things about being especially pumped up for their second Euro2016 Group game, it’s not true. It cannot possibly be.

The last occasion Wales beat England by more than a goal Margaret Thatcher was a year into the job. The time before that, Hitler was...

This is not rugby or collective singing, Wales are not and never have been a match for England, on paper or on grass.

When it comes to the footballing landscape of Great Britain, Wales is essentially the spare bedroom to the kitchen that is England – the hub of the house, the focal point, the most important.

Now do not get me wrong. I am in no way suggesting England will sweep Wales aside simply because we’re England. Quite the opposite in fact. Wales WILL be more up for it. They have everything to gain and very little to lose.

It’s like a fight between a big brother and pesky younger sibling. Of course the little one will be more up for it. They have spent years in the shadow and have a chip on their shoulder. They want their moment in the sun.

England players, in their heart of hearts, will be infinitely more fussed about locking horns with rivals like France, Germany or Spain... hey maybe even the absent attic that is Scotland than Wales.

Do you think Liverpool players sit there watching the FA Cup draw desperate to be paired against Tranmere? Neither do I. They’d much rather have Man United or at a push, Everton. This is just the same.

Bale’s pre-match tactics have been absolutely superb. He’s wound people up on the outside, he’s deflected away any negativity and probably inspired his own team-mates.

I’m sure he realises his claim that no England player would make the Wales team is nonsense, however it’s based on something. Wales have a very limited pool of players. That pool has been largely unchanged for a few years. It’s like a club set-up.

They have one world class player, two decent Premier League players in Aaron Ramsay and Ashley Williams and the rest... well, none of them would make the Championship team of the year.

I hoped we’d be talking about football only this week, but sadly it’s not been the case. What I struggle to deal with is the misapprehension that the hooligans rampaging around Marseilles are football fans in France to watch the tournament.

Threatening to ban Russia is not going to have any impact on the several hundred blokes who have travelled to France, not because the football is there, but because the football FANS are.

They don’t care that Harry Kane is taking rubbish corners or that Sterling couldn’t shoot a water pistol, they are there for their own tournament – an off-the-field one which involves striking fear into other nations and going home in a week or two safe in the knowledge that they are the most feared fans in the world.

To be honest that used to be important to a lot of people here too, but the world has moved on. It just moves a hell of a lot slower in Russia.