England have been warned of the difficulty of dealing with Wales star Gareth Bale in Thursday's Euro 2016 clash by Carlo Ancelotti and Vincent Kompany, while manager Roy Hodgson has insisted that his players have prepared for the Group B encounter as they would for any other game.
Bale, 26, scored the opening goal in Wales' 2-1 win over Slovakia in their opening win of the tournament, and the Real Madrid forward's comments about Welsh pride in the build-up to the game have been the focus of much of the media attention.
"I'll put a stop to all discussions and questions regarding what Gareth may or may not have said -- I think they've had our answers," England manager Hodgson said, before adding that Bale could "rest assured" that England "don't kick people."
Bale scored 19 league goals for Real last season and his former manager Carlo Ancelotti believes there will be a lot of pressure on England holding midfielder Eric Dier to shackle the former Tottenham winger.
"I can see Wales using Gareth's pace on the counter-attack and while I expect England to have the control of the game that will always be a problem for them," Ancelotti told The Daily Telegraph. "Gareth's speed and power is very difficult to play against and a lot of the time he draws fouls very easily. Most of the time it will be Dier's responsibility to deal with Gareth."
"It is a good job that Dier is playing so well because there are plenty of things you have to watch with Gareth, as well as his pace and power. He can head the ball too, so be careful on crosses. And don't let him have too many free kicks around the area."
And Kompany, who faced Bale many times in the Premier League and also in the Champions League last term, agrees that reducing the space for Bale to operate in will be the key for England's chances.
"When those England defenders line up against Wales this afternoon, they will be thinking: 'We must deny him space. We cannot give him the chance to open his legs and run at us,'" Kompany said in The Times. "Bale is one of the best players in the world at that. With his power and acceleration, as well as his obvious quality on the ball, he thrives on space.
"In theory, that probably sounds quite easy: deny him space, get tight to him so that he is playing with his back to goal, facing the play, which is not his strength. But that is easier said than done because Chris Coleman, the Wales manager, has already thought of that.
"The Welsh game plan is based on doing everything to make sure that they get the best out of Bale. They defend quite deep, so that their half of the pitch is congested, and then they look to use Bale on the counterattack. And very often, it works."
The match kicks off at 3 p.m. local time in Lens, with Wales able to secure a spot in the tournament knockout stages with a win.