Ben Davies - Wales and Tottenham Hotspur's Reluctant Star

Ben Davies is the textbook definition of an unser the radar unsung hero, reluctant star. He has been the rock around which Wales' defence is built with their 4-1 victory against Finland being a testament to that and is also Tottenham's longest-serving current player,  yet Davies is not celebrated like some of his peers have been.

This can be partially attributed to style of play of  the 30-year-old, who is happy to do the dirty work, carry out the basics right and let the likes of Gareth Bale and Harry Kane run the show and do all the flashy stuff while he plays a crucial supporting act without his attack minded counterparts wouldn't have had the freedom to flourish especially in an expensive attack minded side like Tottenham.

As much as he tries to be a modest professional and tries to deflect in excessive praise coming his way, even he can't deny the fact  that his qualities and presence as a centre back and at times at left back has been invaluable for both Wales as well as Spurs.

There was the goal-saving clearance against Slovakia at Euro 2016, without which Wales dream to qualify for the semi-finals may never have got off the ground but Ben Davies  was their to steer them to the next knockout round.

Then there was the Champions League semi-final in 2019. It was his interception which in turn led to Tottenham's last-gasp winner and was instrumental in inspiring one of the most dramatic comebacks of all time.

Now Davies wears the captain's armband for his country - albeit in the absence of regular skipper Aaron Ramsey - it is a little harder for him to go unnoticed.

In Davies, they have someone who oozes of consistency and calm authority, a player and a character every team would live to have in their locker room.

Davies life to his international career wasn't  easy as he had had to come in to Coleman's squad after their previous boss speed ended up passing away and they have had endured terrible results  for quite sometime. Earlier not only qualifying for Euro 2016 but also reaching it's semi-final which included a sort of a mini golden generation consisting the likes of Jor Allen, Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and of course Ben Davies with Ben getting capped 80+times for Wales in his almost 12 years with the senior Welsh squad.

Apart from that Ben Davies is now Tottenham's longest-serving current player, with more than 300 appearances to his name and ever since broke though at Swansea in 2012, the only way for him has been up. He is also a born leader as well as an intelligent footballer as apart from the game he has a an Open University degree in business and economics - graduating with a 2:1 after studying for five years alongside taking care of his on the pitch related duties. He is someone who always tries to learn and betters himself whether it's in his younger days from the likes of Tate or Britton or attending FT Business of Football summit, as an observe. He is surely a well rounded Individual  who could potentially take Wales over the line this time.

For someone who in his early days at Swansea was jokingly known as "wind-down windows" guy thanks to the then Swansea defender Ashley Williams who loved his cars, he has done just about enough to carve out a pretty respectable career for himself.

Cover Credits - BBC