Wales 1 Belgium 0
It will go down as one of the most famous victories in the history of Welsh football and the moment when the dream of qualifying for a major finals for the first time since 1958 moved a step closer to reality. Gareth Bale’s 17th international goal, on a raucous night in the Welsh capital condemned Belgium to their first defeat since losing in the World Cup quarter-finals last summer and allowed Chris Coleman and his players to take control of Group B.
With four qualifying fixtures remaining, Wales are five points clear of third-placed Israel and they still have two home games to come, including the visit of Andorra. Coleman will be at pains to stress his players have achieved nothing yet but this group of players are on the cusp of something special.
Wales have now taken four points off Belgium, who are ranked the second-best team in world football, and it would take a catastrophic run of results to deny Coleman’s side a place in next summer’s finals in France.
Bale, as tends to be the case with Wales, delivered when it mattered most. His seventh goal in his last seven games for his country, after a dreadful error from Radja Nainggolan, was the difference on a evening that ended with the Real Madrid forward leaving the field to a standing ovation two minutes from time. It was some way to mark his 50th cap.
For all Belgium’s neat interplay at times and the pressure they exerted in the second half, Wayne Hennessey had few notable saves to make and Eden Hazard was unable to bend the game in the visitors’ favour. Wales, quite simply, refused to buckle in what was a courageous team performance.
Aside from that hugely impressive 4-3 victory in France on Sunday, Belgium’s preparations had not exactly been ideal. Marouane Fellaini, who scored twice in Paris, was forced to withdraw earlier this week with a groin problem, Nacer Chadli, the man down to replace him, picked up an injury in the final training session that ruled him out and then there was the curious row that broke out between Marc Wilmots and Schalke on the day of the game.
News that Schalke were no longer looking at Wilmots as their next head coach – a subject the 46-year-old had refused to discuss at his press conference the previous evening – and had instead decided to appoint André Breitenreiter, infuriated the Belgium manager to such an extent that he went public with his feelings not long before kick-off. “To leak a few hours before our so important European qualification game such messages – this is madness and very bad form,” Wilmots said. “I never asked Schalke for a job and that is why this is a bad joke.”
Wilmots may well have muttered the same choice of words to describe the header that gifted Bale the chance to put Wales in front. Quite what was going through Nainggolan’s mind when he tried to nod the ball back to Thibaut Courtois is anyone’s guess. The only thing that can be said for certain is that the Roma midfielder, who was stood well outside the penalty area at the time, had no idea that Bale was lurking on the edge of the six-yard box.
Even if Bale was totally unmarked and had plenty of time the Welshman made the rest look ridiculously easy as he took the ball down on his chest and in one fluid movement pirouetted to sweep a right-footed shot on the half-volley that slipped through Courtois’s legs. Cue delirium inside a stadium that was already bouncing.
It was a goal that came against the run of play, albeit one that Wales should probably have added to five minutes later when Toby Alderweireld’s poor clearance, after Courtois could only palm away Aaron Ramsey’s low shot, dropped at the feet of Hal Robson-Kanu.
The Reading striker, whose persistence on the left had led to the free-kick that Wales profited from to take the lead, snatched at the chance and his first-time effort slid the wrong side of Courtois’s near post.
By that stage Belgium had lost their way after making a bright start. Wales, for whom Jazz Richards was a surprise inclusion at right wing-back, looked nervous in those early stages and saw little of the ball. Nainggolan, following a neat one-two with Dries Mertens, curled a low effort that Hennessey was at full stretch to repel and two minutes later Hazard ought to have done better with a shot from just inside the area that was still rising as it cleared the crossbar.
Wilmots changed things at the start of the second half, replacing Mertens with Romelu Lukaku and switching to 4-4-2, and an onslaught followed. Kevin De Bruyne drilled narrowly wide, Alderweireld shot wildly over and James Chester and Ashley Williams threw their bodies in the way of anything and everything in a 15-minute spell when Wales were penned in their own half.
Joe Allen, already on a booking, could count himself a touch fortunate not to have been dismissed late on but there was nothing else lucky about this superb Wales display.
WALES: Hennessey, Gunter, Williams, Chester, Richards, Ledley, Taylor, Allen, Ramsey, Robson-Kanu (King 90), Bale (Vokes 87). Subs not used: Fon Williams, MacDonald, Church, Lawrence, Matthews, Vaughan, Cotterill, Henley, Ward. Booked: Allen.
BELGIUM: Courtois, Alderweireld (Carrasco 76), Denayer, Lombaerts, Vertonghen, Mertens (Lukaku 46), Nainggolan, Witsel, De Bruyne, Benteke, Hazard. Subs not used: Mignolet, Tielemans, Mirallas, Deschacht, Origi, Dembele, Vanden Borre, Chadli, Dendoncker, Gillet. Booked: Lombaerts.
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany).
Attendance: 33,280
(Guardian service)
