Welsh football has reached new heights as the Dragons qualified for three out of the last four major tournaments. Gareth Bale has inspired several extraordinary qualifying runs on the spin, taking his beloved national team to the UEFA Euro 2016 semi-finals in the process.
Bale had his farewell from international football after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, leaving the stage for young guns keen to reciprocate his amazing work. As the Dragons are going through a tough process of adjusting to life without one of the best players in the nation's history, we believe it is the perfect time to recall some of the most memorable results the Welsh team has achieved in recent history.
‘Spoiler alert, some of the about-to-be-described moments may revoke special emotions’ said Herrin Kendrik, football expert at betting tips portal bettingtips4you, who has contributed to this article. Stay tuned and enjoy the list of the biggest Welsh results since the turn of the millennium.
4 – Wales vs Belgium 1-0 (12 June 2015) – 2016 Euro Qualifications
Wales entered the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign without an appearance at a major tournament since the 1958 World Cup. They made a decisive step for the qualification for the 2016 European Championship in France by beating star-studded Belgium 1-0 in Cardiff. The Belgians controlled the game from the kickoff but a sloppy and uncommon mistake from Radja Nainggolan cleared the path for Gareth Bale to break the deadlock midway through the first half.
The brave Welsh team managed to hold on to the lead and pick up a massive victory over the continent's heavyweights. The win launched the Dragons to the very top of Group B standings, three points above Belgium in second place. From that moment, the qualification felt inevitable. The rest is history.
3 – Wales vs Italy 2-1 (16 October 2002) – 2004 Euro Qualifications
The 2-1 win over Italy at the start of the 2004 Euro Qualifications is still considered one of the greatest in the nation's history. It was a special night at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff where the local crowd created an amazing atmosphere to provide a hostile environment for the 2000 Euro runners-up.
Simon Davies announced a beautiful night with an early 12th-minute goal but Alessandro Del Piero brought Gli Azzurri back on level terms by the half-time break. Nevertheless, Craig Bellamy had the final word, netting the much-wanted winner for the Dragons to launch them to the top of Group 9.
2 – Russia vs Wales 0-3 (20 June 2016) – 2016 Euro in France
A place in the knockout phase was on the line ahead of the final day fixtures in Group B of the Euro 2016 in France. European Championship debutants were the underdogs against Russia but they came up with a breathtaking effort to demolish the rivals 3-0 in a one-way street in Toulouse.
Aaron Ramsey opened the scoring 11 minutes in while Neil Taylor’s maiden international goal gave the Dragons a shocking two-goal advantage by the 20th minute of the encounter. Chris Coleman's men have never looked back since as they even confirmed the victory with a second-half Gareth Bale strike. In the other game of the group, England failed to dispatch Slovakia in a goalless draw, catapulting Wales to the very top of the section ahead of the knockout phase.
1 – Wales vs Belgium 3-1 (1 July 2016) – 2016 Euro in France
We intentionally started the article with Wales’ win over Belgium. It was a perfect introduction to what would happen a year later at the biggest of stages. Head coach Chris Coleman described it as the greatest display of the Welsh national team since the quarter-final clash with Brazil at the World Cup 1958.
And indeed it was a special one. Wales dispatched Belgium 3-1 in the Euro 2016 quarter-finals in Lille. They did so despite getting off to a wrong-footed start after Radjy Nainggolan’s early thunderbolt. What was particularly impressive is that Welsh goals came through the likes of Ashley Williams, Hal Robson-Kanu (who was without a club at the moment), and Sam Vokes. The reward came in the shape of an amazing semifinal clash against Portugal in a mouth-watering duel between Real Madrid's superstars Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo.
[ Main photo embedded from FAW Cymru ]