Coleman's Men March On
Wales pulled off one of the biggest, if not the biggest result in their history last night, as they knocked one of the favourites Belgium out of the Euros 3-1, with goals from Williams, Robson-Kanu and Vokes enough to see off the team ranked second in the world. Before we get to the game itself, a game that I always fancied Wales to do well in (see yesterday's blog), it needs to be said just how terrific this result is for Wales. Wales have only ever appeared in one other international tournament, the World Cup of 1958, where they reached the quarter finals. So appearing in their first tournament in nearly sixty years, to reach the semi-finals is nothing short of astonishing. Not if you've watched Wales play of course, but nevertheless, this is the best Wales have ever done at an international tournament.
As to the game itself, Wales were phenomenal. After a very shaky start, with Belgium dominating the opening twenty minutes and going 1-0 up, it looked as if it had the potential to be a very long night for the Welsh, And it was an absolutely incredible goal that put them behind, as Nainggolan hit a stunning 30 yard strike, which thundered past a helpless Wayne Hennessey. That, coupled with a big early chance for Carrasco, meant that Wales were lucky to still be in the game after twenty minutes.
But Wales showed incredible character, somehow managing to wrestle their way back into the match, and moreover into control of it, and Neil Taylor had a glorious opening after brilliant play from Ramsey on the right set him up on the penalty spot, but he fired straight at Courtois. It looked only a matter of time until Wales scored, and score they did, as wonderful movement off a Ramsey corner freed up captain Ashley Williams to bury a header into the bottom corner, a corner that De Bruyne should have been covering. Excellent from Wales, shocking from Belgium.
And with Wales looking the better side at half time, Wilmots showed his true tactical ineptitude by bringing off Carrasco and sticking on Fellaini, pushing De Bruyne out wide and solidifying Wales' control. Belgium started the second half well, with two decent headed chances for Lukaku, one after a mistake from Williams and the other brilliantly denied by Williams, who had a terrific evening overall.
But then Wales began to move through the gears, and their second goal was truly incredible. A glorious pass from Bale picked out a brilliant run from man of the match Ramsey, who played a lovely little pass into Hal Robson-Kanu. It looked as if Robson-Kanu had to just slide it into the path of Taylor, and that's what the defenders thought too, until Robson-Kanu pulled off a magnificent Cruyff turn that left him one on one, followed by a cool finish. One of the best goals of the tournament, and a goal worthy of winning any game, let alone a European quarter final.
But there was more to come. Belgium got going yet again, but Wales defended heroically, albeit riding their luck as Belgium should have had a penalty and Ben Davies was lucky to stay on the pitch. But they deserved their luck and when Chris Gunter broke down the right, and popped a cross right onto the head of substitute Sam Vokes, who fired a beautiful header past Courtois to seal the win, there were scenes of ecstasy.
Belgium overall played into Wales' hands. They struggled to find coherency and team unity, and as they have for large swathes of the tournament, looked like a team of individuals, admittedly some of those individuals world class, rather than a solid team, due to Wilmots being a pretty poor manager and truthfully, Belgium only possessing a handful of truly world class players, De Bruyne, Hazard and Alderweireld amongst them. But that doesn't take away from how impressive Wales were. Robson-Kanu, Williams and Ramsey in particular were just amazing, but the whole team deserves credit for how well they played.
They meet Portugal in the semi-finals on Wednesday, and that's a game that you'd have to say that they are favourites for.
Portugal Push Through
And speaking of Portugal, they also remain in the European Championships, reaching the semi-final stage with a penalty shootout win over Poland. As predicted, this was a tight, tense game, with both teams showing flashes of quality, and lots of hard graft. It was the perfect start for Poland, as Grosicki's low cross arrived at the feet of Robert Lewandowski, who fired home to give Poland an early lead. This, you felt, was the perfect thing for the game, as it would force Portugal out of their shells in a way that Croatia failed to do. And indeed, Portugal didn't look like breaking down Poland, until a wonderful strike from Renato Sanchez took a big deflection that sent the ball flying into the back of Poland's net, and allowed Portugal to revert back to their natural, defensive game plan.
But it was Portugal nevertheless who were able to carve out one or two really good chances, and Ronaldo somehow managed to continue his run in this tournament of missing easy chances. Eventually, inevitably, the game ended up at penalties, and at this point it would be fair to argue that neither side really deserved to be in the semi-final of the competition. But, that's how the draw worked out, and both Poland and Croatia have failed to break down a Portugal side that have defended well in the knockout stages.
And on the penalties themselves, it was a masterclass in penalty taking from both teams, with seven magnificent penalties before poor Jakub Blaszczykowski was the man to miss. You have to say, out of everyone to miss a penalty, you would have wanted it to be anyone else, as Blaszczykowski has endured some really tough patches in his career and has done so well to come back, so it's heartbreaking that he was the one to cost his team the match. But that's how football works sometimes. And it's Portugal who are through to the semis.
The Hard and Fast Section
- I'll cover it properly tomorrow but Roooooooot.
- Murray in cruise mode.
- Novak looks rattled. Could be out.
- JENSON BUTTON. YOU HERO.
- And Lewis with a great chance to catch Rosberg tomorrow.
- Oh and congrats to Mark Cavendish.
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