Players of Wales celebrate after scoring an equalizer during the UEFA EURO 2016 quarter final match between Wales and Belgium at Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille Metropole, France, July 1, 2016.
(Credit: EPA/ TIBOR ILLYES)
WALES 3 : 1 BELGIUM
Welsh football history was made in Lille tonight as goals from Ashley Williams, Hal Robson-Kanu and Sam Vokes negated an opener from Radja Nainggolan and pushed Wales to a historic 3-1 win over Belgium to advance to its first ever semi-finals of a major tournament.
It was a night of glory for Wales but for a while it seemed that the performances that got Wales and Belgium into the quarterfinals of Euro 2016 would be indicative of the outcome.
While the Belgians dismissed Group F winners Hungary in a 4-0 thrashing, the Welsh struggled to squeeze by Northern Ireland, which finished third in Group C, in a 1-0 win where the only goal was an own goal.
But previous matches aren’t taken into account and matches aren’t won on paper.
The Belgians created the first moment of danger seven minutes into the match and six minutes before Naingollan’s goal, missing not one, not two, but three chances to open the scoring.
A great move started and finished by Eden Hazard found Romelu Lukaku on the wing, who crossed it into Yannick Fernando-Carrasco, who struck his first shot in his first start at Euro 2016 against Wayne Hennessy. The rebound fell to Thomas Meunier, whose strike was blocked on the line before the rebound was taken by Hazard and deflected over the frame of goal.
Naingollan opened the scoring in the 12th minute, scoring his second goal of the competition in the same way as the first — a rocket of a strike from 30 meters out.
Wales was not shaken, reacting positively as it sought the equalizer it would find at the half-hour mark through captain Ashley Williams. The center-back found space in the heart of the Belgian penalty area and powered a perfectly weighted cross off a corner from Aaron Ramsey past Thibaut Courtois to knot the match at one.
The sides exchanged opportunities for the final quarter of an hour of the half but entered the intermission with the score even.
Belgium entered the second half aggressively looking to retake the lead, earning three chances in the first five minutes it was unable to turn in. First, it was Lukaku flashing an open header wide off a great cross from Menier. Then it was De Bruyne hitting it inches over the cross bar a minute before Hazard cut inside and curled it just wide.
What Belgium failed to do at one end, Wales did at the other.
Hals Robson-Kanu, who scored the winner against Slovakia in the group stage, received a cross from Ramsey at the heart of the area. With his back to goal and three defenders surrounding him, he flicked the ball behind him into space and slipped it into the corner past Courtois to give the Welsh their first lead of the match.
Wales threatened a pair of times shortly after but the momentum quickly shifted back to the Belgians. Controlling the majority of possession and pushing forward, they struggled to create anything resembling danger for Hennessy until the 74th minute.
De Bruyne whipped in a ball near the six-yard box which found Marroune Fellaini, a halftime substitute from Belgian manager Marc Wilmots to establish presence in the area and midfield. The Manchester United midfielder should’ve scored from so close as he’s done countless times before, but missed well wide.
The pressure only mounted higher from there onto the Welsh defense, but it didn’t crack, getting a head and foot in just enough to keep danger away. They got lucky to not have Ben Davies get sent off for a second yellow when his blatant foul on Lukaku while he was running into acres of space in the penalty area wasn’t called by referee Damir Skomina.
As Belgium attempted to chip away at the deficit and equalize through one of the many chances it was creating, the Welsh decided to crash the Belgian’s hopes to the ground the minute it found the chance.
Sam Vokes put the match out of reach with a crashing header in the 85th minute, flicking a cross from Chris Gunter past Courtois to all but guarantee Wales its first ever place in the final four of a Euro.
The final minutes were more out of necessity than anything, Belgium not threatening to reduce the deficit, let alone equalize.
When the final whistle blew, so did the roof off of the Stade Pierre Mauroy as Wales made history.
Next up for Gareth Bale and Wales is Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal. But before thinking about that, the players will join their fans in belting the song that rang around the stadium following the final whistle — “Please don’t send me home.”
Follow Brian Fonseca (@briannnnf) on Twitter for updates on Euro 2016.
