World Cup qualifier: Belgium v Wales
Venue: King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels Date: Monday, 9 June Kick off: 19:45 BST
Coverage: Live connected BBC One, S4C, iPlayer, BBC Radio Wales and Radio Cymru, the BBC Sport website and app, positive unrecorded substance commentary.
Kevin de Bruyne erstwhile said helium was "bored" with facing Wales, specified was the regularity of their games against Belgium.
The Manchester City midfielder made the remark successful 2022 arsenic Belgium were preparing to instrumentality connected Wales for the ninth clip successful 10 years.
Tongue successful feature arsenic the quip possibly seemed, De Bruyne mightiness person added that these meetings besides transportation a consciousness of dread for Belgians.
Despite Belgium's lofty satellite ranking and postulation of stellar talents, astatine 1 signifier during their decade-long rivalry Wales enjoyed a four-match unbeaten tally against their illustrious opponents, including 2 wins that fertile among the top successful their history.
In 2015, Gareth Bale's extremity secured a seismic European Championship qualifying triumph successful Cardiff which propelled Wales towards their archetypal large tourney for much than fractional a century.
Then a twelvemonth later, astatine Euro 2016 itself, Belgium – among the pre-tournament favourites – were blown distant successful Lille arsenic Wales stormed to an historical and euphoric 3-1 quarter-final triumph which took them to stratospheric caller heights.
"For maine it was 1 of the top games successful Welsh football," says Joe Ledley, who played successful some victories.
"I don't cognize what it is, they're conscionable 1 of those teams. Wales are a bogey squad for Belgium."
On Monday night, a decennary connected from that stirring triumph successful Cardiff – a nighttime that changed the people of Welsh shot – the 2 sides renew their rivalry with a World Cup qualifier successful Brussels.
Welsh shot had known anticipation before. Now determination was expectation.
Wales had not played astatine a large tourney since the 1958 World Cup but, with world-class players specified arsenic Bale and Aaron Ramsey successful their prime, determination was increasing content that the hold could soon beryllium over.
And aft years of hype and hypotheticals astir this aureate generation, Wales started their qualifying run for Euro 2016 successful a mode that suggested, this time, this was real.
Unbeaten successful their opening 5 matches, successful June 2015 Wales hosted a Belgian broadside ranked 2nd successful the satellite – and featuring the likes of Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and De Bruyne – having already held them to a goalless gully successful Brussels.
"We were going into that crippled not expected to win, but we worked truthful hard," says Ledley. "You privation to play against the champion players successful the satellite and, for me, Belgium was that team.
"Fitness levels were each implicit the place. A fewer of our players successful the Championship and League One were finished 3 weeks before. You could spot the ones who'd been distant connected a lads' holiday!"
If preparations were not ideal, Wales hid it good with a ferociously energetic and disciplined display.
Manager Chris Coleman had sprung a astonishment with his squad enactment arsenic helium started fringe Swansea City defender Jazz Richards astatine right-wing-back. Chris Gunter, who usually played there, shifted to the close of a backmost 3 for the archetypal clip successful his planetary career.
It proved to beryllium an inspired determination arsenic unneurotic they stifled the menace of that year's Premier League subordinate of the season, Hazard, connected Belgium's left.
"The full antiaircraft portion and team, each our roles and responsibilities were truly clear. We had spot successful whoever was playing successful each position," Gunter recalls.
"The purpose earlier immoderate run was to suffice and we ever said we needed to commencement 1 good and get immoderate momentum, truthful we had done that. Then it was 'right, if we're superior astir this, we person to instrumentality points disconnected the champion squad successful the group'.
"It had each the ingredients of a truly peculiar shot nighttime successful Wales. It was a Friday night, determination was rain, but it was lukewarm and the ambiance was incredible."
Wales delivered a show to lucifer the occasion, arsenic Bale fired past Thibaut Courtois successful the archetypal fractional to nonstop a heaving Cardiff City Stadium into raptures.
Belgium pressed for an equaliser but, inspired by the location crowd's spellbinding, impromptu rendition of the Welsh nationalist anthem, Wales clung connected for a heroic victory.
"The content aft that result, you could consciousness it, not conscionable with america players, but with the fans arsenic well, and you could consciousness we were connected the verge of qualifying," says Ledley.
"Fans play a monolithic part. I deliberation astatine Cardiff City Stadium that nighttime they carried america implicit that decorativeness line."
More than possible, this effect made qualification probable.
Even with their squad 3 points wide astatine the apical of the qualifying group, immoderate Wales fans inactive needed immoderate convincing.
After all, it had been 57 years since Wales had been to a large tourney and that barren play was littered with agonising tales of adjacent misses.
But this clip was different.
"There was a existent content wrong the changing country and the squad, and possibly for the fans it was much anticipation and desperation for america to bash it," says Gunter.
"I deliberation decidedly aft that win, everybody truly believed."
Victory successful Cyprus the pursuing September enactment Wales successful touching distance, lone for a goalless gully astatine location to Israel to hold the celebrations.
Once you person waited 57 years, though, a period does not look truthful long. Wales yet sealed qualification successful Bosnia-Herzegovina erstwhile they suffered their lone decision of the campaign, but had their spot successful France confirmed by Cyprus' triumph successful Israel.
As the rainfall poured down successful Zenica, Wales had their infinitesimal of catharsis, released from the shackles of their history, dreaming of the aureate summertime to come.
To beryllium Welsh successful France during Euro 2016 was to unrecorded a dreamlike existence.
Simply seeing the state play astatine a large tourney was capable for many. The opening triumph implicit Slovakia successful Bordeaux was glorious, and the dismantling of Russia successful Toulouse brought joyousness that fewer thought was possible.
After those group-stage victories and a tense second-round triumph implicit Northern Ireland, they were reunited with Belgium for a quarter-final successful Lille.
"Euro 2016 is inactive seen arsenic the large accidental for the aureate procreation to triumph a trophy," says Bart Lagae, a writer for Belgian paper De Standaard.
"They should person gone done and beaten Wales, astir apt beaten Portugal [the eventual champions]. Most feelings Belgians person astir Wales are based connected that nighttime successful Lille."
Among the pre-tournament favourites, Belgium thought they were astir to escaped themselves of their nuisance opponents erstwhile Radja Nainggolan enactment them successful beforehand with a stunning long-range strike.
"I deliberation the crushed we started a spot dilatory is due to the fact that a batch of america were astir apt inactive hungover from the Northern Ireland game," Ledley jokes.
"Maybe the unit and the hype got to us. But erstwhile we conceded, you could spot the unit merchandise and past we conscionable came retired of our shells and perfectly destroyed them."
Ashley Williams headed Wales level soon earlier half-time, haring implicit to observe with his team-mates and coaches connected the seat truthful rapidly that helium clocked his fastest moving velocity of the tournament.
This was nary fluke, though. Wales missed respective chances to instrumentality the pb earlier Hal Robson-Kanu, without a nine having been released by Reading, scored a extremity to fertile among the finest successful European Championship history, bamboozling Belgian defenders with a Cruyff crook and finishing with a flourish.
In the 85th minute, Gunter received the shot connected the close wing. Manager Chris Coleman was connected the other touchline, screaming – with immoderate amusingly concern language, a documentary aboriginal revealed – for the wing-back to instrumentality the shot to the country to discarded time.
Gunter, a pragmatic defender by nature, could not perceive those instructions, and it was conscionable arsenic good due to the fact that helium delivered the transverse of his beingness for Sam Vokes to caput successful Wales' 3rd goal.
"For sure, that was my champion cross," Gunter says with a bashful smile. "There weren't galore different bully ones!
"It's funny, adjacent present erstwhile you bump into antithetic radical from Wales, the much the years spell by, the much I've heard it [Coleman's quote].
"He was spot connected to archer maine not to transverse it. If that happened different 100 times, it's decidedly not going connected Vokesy's head. It was conscionable meant to be."
Wales were connected their mode to their archetypal semi-final. That was wherever their epic travel would end, with decision by Portugal, but what a thrust it was.
Since those landmark Welsh wins, the teams person met 4 times, with 2 draws successful Wales and 2 wins for Belgium connected location soil.
While Belgium person been wide regarded arsenic underachievers during that period, possibly unfairly erstwhile they finished 3rd astatine the 2018 World Cup, Wales built connected their 2016 occurrence by qualifying for the adjacent European Championships arsenic good arsenic their archetypal World Cup for 64 years.
By now, the teams look precise different; lone a fewer players stay from their respective aureate eras.
Bale and Hazard whitethorn nary longer beryllium around, but some sides person gradually ushered successful a caller age.
Belgium inactive boast a squad of enviable extent and quality, with Manchester City's Jeremy Doku among the emerging stars of caller years.
Their improvement has been uncomfortable astatine times, arsenic Friday night's gully successful North Macedonia demonstrated, a effect that made it 1 triumph successful 8 games for the Red Devils.
Belgium are six points down Wales with 2 games successful hand, and Craig Bellamy has made it wide his broadside volition beryllium going each retired for triumph successful Brussels, refusing to beryllium backmost and settee for a draw.
"Sometimes erstwhile you play a squad a lot, it tin really beryllium much challenging due to the fact that you person a shorter region of investigation successful betwixt matches, and you cognize each other," says Luke Benstead, Belgium's caput expert nether erstwhile managers Roberto Martinez and Domenico Tedesco.
"With the instauration of Craig Bellamy, you spot they've gone to different level, and you tin spot this is the benignant of manager that is forward-thinking, wants to beryllium connected the beforehand foot.
"Belgium besides person immense talent, large young players coming through, and I deliberation nary squad underestimates each other, nary substance however overmuch they play, and it'll beryllium a large contention with some teams going for it."
Iffy arsenic their caller signifier mightiness be, Belgium volition inactive beryllium favourites to triumph but, arsenic past has shown, that offers nary guarantees erstwhile they play Wales.
"Most radical deliberation Belgium should beryllium capable to triumph the game," says Lagae. "There's inactive a feeling of Wales arsenic a spot of a bogey team, they surely look to marque america play worse than we should beryllium capable to.
"They evidently had immoderate large players, but it wasn't Gareth Bale that nighttime [in 2016] but Hal Robson-Kanu, an chartless subordinate to astir and possibly each Belgians. I wonderment if determination volition beryllium different Robson-Kanu this time."
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