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After Wales overtook England for the first time ever in the FIFA Rankings yesterday, they topped it off with a 1-0 win over Cyprus to move one step closer qualifying for Euro 2016. Gareth Bale’s goal late in the second half was enough for the Welshmen to move three points clear of Belgium after seven games.
Bale scored in the 82nd minute to spark wild celebrations in the Welsh camp. The move started from a throw-in for the Welsh side as an unmarked Jazz Richards made a run towards the box. It was a cross from the right-back from the edge of the box that helped the Real Madrid forward find the back of the net with a fantastic header from near the penalty spot. The goalkeeper had no chance to save the effort as the ball went into the right top corner.
They had earlier had a David Edwards goal disallowed when he scored in the 27th minute. The midfielder had headed home Bale’s cross, but the referee blew the whistle and pointed to Hal Robson-Kanu who had pushed a defender to the ground in the box, preventing him from intercepting the cross.
Wales are still undefeated in the Euro 2016 qualifiers, topping Group B with 17 points. Belgium are in second place with 14 points, followed by Israel on nine points. If Wales manage to top the group or finish second, they will qualify for a major international tournament after a gap of 57 years.
If they finish third, they may still have a chance depending on their points or qualifying via a playoff with other teams who finished third in their respective groups. With only three games remaining in the qualifiers and Wales playing two matches at home against Israel and Andorra (Wales won both the away matches), the group leaders look highly unlikely to lose their way.
Wales have also gone four matches without conceding a goal and a total of 414 minutes in qualifiers. And they are the only team to have kept five clean sheets in the Euro 2016 qualifiers so far.
