Wales are in dreamland, but the possibility of glory is starting to look very real indeed.
Chris Coleman’s side’s ruthless victory Belgium in Lille has rocketed them to their first ever semi-final in a major tournament. It’s just one of the underdog stories that have already made the knockout stages of Euro 2016 utterly compelling.
The boards of the Wales bandwagon are creaking and rightly so after an historic victory https://t.co/dHOiQtSI8J
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 1, 2016
What (thankfully) also seems to have, more or less, disappeared in the latter stages of the competition are headlines about ugly scenes of opposition fan violence.
Although Belgium’s travelling support can rightly feel disappointed that the so-called “golden generation” have yet again failed in their quest for silverware, they should be recognised for their great sportsmanship too.
The Belgians decided to pay tribute to Wales’s incredible performance by giving their fans a guard of honour as they departed the Stade Pierre Mauroy.
They applauded and shook the hands of the delirious supporters leaving the ground, which is much more like what we want to see in an international tournament.
Nice touch: #bel fans giving their #wal counterparts a guard of honour at Lille train station #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/Xddf08GLin
— PA Dugout (@PAdugout) July 2, 2016
Wales will take on Portugal in the semi, knowing that they’re potentially only 90 minutes away from a final in Paris that few would have predicted.
There’s also the small matter of Bale vs Ronaldo. Bring it on.
