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You are here: Home / Sports / Euro 2016 Quarter-Finals Belgium v Wales Open Thread

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46Comments

  2. 2.

    SRW1

    On paper this should be Belgium and the Red Devils appears to have found their groove. However, these two teams were opponents in the qualification to Euro2016 and Wales took four points off Belgium.

    In addition, both teams are counterattacking teams and who scores the first goal might be decisive. If Wales steal one they might be tempted to stage a hold-off for the rest of the game.

    And Belgium can’t find the net with three chances.

  3. 3.

    Tony J

    Whoop! The Belgians are going at the Welsh goal like Poirot at a guilty widower, or, er, like Van Damme at Tong Po.

    But the Welsh are proving more than willing to get forward with real threat whenever they can.

    Good game.

  7. 7.

    Tony J

    Aarrrgghhh! What a frigging shot that was. Textbook.

    Get back at them Wales, nothing’s really changed. You still need to score, and it’s going to stay open because I don’t think this Belgian team really wants to play defensively.

  10. 10.

    Origuy

    One of the announcers mentioned that this is practically a home game for Belgium. It’s near Lille, practically on the border.

  11. 11.

    Tony J

    What a save by the man who could not look more Belgian. Thought that was in. Come on, Welsh Boys.

  14. 14.

    SRW1

    Didn’t know they have a scrum now in football.

    This is not going how I suspected. Wales equalize.

  16. 16.

    Tony J

    Apparently I was entirely wrong and Belgium – are – trying to play defensively, which has totally blown up in their faces. If you’ve got an Eden Hazard in this vein of form in your team whyblow hell wouldn’t you try to get forward hunting as many goals as possible?

  17. 17.

    SRW1

    The Belgian defense is surprisingly poor on corners. If they keep this up, they might catch another goal.

  19. 19.

    Tony J

    Phew. You know you’ve been watching a good game when 45 minutes seems to whiz by in 15.

  22. 22.

    pseudonymous in nc

    Oh, c’mon, that turn fooled everyone in the ground. Cracking match.

  24. 24.

    J R in WV

    Yr wyf yn gobeithio y Belgiaid yn ennill, Mae gen i ffrind yno, ac nid wyf yn gwybod unrhyw bobl Cymru.

  25. 25.

    Tony J

    I really thought this game was going to be 90 minutes of Belgian pressure and Wales trying to snatch something through Bale on the break, but it hasn’t been like that at all. Wales are beating the Belgians in a straight up football game and looking good for their lead.

    OTOH Belgium have had their chances.

  31. 31.

    humboldtblue

    @Tony J: Wales took four points from the Belgians in qualifying. It’s one reason I don’t consider the Iceland win over England as earth-shattering, Iceland took six points from the Dutch and hod proven they can play with anyone. Wales is the same.

  32. 32.

    SRW1

    Belgium got beaten fair and square.

    ETA:
    Is there a way for the Welsh to bottle that kind of spirit for their English colleagues?

  33. 33.

    humboldtblue

    Man, that’s a big win for Wales

    And I guess that Gareth Bale dragon song actually has some mojo.

  35. 35.

    humboldtblue

    @SRW1:

    Yes they did, and Wales has shown over and over again that they will play to their strengths and not fold.

  36. 36.

    Tony J

    @humboldtblue:

    I think I said back at the start of the tournament, there’s no whipping boys these days, even the ‘little’ teams can win by being defensively strong and taking whatever chances they can grab at. But this isn’t like that.

    When England beat Wales they played to hit on the break and just couldn’t defend for 94 minutes, tonight they went toe to toe with a team that many people were touting as likely tournament winners, on paper the second best side in the world, and they beat them on their own terms. This wasn’t an upset because Wales refused to let Belgium be the ‘big’ team, they were immense.

    With the England-Iceland game the Icelanders already proved they were a hard defending, fast hitting team, we knew that. What was ‘earth-shattering’, and what most English supporters supporters have been lacerating the players for, was the pathetic way England froze and collapsed in the 2nd half. Losing would have been one thing, we can take that, but we didn’t even compete. Humiliating capitulation of that nature was the surprise.

  37. 37.

    Tony J

    @petesh:

    Yeah, unfortunately a majority of Welsh voters were just as stupid and self destructive as 52% of English voters. They voted Leave.

    Gobshites.

  39. 39.

    Calouste

    Guardian live blog of this match in Welsh.

    GÔL! GÔL! GÔL! GÔL! GÔL! 2 – 1

    54 munud: FI ‘DI COLLI FE YN HOLLOL DRYCHA AR HYNNY WAW WAW WAW WAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW Hal Robson-Kanu, ti’n biwti!

  40. 40.

    Tom Levenson

    @Calouste: Isn’t “W” a vowel in Welsh? Sort of a soft “oo”? So, transliterated, OOAOO, OOAOO, OOAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (or summ’at)

  45. 45.

    humboldtblue

    @Hawes: That’s a bit unfair to Belgium, a team that played this game without three of its best defenders. Belgium was far more than just a gathering of stars, Hazard and De Bruyne worked tirelessly, Nainggolan filled the space between those two very well and Vermaelen and Verthongen are on the field that defense looks a lot different.

    Their dismantling of Hungary showed that they had gelled very nicely and other than the opener against Italy, Belgium displayed class in attacking down the flanks and through the middle and a mistake by a defender with three caps cost them the lead to the roaring dragon. The Belgians are young and aren’t finished yet and they have an outstanding core to build around and if I call out Wilmots for anything it’s that he didn’t use Origi when he wanted more in attack.

  46. 46.

    J R in WV

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Diolch!

    Google translate is a lot of fun. I was sad to see they don’t do Flemish… which I know is somewhat like Dutch, only not. So I was stuck with Welsh… for the grins.

    ;-)

    So, was this soccer?

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