I’ve spent the autumn decrying Welsh performances and I’m not going to change my tune on that after what we’ve seen tonight, but this was a result which will send shock waves through European football.
Before anyone says I’m going over the top there, after all we’re more than thirty places above North Macedonia in the world rankings, I’d say that our opponents are in a false position in the rankings because they were unbeaten in their seven group games up to now, they’d conceded three goals in that time and none at all in their three away games.
Tonight Wales scored as many goals as North Macedonia had conceded in those seven matches and in the second half we scored one more than that!
I still think Craig Bellamy made mistakes during the three international get togethers so far this season with, perhaps the biggest one being that Ethan Ampadu p;icked up a late booking on Saturday which ruled him out tonight when. there was absolutely no need for him to be on the pitch at that late stage of the game.
Indeed, there are those who say that none of the four Welsh players one booking away from a suspension against North Macedonia should not have been in the starting line up against Lietchtenstein figuring that we could have fielded a team without them whuch would have been good enough to win. I wouldn’t go that far, but the fact we were without Ampadu tonight just seemed so unnecessary.
However, Craig Bellamy quelled the criticisim tonight – it’s hard to imagine how he could have had a better game than he did as he got his selection right, won the tactical battle hands down and won by playing fast, exciting, attacking football.
Apparently, Wales’ biggest ever win was against Ireland in 1888 I think it was, but I can’t remember us scoring more than six in a game in the time I’ve been watching them play.*.
As mentioned above, tonight Craig Bellamy got his selection right. An unchanged back four in front of Karl Darlow had Josh Sheehan and Liam Cullen in front of them. I don’t think Sheehan has ever let Wales down and he didn’t tonight as, with Cullen pushing forward a lot, he was a single pivot where most were expecting two of them. Cullen, much maligned in some quarters, was intelligent and sharp In his movement and passing.
However, it was the four forward players who really put the North Macedonians to the sword. The Premier League quartet of Dan James, David Brooks, Brennan Johnson and captain Harry Wilson led the visitor’s defence a merry dance with their movement and interchanging of position. Bellamy said that Wilson played as a false number nine and it seemed to me that North Macedonia’S big defenders struggled in not having a specific opponent to mark. True, Johnson stuck primarily to the left and James the right, but they moved infield to good effect – especially when they both scored memorable goals.
Brooks and Wilson were simply too sharp and skillful for whoever was marking them – Wilson will get the headlines for his hat trick and he was superb, but so were five or six others in red.
The often frustrating Johnson took about a minute to show that tonight might be different as he broke clear of the defence, cut inside and his pass reached Brooks who volleyed a yard or so over. For a while, it looked like this would be an isolated example of effective Welsh attacking as North Macedonia looked to settle to their task, but that was all changed on eighteen minutes when Brooks was tripped in the penalty area as he moved on to a cute James pass.
Keeper Dimitrievski got a hand to Wilson’s spot kick but it was so well placed into the corner that it wasn’t strong enough to keep the ball out of the net. Three minutes later, Wales were in dreamland as Jay DeSilva sent Johnson clear with an astute pass and he pulled back a cross to around the penalty spot where Brooks hooked in a shot which went beyond the keeper with the help of a deflection.
Welsh euphoria disappeared within two minutes as Joe Rodon allowed Bojan Miovski to get beyond him and, with Darlow slipping as he came out, he was able to find the net easily.
A clever angled free kick by North Macedonia captain Bardhi had Darlow scrambling to turn it aside, but most of the action was up the other end, notably when Wilson linked up with Neco Williams and the full back’s shot brought a fine save out of Dimitrievski as he turned the ball onto the post.
The keeper had no chance a few minutes later though as Johnson again came infield and produced his best moment yet in a Wales shirt as his shot from twenty yards flew into the top corner. Once again, there was a deflection on the shot, but this one was so slight it made little difference to the trajectory of the ball.
What was supposed to be a tight, tense evening had produced a first half awash with goals and goalmouth action, but there was nothing to make Wales think the job was already done at 3-1.
Except, that’s not really true because North Macedonia came out and played as if they were a beaten side in the second half – don’t get me wrong, Wales were excellent, but the visitors were awful after the break.
Once Wales had scored a delightful fourth as they moved the ball forward to Brooks down the right who then found Wilson whose lovely back heel set up James for a simple finish, North Macedonia caved in.
With a quarter of an hour to go, Wilson won a free kick twenty yards out and there was almost a sense of inevitability about what happened next as he curled the ball in at the near post. Six minutes later, it was six when Wilson was fouled for a clear penalty which he converted to complete his hat trick.
Ronan Kpakio was one of the subs introduced for the closing stages and, with Dylan Lawlor on from the start, there was a third City representative as Isaak Davies got a first senior cap when he came on with just five minutes to go. However, that was enough time to get an assist as he flicked on a corner taken by another sub Sorba Thomas. Davies’ header was probably going in, but another sub, Nathan Broadhead applied the finishing touch from about two yards out to complete the scoring.
So, after what I reckon was one of the great nights in Welsh football (okay North Macedonia aren’t world beaters, but they’re also not mugs and are not in the habit of losing by any score, let alone 7-1), Wales now have a home Semi Final in the Play Offs and it’s being said on the match broadcast that we’ll be playing one of the Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Kosovo or Albania (subsequently, there was a change to that with Bosnia replacing Slovakia as possible opponents, but the matter will be cleared up whrn UEFA officially announce thise participating in the Play Offs today). Speaking for myself, I wouldn’t want to face the Irish, but wouldnt mind any of the others.
The under 19s led their mini league going into their final game today, but, despite a better second half showing, were always second best to Germany who ran out 3-0 winners. Jac Thomas started the game, while Mannie Barton and Noah Williams came on as subs. With USA beating Japan 1-0 in their last game, they won the tournament and Germany climbed above us on goal difference.
The under 17s went ten goals better than the senior team by beating Lietchtenstein 11-0 with City’s Paul Moreno scoring a hat trick, but a defeat against Slovenia in their first game cost them dearly as, despite their creditable draw with hosts Portugal in their second match, they finished third. The Portuguese won the group by beating Slovenian today leaving them in second place us in on a day when the Welsh senior side and one of their age group teams scored eighteen goals between them.
*Turns out Wales have scored seven in my time supporting them, it was in 1978 when we beat Malta 7-0 at Wrexham with Ian Edwards (who?) scoring four of them if I remember rightly.
https://youtu.be/JXx8c0dWUak?si=ltUa-z65HPWpkIyP
