UEFA Euro 2016 quarterfinal: Wales 3-1 Belgium
WHAT A PERFORMANCE! The underdogs, the improbable, the unexpected.. everyone was convinced this Belgium team was going to reach the Euro 2016 Final! On the contrary, the Cinderella act continues for the Welsh and their superb team spirit. Needless to say down 1-0 just a little before the 15 minute mark with another fantastic goal by Nainggolan, the outcome of this result was going to be different. But Belgium let the ball to Wales and they found the net on set pieces to draw level at the break.
Then during the second half, Kanu superbly controlled the ball and with a nitty dribble, converted the second goal for Wales. Down 2-1 Belgium had to focus on the attack and came close on numerous occasions to a 2-2 scoreboard. But, Wales would not give up and seal the victory to the semifinals with a fantastic header to win 3-1. Belgium’s dream is over and they were not able to beat Wales in the past three meetings. Portugal and Wales will compete for a Final spot next week. What a surprising Euro this is!
Chris Coleman, Wales head coach:
“It was amazing. Once we got through the group stage we knew we’d have a chance but playing Belgium, they are a top team. We knew we had to bring our A game and our players certainly did that. An incredible performance. We surprised Belgium.”
I still don’t think about winning the tournament. The first challenge was get out of the group, then beat Northern Ireland, then best Belgium. Now the next one is Portugal. I promise you my players and staff won’t be thinking about winning this tournament. They’ll be thinking about Portugal.”
Marc Wilmots, Belgium coach:
“I think we had a good game plan – for the first 20 to 25 minutes we were dominating but suddenly we dropped back 15 metres. Maybe we were worried about the space in behind. “I’m not a magician and you can’t suddenly replace experience. We were unfortunate having two players injured [Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Lombaerts] and then we lost a wise old head [Jan Vertonghen] in training.
Before this we had conceded no goals in the last three matches. We made mistakes we shouldn’t have made. Maybe it’s fear because they are young, but I am responsible for that. We were listed among one of the favourites. When you go out, you want to go further. But we made too many mistakes to win against a very good Wales side.”
