Such is the progress of Wales as a footballing nation, nights such as these are starting to feel almost routine. Another huge home match in pursuit of a major tournament, and another victory in a throbbing, febrile Cardiff City Stadium.
When the pressure rises and the crowd roars, Wales usually find a way to deliver. After this play-off semi-final victory over Finland, Rob Page and his players are just 90 minutes away from qualifying for Euro 2024. Poland are the next visitors here, next week, and Robert Lewandowski’s side are now the only obstacle between Wales and a fourth major tournament out of five.
Can Wales outplay and outpass Poland? It seems unlikely. But can Wales beat Poland? Absolutely. This is a team who boast defensive security and a collection of attackers who can make the difference in key moments.
Finland dominated the ball for much of the game but Wales were the more decisive, striking through David Brooks, Neco Williams, Brennan Johnson and Daniel James. “We don’t care who comes to see us,” a bullish Page said afterwards. “We will go toe-to-toe. We will have a go. It will be a tough test but the boys will be ready on Tuesday.”
This is the first qualifying campaign without Gareth Bale and it was always going to be a test for the young players in Page’s squad. A transition period, Wales have been calling it. The expectation on the likes of Johnson, Brooks and Harry Wilson is growing, but they are showing themselves capable of handling it.
Especially at home. Wilson, in particular, is thriving in the offensive positions that Bale used to dominate. Increasingly, the attack is being built around the Fulham player. He looks comfortable with the new role, playing a part in three of the goals here and doing more than anyone to knit the attacking moves together. “The way we are asking him to play, to be connected at the top of the pitch, he loves it,” Page said.
There were other excellent individual performances. Ethan Ampadu shone on his 50th international appearance – at 23, he is the youngest Welshman to reach that total – and Williams once again excelled as an attack-minded wing-back. Brooks, too, caused all manner of problems for the Finland defence.
Nights of this magnitude require a coach to make brave decisions. For Page, who has come under mounting pressure since the World Cup in Qatar, his bold move was to bench Kieffer Moore, the target man who so often flourishes on the international stage. Moore has scored six goals in 10 games for Ipswich Town since moving on loan from Bournemouth, but here he was behind Brooks in the pecking order. “The biggest selection headache was at the top of the pitch,” Page said. “I knew that pace would hurt them.” Brooks is a different sort of player to Moore, more of a schemer and a floater than a scorer and a bruiser, and Page’s decision paid off within just three minutes.
Roared on by a typically passionate Welsh crowd, Wilson burst through the Finland defence. His shot was palmed away by Lukas Hradecky, the visiting goalkeeper, but only as far as Brooks. It was the sort of start that most home fans were expecting against the team ranked 60th in the world (Wales are 29th) but Wales struggled to build on that early opener.
For most of the first half an hour it was instead Finland who dominated possession and controlled the pace of the game, with Daniel Hakans missing two good chances. The visitors were soon stung by Williams, though, as the Nottingham Forest full-back curled a gorgeous free-kick into the top corner, after Wilson had created the angle by rolling the ball with his studs. Was it a two-goal advantage that Wales deserved? Almost certainly not.
Finland had played the better football for much of the half and there could be no complaints about their reply. The 33-year-old Teemu Pukki, formerly of Norwich City, demonstrated his enduring quality by sliding a low shot beyond Danny Ward. One can only imagine that Finland’s intention, at the start of both halves, was to draw the sting from the game and the crowd. They failed in the first half, and then promptly failed again in the second.
Within two minutes of the break, a set-piece had fallen at the feet of Johnson, only a few yards from goal. He could not miss. It was a goal that changed the dynamic of this tie. For Johnson, it was his third in international colours, in his 25th appearance. Bale, by comparison, scored only two in his first 25 international appearances for Wales (although he did play left-back for many of those).
Dejected by the third goal, Finland were never able to rebuild their momentum. Instead Wales pushed for more, eventually finding the fourth when visiting defender Miro Tenho surrendered the ball to James in his own half. An easy finish followed and the first part of the job was done for Page’s team. There is another, bigger match to come. Wales look ready.