It was a burst that proved the catalyst for Wales’s resounding 4-1 win over Finland, another absorbing night under the lights in Cardiff. With a couple of minutes gone, Harry Wilson received the ball on the left flank, about 30 yards from goal, and punched a pass into Brennan Johnson with the outside of his left foot. Seeking a one-two, Wilson charged past five blue shirts, picked up the baton on the perimeter of the box then beat another in Matti Peltola before getting a shot away. It was an arced run that quickened the pulse and subsequently soothed the inevitable anxieties in the stands.
David Brooks pounced to volley in the rebound and, while it was not entirely straightforward from there, it went a long way to ensuring Wales have what promises to be another electric evening in the calendar. On Tuesday they host Poland in a winner-takes-all playoff final, a place at the Euro 2024 finals in Germany the prize. The incisive, instinctive link-up play between Wilson, Johnson and Brooks also spoke to the noises Rob Page has made in recent months about this new-look Wales side. Wilson’s scurrying run embodied the dynamism, zest and unpredictability the Wales manager acknowledged was missing in their meek group-stage exit at the World Cup in Qatar. Page believes this younger group are fitter and gamer, and it is hard to argue.
