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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Elis James

Wales’s qualification for the World Cup was a glorious, hysterical occasion

Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale is still able to make the difference for Wales, even at the age of 32. Photograph: Ian Cook/CameraSport/Getty Images

As the full-time whistle blew during our scruffy 1-0 win over Northern Ireland at Euro 2016, the older man behind me was weeping at the prospect of watching Wales in the quarter-final of a major championship. I performatively puffed out my cheeks and raised an eyebrow, in that way people do after reading a BuzzFeed article about how many egg whites Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson eats in a day.

Feeling we had sufficiently bonded over Gareth McAuley’s own goal, and as he seemed to be in his 60s, I asked if he remembered Wales reaching the quarter- finals of our only World Cup appearance in 1958. “No,” he replied. “I was three.”

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