It only took 143 years from their first meeting to their first in a World Cup. If much has changed in the intervening period – Benjamin Disraeli is no longer prime minister or Qatar part of the Ottoman Empire, for starters – and it might be an exaggeration to say it will be another century and a half before Wales and England face off in a World Cup again, it could be quite some time before “Yma o Hyd” is heard by a global audience again.
Wales limp out of Qatar with one point and one goal. Gareth Bale’s penalty against the United States represented the on-field highlight of a rare venture outside Europe. It was a reminder that they have shown an ability to bloody the noses of bigger nations; yet that draw against the USA has the feel of a last hurrah for this generation or, more accurately, the remnants of the Euro 2016 semi-finalists.
