2026 World Cup: Why Belgium came to dread ‘bogey team’ Wales
Welsh football had known hope before. Now there was expectation.
Wales had not played at a major tournament since the 1958 World Cup but, with world-class players such as Bale and Aaron Ramsey in their prime, there was growing belief that the wait could soon be over.
And after years of hype and hypotheticals about this golden generation, Wales started their qualifying campaign for Euro 2016 in a manner that suggested, this time, this was real.
Unbeaten in their opening five matches, in June 2015 Wales hosted a Belgian side ranked second in the world – and featuring the likes of Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and De Bruyne – having already held them to a goalless draw in Brussels.
“We were going into that game not expected to win, but we worked so hard,” says Ledley. “You want to play against the best players in the world and, for me, Belgium was that team.
“Fitness levels were all over the place. A few of our players in the Championship and League One were finished three weeks before. You could see the ones who’d been away on a lads’ holiday!”
If preparations were not ideal, Wales hid it well with a ferociously energetic and disciplined display.
Manager Chris Coleman had sprung a surprise with his team selection as he started fringe Swansea City defender Jazz Richards at right-wing-back. Chris Gunter, who usually played there, shifted to the right of a back three for the first time in his international career.
It proved to be an inspired move as together they stifled the threat of that year’s Premier League player of the season, Hazard, on Belgium’s left.
“The whole defensive unit and team, all our roles and responsibilities were really clear. We had trust in whoever was playing in each position,” Gunter recalls.
“The aim before any campaign was to qualify and we always said we needed to start one well and get some momentum, so we had done that. Then it was ‘right, if we’re serious about this, we have to take points off the best team in the group’.
“It had all the ingredients of a really special football night in Wales. It was a Friday night, there was rain, but it was warm and the atmosphere was incredible.”
Wales delivered a performance to match the occasion, as Bale fired past Thibaut Courtois in the first half to send a heaving Cardiff City Stadium into raptures.
Belgium pressed for an equaliser but, inspired by the home crowd’s spellbinding, impromptu rendition of the Welsh national anthem, Wales clung on for a heroic victory.
“The belief after that result, you could feel it, not just with us players, but with the fans as well, and you could sense we were on the verge of qualifying,” says Ledley.
“Fans play a massive part. I think at Cardiff City Stadium that night they carried us over that finish line.”
More than possible, this result made qualification probable.
Even with their team three points clear at the top of the qualifying group, some Wales fans still needed some convincing.
After all, it had been 57 years since Wales had been to a major tournament and that barren period was littered with agonising tales of near misses.
But this time was different.
“There was a real belief inside the changing room and the squad, and maybe for the fans it was more hope and desperation for us to do it,” says Gunter.
“I think definitely after that win, everybody really believed.”
Victory in Cyprus the following September put Wales in touching distance, only for a goalless draw at home to Israel to delay the celebrations.
Once you have waited 57 years, though, a month does not seem so long. Wales finally sealed qualification in Bosnia-Herzegovina when they suffered their only defeat of the campaign, but had their place in France confirmed by Cyprus’ win in Israel.
As the rain poured down in Zenica, Wales had their moment of catharsis, released from the shackles of their history, dreaming of the golden summer to come.