Fridays in Cardiff are a big deal but the city erupted when Wales shocked Europe by defeating a higher ranked Belgium side in the quarter finals of Euro 2016 in France. The Welsh capital didn’t know peace all through the night of the historic victory.
This year’s participation in the European tournament is the first after 58 years for Wales. They were not even given a chance at topping the group since they had England, Slovakia and Russia as group mates. They provided the first shock by topping the group to advance to the next stage. They defeated their Round of 16 opponents Northern Ireland to advance without any hiccups. The quarter final stage was when many felt they would turn back home and the tournament would have still been a good one for them. However, Wales had more shock in stock.
Wales fought back from a 1-0 lead from Belgium to send the star-studded team back home as the game ended 3-1. The victory means they will meet Portugal in the Semi Finals of the tournament, a meeting nobody could have guessed when the games begun. Huge roars were heard from anywhere in Cardiff in the night of the victory.
Some of the Wales’ fans took a hit at England that were knocked out at the Round of 16 stage with their loss to Iceland. England defeated Wales in the group stage but their fortunes had since changed. Wales made the quarterfinals of the 1958 World Cup when they last played in a major tournament but no one could have even predicted a quarterfinal this year due to the caliber of teams that were available for this tournament. Wales being a traditional rugby nation sure shocked the world with their victory and Cardiff was the place to be.