Nearly two days have passed since Cymru convincingly defeated Finland 4-1 in a thrilling Euro 2024 playoff semi-final, and I’m still feeling a little hoarse – and, although that opening line was contrived to set up a dubious and unamusing gag along the lines of “but Dobbin doesn’t seem to mind”, I’m going to resist the temptation and concentrate on the pêl-droed.
Following a gripping rendition of Hen Wlad fy Nhadau, I was still fixing the quadruple whiskies when Harry Wilson sliced through Finland’s defence in the third minute, goalie Lukas Hradecky blocked his fierce shot and David Brooks, showing superb technique and balance, steered home the rebound with an acrobatic mid-air volley. As usual when Cymru score, I then unleashed a full-volume outpouring of ripe obscenities that would have made a West Dock fishwife wince. Luckily the walls are quite thick in these Victorian terraced houses…
It got better in the 38th minute when Neco Williams scythed a free-kick into the top corner following a clever Wilson back-heel, but a typical piece of Teemu Pukki opportunism just before half-time put Finland back in contention and instantly changed the tenor of my verbiage from wild exuberance to wailing, woe-is-me despair. My misery didn’t last long. Right at the start of the second-half Brennan Johnson, a threat throughout, tapped in the third Cymru goal after Ethan Ampadu got his head to a Wilson free-kick, and from then on the result was never in doubt. Sub Daniel James put the icing on the cake near the end when Finland defender Miro Tenho got into an almighty tangle and the Leeds United speedster did the rest. 4-1! Next up is Tuesday’s ‘path A’ play-off final* in Cardiff against Poland, who were simultaneously beating Estonia 5-1 in Warsaw. The prize is a place in the 2024 Euros in Germany – which would be an amazing third consecutive appearance in the European Championships for Cymru. Dare we dream? Oh my God!
Before I get to Poland, some updated stats. Firstly, Cymru’s head-to-head record** against Finland now stands at P16, W7, D5, L4, Goals F25-A14. And secondly, when Daniel James came on as substitute it meant that there were four Leeds United players in the Cymru team: James, Ampadu, Connor Roberts (on loan from Burnley) and Joe Rodon (on loan from Tottenham). This equalled the four Leeds players in the Cymru team that won 2-0 at Malta in a European Qualifier in 1979: Alan Curtis, Brian Flynn, Carl Harris and Byron Stevenson (1956-2007). That was the most players from one English club (discounting the English League clubs based in Wales) to ever appear in a Cymru match, so remarkably Leeds United have equalled their own record. This link between Leeds and Wales is entirely coincidental. It began in 1906 with the club’s ill-fated predecessors Leeds City (expelled from the English League and disbanded in 1919), when Newtown-born Dickie Morris (1879-c1920) won one of his 11 caps while at Elland Road to become the first ever Leeds player to win international honours. Aubrey Powell (1918-2009) from Cwmtwrch was the first Welshman to be capped as a Leeds United player, winning five of his eight caps in 1947 and 1948 while with the club. But it was the immortal John Charles (1931-2004), still the club’s all-time second highest goalscorer, who really established the Welsh link with Leeds, winning 21 of his 38 Welsh caps with United. And two other major figures in the history of both Cymru and Leeds are goalie Gary Sprake (1945-2016) and ex-Cymru player and manager Terry Yorath. It’s all rather peculiar really, considering none of it was intended or planned. What is this called? Serendipity? Happenstance? Kismet? I prefer Phenomenology.
But enough of these idle witterings…what about Poland in 48 hours time? Well, the head-to-head tally is not encouraging (P10, W1, D2, L7, Goals F6-A13), but that means nothing. We’re not prisoners of the past, we’re still here, we can make our own future. There is genuine quality in Rob Page’s young side and a win, although not probable, is definitely possible. All that’s certain is that it’s going to be one of those special Cardiff nights and one hell of a match. Help!!
NOTES
*The ‘path B’ and ‘path C’ play-off finals, also on Tuesday night, will be Ukraine v Iceland in Wroclaw (Poland) and Georgia v Greece in Tbilisi, so determining the last three places in the 24-team tournament.
**Wikipedia seem to have made an error on their Wales National Football Team Records & Statistics page, wrongly showing Cymru having played Finland 17 times.