Wales sensationally stormed back from three goals down to level with Belgium in Brussels, only for Kevin de Bruyne’s late winner to inflict an absurdly dramatic first defeat on Craig Bellamy and knock his team off the top of their World Cup qualifying group.
The freewheeling home side were 3-0 up after just 27 minutes. Romelu Lukaku put them in front from the penalty spot before Youri Tielemans stylishly finished off an incisive team move, and Jeremy Doku feigned, jinked and fired into the bottom corner for the Belgians’ third.
Wales were staring into the abyss of a first loss since a 4-0 thrashing by Slovakia exactly one year earlier cost previous manager Rob Page his job, and the scoreline suggested this could become a heavy one.
But Wales are a different team under Bellamy, and they responded brilliantly to a bleak situation as Harry Wilson’s penalty moments before half-time gave them a glimmer of hope.
They truly started to believe an improbable comeback was on when Wilson’s excellent cross set up Sorba Thomas to fire in his first Wales goal, and then Brennan Johnson headed in an equaliser to spark spectacular celebrations in a raucous away end.
Yet just as Welsh fans were dreaming of another famous result against the nation they so memorably beat in a Euro 2016 quarter-final – particularly after the video assistant referee (VAR) disallowed a Lukaku second – De Bruyne popped up at the back post to score.
Then it was the Belgians’ turn to celebrate wildly, the sense of relief palpable as they survived what would have been a revival for the ages.
Despite their monumental effort, Wales slip down to second place in Group J, replaced at the summit by North Macedonia following their win in Kazakhstan earlier on Monday.
Wales fall short in biggest Bellamy test
Bellamy has transformed Wales during his first year in charge, with a bold new style of play and an ambitious mindset to match – both of which were abundantly clear on a night of staggering twists and turns in Brussels.
Avoiding defeat would have seen Wales equal the longest unbeaten run in their history, a 10-game stretch between October 2001 and March 2003.
But as impressive as their turnaround had been under Bellamy, they had not yet met a team of Belgium’s quality.
The 2018 World Cup semi-finalists had endured a shaky run of form by their standards, with Friday’s 1-1 draw in North Macedonia leaving them with one win in eight games in all competitions.
However, Belgium are still ranked eighth in the world – 21 places above Wales – and boast a squad of enviable talent and depth, illustrated by the fact they were able to recall Aston Villa midfielders Tielemans and Amadou Onana and Arsenal forward Leandro Trossard for this encounter.
Their myriad attacking weapons were on full display in the first half, with Tielemans and De Bruyne orchestrating in midfield while Doku offered devastating pace and trickery out wide.
