It was an outcome that had seemed unlikely when England beat them 2-1 last Thursday, and the thousands of Welsh supporters could have been forgiven for a feeling of disbelief as they celebrated every touch of the ball with “oles” before finally feeling free to chant “we are top of the league”.
They will play a third-placed team in Paris on Saturday while England face the Group F runners-up and Wales will go into the knockout stage with realistic hopes of reaching the last eight.
“It was never about beating England, it was about qualifying,” Wales manager Chris Coleman told reporters, adding that he had never seen a better performance from a Welsh team.
Russia, bottom of the standings with one point, obtained with an undeserved last-minute equaliser against England, go home with much to think about before they host the World Cup in two years’ time under a new coach.
The story of the night, however, was a Welsh one.
In what had been described as the country’s biggest game since the 1958 World Cup quarter-final, they rediscovered the attacking brio that enabled them to beat Slovakia in the opening game.
