Who’d have thought it eh? Our little nation may be out of Europe in one sense, but we’re firmly in it in another…. In fact, we’re the only home nation to have made it to the quarter final stages of the Euro 2016 competition in France. And that, for a small nation like ours, is quite an achievement. The other teams who qualified from the UK – England, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have all since been knocked out.

In the next stage of the battle, the Welsh team face the mighty Belgian team, tomorrow evening (Friday 1st July) at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, Northern France. Kick off is at 8pm. Ironically, Wales have already had to beat Belgium – back in June 2015, Bale scored the goal against Belgium that would see them not only win that game (Wales 1, Belgium 0) but also qualify for the European Championships – Wales’s first major tournament for almost 60 years.

And that’s not the only time Wales have met Belgium – they drew in November 2014 for a Euro 2016 qualifying game, as they did in 2013 for a World Cup qualifier. However, Belgium beat Wales in 1997 when they played a 1998 World Cup qualifier (Belgium 3, Wales 2). In total, Wales have met Belgium 12 times – they’ve won 4, drawn 3 and lost 5.

So, tomorrow’s game Wales vs Belgium could be the our national team’s chance to shine. In 1958 they appeared in the Quarter Finals of the World Cup, but were knocked out by footballing legends Brazil. If they win against Belgium tomorrow, then they’ll be playing in the Semi-Final stage, so this could arguably be the biggest game in Welsh football since 1958. Belgium are currently ranked second in the world by FIFA, whereas Wales are 26th, so it’s a tall order, but one we’re sure our boys in France are up to.

And if they needed some sustenance for the match, then perhaps they should get out and about to the cafes and bars of Northern France where they’re serving a dish called Le Welsh, in honour of the success of the Welsh team! A variation on Welsh Rarebit, it’s a cheese on toast dish but often with added ham or mustard and a fried egg on top. Yummy! Perfect for those hangovers – either in celebration or commiseration……

Good luck to the Welsh team! We’ll be right behind you all the way.