Then there were eight – Wales and the 1976 European Chamionships

Then there were eight – Wales and the 1976 European Chamionships [VIDEO]

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While Iceland and Faroe Islands grabbed the headlines, the Euro 2016 qualifiers may yet be remembered as one where long absences from international tournaments ended. Take Hungary, who are third in Group F, or Northern Ireland who are second for examples. Both of whom last graced a major tournament in 1986 and endured numerous less-than-dignified episodes since.

Top of the group is Romania, who are still unbeaten. Hungary currently lead the race for ‘best’ third-placed side, which would grant them automatic qualification, one of the consequences of expansion being that it is easier to not miss out than to miss out altogether.

However, among the other unbeaten teams so far include another side seeing an end to a long absence from tournaments with many intervening years of heartbreak and, at times, struggle. Wales, who beat the highly-rated Belgium 1-0 and remain unbeaten in Group B courtesy of Gareth Bale’s fifth goal in qualifying so far. After a number of disappointing campaigns, this has been one where everything has gone right for a Wales team containing the Real Madrid star, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen and Joe Ledley, who for some time have been touted to do big things on the international scene but never quite did. Until now.

It is not just all Bale either, as players like David Cotterill and Hal Robson-Kanu have also contributed goals in qualifying along with Ramsey, although this is still only eight goals in all from six games. Interestingly, the most recent squad contained just three players from Swansea City, with Ashley Williams being a regular in a defence that has let in just two goals so far. While their goal tally has not been great, it has been more than enough. Trips to Cyprus and Bosnia-Herzegovina who are still in contention for play-off places await, but the results Wales have picked up in Belgium (0-0) and Israel (3-0) mean they are unlikely to be daunted.

Should Wales qualify, it will be their first major tournament since 1958 when they reached the World Cup quarter-finals and were only edged out by the all-conquering Brazil, along with Northern Ireland, they were the best-performed of the four British representatives in the tournament. Their other major achievement was 18-years later when they reached the 1976 European Championships. At that time it was not a full-fledged tournament, with qualifying groups from which only the winner progressed. The quarter-finals were two-legged knock-outs, with only the semi-finals and final played by a qualifying host nation. This changed in 1980 when the European Championships became a ‘proper’ tournament, much like the Copa America and African Cup of Nations had been from the start.

In a decade where Wales was also enjoying success in rugby, they also enjoyed some fine moments in football, not only at international stage but also at club level. In 1973, a 1-1- draw with England at Wembley proved fatal to England’s World Cup qualification chances for 1974. In the 1976 European Championship qualifying round that followed, Wales were drawn in Group 2 with Austria, Hungary and Luxembourg. Austria and Hungary, both countries with not inconsiderable footballing pedigree, had only just missed out on the previous World Cup and were still respectable sides with gifted players, while Luxembourg even then boasted the odd professional playing in a decent European league (e.g. Nico Braun, who was scoring regularly for Metz) which makes the non-derisory amount of goals they scored in qualifying less surprising.

After losing their opening game away to Austria, the Dragons would cruise through the qualifiers by winning their remaining five games with a double over Hungary – their 2-1 win in Budapest in April 1975 was Hungary’s first home loss in decades – and clinched qualification by beating Austria 1-0. The winning goal in the latter was scored by Arfon Griffiths of Wrexham, then in the Third Division and also reaching the Cup-Winners’ Cup quarter-finals in the same season. Besides him, there were star contributions from such players as John Toshack and genial winger Leighton James, while Terry Yorath, Brian Flynn, John Mahoney, Gilbert Reece, Mike England, Rod Thomas, Leighton Phillips and Ian Evans also figured in the campaign, as did youngsters Alan Curtis and Joey Jones. Goalkeeper Gary Sprake, who had won medals under Don Revie at Leeds United before joining Birmingham City, would see his career prematurely ended by injury.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7EORfnXpd4

In the quarter-finals, Wales would face Yugoslavia, losing 2-0 in the first leg and drawing the return 1-1. Yugoslavia would host the semi-finals and final, the latter immortalised by Antonin Panenka from the penalty spot to win Czechoslovakia their only major trophy. Wales were the only side from the British Isles to survive the qualifying rounds and attaining this place among the elite, coupled with Wrexham’s European run that year, ranked as one of Welsh football’s high marks.

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In the years that followed there were near-misses, like the 1982 and 1994 World Cup qualifiers and the Euro 2004 qualifiers, and one could be forgiven for thinking Welsh fans would approach this current situation with some trepidation. Not least when it meant that such players as Neville Southall, Kevin Ratcliffe, Ryan Giggs, Ian Rush and Mark Hughes never got the chance to play in the major tournament they deserved. But not to worry – the run towards Euro 2016 looks closer to the spirit of three decades ago. Can Williams, Allen, Ledley, Ramsey and Bale emulate Yorath, Griffiths, Toshack and James?

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