Ethan Ampadu has revealed his frustration after Wales came agonisingly close to pulling off what could have been another famous result against Belgium.
Nine years after Wales beat the Belgians 4-2 in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016, Craig Bellamy’s side fell short at the death in a seven-goal thriller in Brussels.
The reaction to the 4-3 defeat on Monday night has bordered on the euphoric in some quarters, but Ampadu wanted to dampen those emotions with a reminder of the reality of the result.
Despite trailing 3-0 inside the first 27 minutes, Wales mounted a sensational second-half comeback through goals from Harry Wilson, Sorba Thomas, and Brennan Johnson.
But Kevin De Bruyne’s late strike sealed a 4-3 win for Belgium and handed Craig Bellamy his first defeat as Wales head coach.
Reflecting on the dramatic night, Ampadu admitted the mood in the dressing room was bittersweet.
“Obviously there’s frustrations, our mentality is to win every game,” said the Leeds United captain.
“We were very disappointed with the first half and the manner in which we conceded the goals. That’s not really us.
“But to show the character to fight and come back, it is something Wales has shown for many years.
“We’re proud of how we came back and the determination we showed.
“We gave ourselves a lot to come back to. We kind of got there, but we didn’t finish it off.”
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The result leaves Wales chasing Group J leaders North Macedonia, who are now one point ahead, while Belgium remain three points behind Wales but with two games in hand.
Ampadu remains focused on the road ahead and added: “There’s still a long way to go, a lot of points to play for and games to go out there and win.”
The rollercoaster nature of the game left many players emotionally drained.
Sorba Thomas, who played a pivotal role in the comeback with a goal and an assist, believes Belgium will be feeling the pressure ahead of the return match in Cardiff this October.
“That’s a team that is top 10. People will say ‘little old Wales’ but we took the game to them,” said Thomas.
“They’re going to be shaking in their boots when they come to Cardiff to play us. We’re hungry, we’re a young group.
“I felt when it went to 3-3 it was in our hands. But it’s a devastating game, football is a horrible sport sometimes. (Against) top 10 in the world and we feel we should have walked away with a win.”
Wales had seemed doomed early on after goals from Romelu Lukaku, Youri Tielemans and Jeremy Doku sparked celebrations among the Belgian crowd, including a Mexican wave.
“Them behaving like that put it down to the pitch. The players got relaxed and we punished that,” said Thomas.
“They might have been doing the Mexican wave but they weren’t doing it when it went to 3-3.
“They’re entitled to do what they want, but we deal with what’s on the pitch. The whole game shifted.
“They countered us a few times, but I felt we played their big players well.
“We’re a young team and we’re going places. That’s one loss in 10. We’ll learn from this and get better and better.”
Midfielder Jordan James echoed the belief that Wales’ spirited performance will send a message to their rivals.
“I think teams will watch this and fear us because it was a good performance,” said James.
“We know we’re good enough and have got the players to hurt teams… It’s madness when you’re involved in a game like that. You’ve got to try and keep a level head, but it’s a hard one to take.”
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