Having secured a spot at their first major tournament in 58 years, Wales will go into their final Euro 2016 qualifying game against Andorra in celebratory mood.
Despite losing 2-0 away to Bosnia & Herzegovina on Saturday, Cyprus’ 2-1 defeat of Israel meant the Dragons claimed an automatic qualification place with 18 points to reach the finals in France.
Chris Coleman’s side went into the game needing a point against Bosnia, or for Israel to lose in order to qualify. But they fell to defeat thanks to goals from Milan Djuric and Vedad Ibisevic.
Star player Gareth Bale described the game as “the best loss of his life” and manager Coleman said that it is a “dream come true”.
Both teams now have nothing to play for other than pride, with Andorra sitting bottom having failed to pick up a single point. With a -30 goal difference, it’s yet another qualifying campaign to forget for the visitors.
There will be a party atmosphere inside the Cardiff City Stadium, with fans welcoming home their heroes and history makers on Tuesday night.
A victory for Wales, matched with Belgium dropping points at home to Israel, will see them top the group and finish off a memorable campaign.
For Andorra, their 50th European Championship game is unlikely to be an upset, even if changes are made by Coleman. But they may be quietly confident, as only a late brace from Bale saw Wales come from behind to narrowly win 2-1 in the reverse fixture 13 months ago.
Bale is available to play with Coleman not under any pressure from Real Madrid to rest the 26-year-old.
The Welsh Player of the Year has scored six of Wales’ nine goals in qualifying and will look to add to his tally in front of the 34,000 sell-out crowd in Cardiff.
Group Position: Wales – 2nd (18 points); Andorra – 6th (0 points)
Last Meeting: Andorra 1–2 Wales (Sepetember 9, 2014)
Key Men: Wales – Gareth Bale; Andorra – Ildefons Lima
Form: Wales – WWWDL; Andorra – LLLLL
Shoot says: Wales 2-0 Andorra