Wounded Wilmots is on brink
NEIL TAYLOR reckons Portugal will not fancy facing Wales following their quarter-final humbling of Belgium.
The Dragons are the first British side to reach the semi-finals of a major tournament in 20 years and they are not done yet.
Wales have completely smashed pre-tournament predictions and their performances have caught the imagination of the football world.
And, having seen off Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and the other Belgium superstars, Taylor believes Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal pals will be in no hurry to take on Chris Coleman’s side.
“I think there might be an awful lot of people taken sick on Wednesday, they might have to make it a public holiday,” he said.
“It is unbelievable. Until we get home we probably will not realise what we have done here.
“There are a lot of emotions in that dressing room. It is there for us, we have had the belief we can beat anyone.
“We have always said it is about us and we are not lying when we say these things and we deserved the win.
“We have not nicked it or had to hang on. We were very assured.
“Portugal would have hoped to get us not Belgium, I think they might be looking at it a bit differently now.” BELGIUM boss Marc Wilmots could lose his job after being dumped out of Euro 2016 by Wales.
The team known as the golden generation missed out on their first major semi-final in 30 years.
In the aftermath of the defeat, Wilmots said he would consider his future and make a decision at the end of the tournament.
Meanwhile, the Belgium FA yesterday released a statement insisting they would not be making any “hasty decisions” on his future.
“After consultation between the federal president and the chairman, we have decided not to make any hasty decisions but to take a few weeks working on a thorough evaluation of the national team’s performance,” a statement read.
“It should not be expected in the next few days.”
Keeper Thibaut Courtois suggested tactical failings had undone the team but Wilmots blamed injuries and suspension.
The boss said: “The strategy was good – I didn’t stop shouting at my players to move forward.
“We have a problem of communication. I am not a magician.
“I can understand Thibaut’s disappointment. He dreamed of becoming European champion and he no longer has that dream.”
The Real Madrid star will face off against Bernabeu team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo in Lyon on Wednesday night after the Dragons stunned Belgium 3-1 in their quarter-final.
Chris Coleman’s men produced arguably the finest display in 140 years of Wales international football as they recovered from conceding Radja Nainggolan’s superb opener.
Skipper Ashley Williams, Hal Robson-Kanu – after a brilliant Cruyff turn – and Sam Vokes got the goals to put Wales in dreamland.
The result ensured Bale and company surpassed the exploits of the 1958 World Cup squad.
The legendary team containing John Charles and Cliff Jones had reached the quarter-finals in Sweden in what was the previous high water mark for Wales on the international stage.
The former Tottenham man, 26, is delighted with the achievement – but is hungry for more when the mouth-watering clash with Ronaldo (right) comes.
“We’re very proud at what the 1958 team did.
“They had some amazing players but we have always spoken that this is our time to shine and we have definitely done that.
“The fans here and the fans back at home have been incredible.
“We love our fans, we try to integrate with them all the time.
“It’s going to be an amazing day for the semi-final, we have already made history and hopefully we can make more.
“We are just enjoying being here, we’re enjoying the ride.
“It’s our time and we are really looking forward to facing Portugal.
“It’s in our hands now. We are going to enjoy this result but we can’t afford to look past the semi-final, we just have to keep doing what we have been doing and we will stick to that.”
But Bale was at pains to avoid dubbing Wednesday’s contest as simply a head-to-head between two of the world’s best players, preferring