‘It’s the greatest result in Welsh history’

Andriy Yarmolenko headed Bale’s free-kick into his own net in the first half. Bale said: ‘It’s the greatest result in the history of Welsh football. We are all so ecstatic, and we’re going to a World Cup. ‘It’s what dreams are made of. It’s what we’ve been working for since we first came together. I’m speechless because we’re so happy — we did it for all our amazing fans and our country. ‘I haven’t done much over the last four weeks because of my back spasm, so I’m just happy to get through the game, contribute in whatever way I could. The most important thing was to get through this and to get through to the World Cup.’ Uncertainty surrounds Bale’s future after his departure from Real Madrid this week, but when asked if he would delay his retirement, he joked: ‘For a little bit!’ Rob Page, who has deputised as Wales manager in the enforced absence of Ryan Giggs, dedicated the feat to former national coach Gary Speed, who died 11 years ago. He said: ‘Gary Speed started this 12 or 13 years ago. I want to dedicate this to Gary. He started the culture. The environment completely changed. I’ve inherited that, Chris Coleman took it on and took it to another level, and I’ve inherited that group. ‘We’re confident going into games now. We don’t hope to qualify for the World Cup or Euros now, we believe we can do it, so there’s been a massive change in the mentality.’ While Wales celebrated a first trip to the World Cup since 1958 — where they will take on England, Iran and the United States in Group B — Ukraine were denied an uplifting moment at a time when their home nation is being ravaged by the Russian invasion. Manchester City star Oleksandr Zinchenko said: ‘The keeper from Wales (Wayne Hennessey) did an unbelievable job, definitely man of the match. I don’t think we deserved to lose today. Football is emotions and if we can give some great emotions and feelings to our fans, it’s perfect for us. Unfortunately we did not get the result we wanted. ‘I feel sorry for our fans. A lot of fans could not come to the stadium because they did not have that opportunity. I feel sorry for them and all supporters around the world who have been supporting us.’ The Ukrainians were applauded off the pitch, as they had been applauded on, and returned to the dressing room where a flag hung after being sent over by soldiers from the frontline. Set against what their manager Oleksandr Petrakov said post-match, it was indeed only a game. ‘We have war raging all over the country,’ stated Petrakov. ‘We have children and women dying, our infrastructure ruined by Russian barbarians. The Russians want to hurt us but Ukrainians are defending their land. We just want your support, we want your understanding. God forbid you will ever understand what we feel inside.’