Wales’ crucial World Cup qualifying clash against Belgium had to be halted on Monday evening after a rat invaded the pitch.
Craig Bellamy’s side suffered a huge blow to their hopes of automatic qualification for next year’s tournament in North America as they were condemned to a 4-2 defeat by the Red Devils.
Two Kevin De Bruyne penalty kicks for two Welsh handballs consigned Bellamy’s men to defeat in Cardiff, after the manager had called for his side to be aggressive after they shipped three goals in the opening 20 minutes at Wembley last week.
And he was duly rewarded when Joe Rodon rose highest to power a Sorba Thomas corner beyond Thibaut Courtois in the eighth minute.
But their lead lasted only 10 minutes when De Bruyne converted from the spot after Ethan Ampadu was adjudged to have handled inside the area following a VAR check. Bellamy was booked for his protests, and will now miss next month’s trip to Liechtenstein.
Six minutes later and the turnaround was complete. Jeremy Doku did well to keep a Leandro Trossard pass in play and picked out Thomas Meunier, who rifled a shot beyond Karl Darlow, and Belgium didn’t look back. A rat, though, tried its best to put a stop to proceedings.
Wales’ World Cup qualifier against Belgium had to be halted when a rat ran on the field
The likes of Thibaut Courtois did their best to deal with the rodent as it evaded capture
Wales forward Brennan Johnson eventually managed to usher the animal off the field of play
In the 66th minutes, with the score 2-1, referee Daniel Siebert was forced to halt play when the giant rodent was seen on the field.
The likes of Brennan Johnson and Courtois tried to deal with the animal, but some nippy footwork made things a little difficult.
There were ironic cheers from the crowd when Johnson managed to eventually usher the rat off the field, and play was allowed to continue.
De Bruyne extended the Belgians’ lead from 12 yards in the final quarter of an hour, and there were no complaints this time after the ball struck James Jordan’s arm.
Nathan Broadhead gave the hosts late hope, combining with Wrexham team-mate and fellow substitute Kieffer Moore, but it proved no more than a consolation as Trossard converted from close range with the clock ticking towards 90 and Wales piling men forward.
Wales must now hope other results go their way as well as navigate a trip to Liechtenstein and the visit of second-placed North Macedonia next month.
