No Shame

So it was not to be. Wales failed to score for the first time in this tournament and were beaten by two goals in three minutes that take Portugal through to the final.

It was billed as the battle between Ronaldo and Bale but anyone who has watched both these sides would know that they are both much more than sidekicks to their respective superheroes. And with Wales and Portugal both missing key players it was always going to be a case of whose absence was felt the greatest.

Although Bale is undoubtedly the star of the Welsh side it is Aaron Ramsey that has ran the show, being able to defend and attack in equal measure and push the entire team forward. And how he was missed last night. Wales never looked as inventive or creative as they had done against Russia and Belgium, although Portugal were not offering much in return.

The first half was a fairly stale affair with an early showing of Ronaldo's frustration one of few highlights. Joe Allen was unable to make the incisive runs he showed in previous matches and although the Wales defence was tight, Portugal were having few problems containing Robson-Kanu or any other Welsh threat.

It was still goalless at the break but within a few minutes of the restart Portugal had taken the lead. They had come out much stronger and seemingly with real intent and it showed in the 50th minute when Ronaldo leapt highest - and longest - to fire a trademark header past Hennessey in the Welsh goal.

Wales had not really looked like scoring up until this point and Portugal put the game beyond any real doubt just three minutes later when Nani stretched out his leg to deflect a Ronaldo shot into the net to make it 2-0.

Chris Coleman did his best to refresh the side, throwing on Jonny Williams, Simon Church and Sam Vokes in a bid to get back into the game but even though there was more attacking strength there was still little to show for it. Gareth Bale attempted to take matters into his own hands with some powerful runs but his shots were easily fielded by Rui Patricio and Wales could not get the goal that would have given them the belief that they could go on and get another.

Portugal took off Sanches with a quarter of an hour still to go, possibly to give him some extra rest before the final. They will be hoping that he can provide Ronaldo with opportunities to score against either France or Germany as he is the biggest threat in the rest of the team - even at his young age.

As for Wales, reaching the semi final stage in their first major tournament for nearly 60 years seems like a poor consolation this morning but the entire squad can take great heart and pride in their performances in France and now look ahead to the World Cup qualifiers that begin in September.

Wales desperately missed Aaron Ramsey and just didn't have enough to break down a Portugal side who hadn't lost a single match in the tournament. They will now go home with their heads held high while Ronaldo will have to figure out how to lead his side to the victory he yearns for against either France or Germany on Sunday.

The second semi final brings together two of the favourites in what should be a really enthralling game. Neither side has looked overly dominant up to now but the performance from France against Iceland - along with home support - could give them the confidence that they need to beat Germany.

Mario Gomez is injured so won't be playing tonight and it could be the lack of a proper striker that is Germany's downfall. Goetze looked woefully out of form - and position - in the first two group games and Joachim Low's men will have to rely on the attacking prowess of the midfield if they are to progress. Or maybe Thomas Mueller will finally click into gear and score some goals?

Didier Deschamps has no such selection worries with his entire squad fit and now suspension free. If this match was taking place anywhere apart from in France I would be going for a German win but I think the home side will use their advantages well tonight and make it to the final - without the need for extra time and penalties.

Dreamland

Incredible. Amazing. Outstanding. All of this and so much more. Wales defeat Belgium's golden generation to seal a semi final against Portugal.

It is still sinking in. Wales have made it to the last four of a major international tournament for the first time ever. The squad's togetherness and teamwork has definitely got them where they are now but they have also shown great skill along the way.

From the start of the match Wales confounded expectations and refused to just let Belgium attack and seemed to surprise their opponents as much as everyone else with their inventive, creative play. But Eden Hazard had seemed to come good just at the right time for the Red Devils and his side were looking the more dangerous when Nainggolan struck an absolute screamer to put Belgium in the lead in the 13th minute.

At first it looked like Wayne Hennessey should have done better with the 25 yard shot but the pace that the Belgian midfielder thundered into his strike was just too much. Wales were not deterred though and simply composed themselves and came back into the match again.

Their efforts were rewarded on the half hour mark when a well worked corner routine was finished off by captain Ashley Williams directing his free header into the corner of the net. Once again we saw the togetherness of the entire squad as Williams ran to the bench to celebrate the goal.

This was turning into the match of the tournament with both sides playing some really attractive football, completely believing that they had the skill to get through the opposing defence. Incredibly it was Wales who succeeded.

Ten minutes into the second half Gareth Bale played a perfect pass to the feet of the irrepressible Ramsey who controlled the ball before crossing in towards Robson-Kanu. The Welsh striker's exquisitely elegant turn took out the entire Belgian defence and gave him the space to put his shot past Courtois to make to 2-1 to Wales.

The Welsh fans were delirious. Not only had their side gone into the lead in the quarter final of the European Championship against one of the favourites to win the trophy, they had just witnessed one of the best goals ever in a major tournament.

Belgium looked stunned but pushed forward again in an attempt to force an equaliser. Fellaini had come on at half time to add some muscle in the middle of the pitch and surprisingly took a whole 14 minutes to pick up a yellow card. Although Belgium were now enjoying more of the ball, Wales didn't just sit back and Bale, Allen and Ramsey tried everything they could to add to the goal tally.

Belgium were creating chances but Fellaini missed with a close range header before Nainggolan had a penalty appeal turned down as the minutes ticked away. With Belgium pushing forward that left even more space for the Welsh wing backs to attack. And it was from Chris Gunter's cross from the right that Sam Vokes perfectly glanced header floated into the net with five minutes to go and seal the victory.

Belgium could point to their reshuffled defence as a factor in their defeat but they know that they were beaten by the better side on the day. The team work and talent at Wales' disposal - added to passion for the shirt - propelled them into the semi final. A major blow for Wales is the suspension of Ramsey and Davies for the semi as they both picked up their second yellow cards of the tournament. But even taking that into consideration, Ronaldo and co will not be too confident of a victory.

A real mouth-watering fixture later as Germany take on Italy. The Italians have confounded expectations from the start of their campaign when they beat Belgium and will take comfort in the remarkable fact that they have never lost to Germany in a tournament match.

Joachim Low seems to have found his favoured starting eleven now (in between smelling various parts of his body on live television) and Gomez will be hoping he can add to his goal tally against Italy.

The Azzurri had been called the worst Italian squad ever before the tournament but now they will be full of confidence and believing that they are on the same trajectory as their 2006 World Cup winning counterparts.

Germany, without looking all-conquering, have done the job so far and I feel that this is where the Italian dream ends. I'm going for a tight German victory - possibly on penalties.

Together Stronger

No Ronaldo tears yet. Shocked into the game by an early Polish goal, Portugal eventually go through to the semi finals on penalties.

Ronaldo is still misfiring, slapping his thighs and shouting to the heavens but his side are through to their fourth semi final in five European Championships and will now think that they can go all the way.

Poland had the best possible start with Robert Lewandowski finally scoring within two minutes of the kick off. A long ball was hopelessly misjudged by Cedric Soares, allowing the very impressive Grosicki to put a low cross into the six yard box where the Bayern man was able to direct it past Rui Patricio and into the net.

Portugal looked stunned and for the next ten minutes or so Poland piled on the pressure having a few more good chances without adding to the score. Then it all calmed down a little bit and Portugal took control. Renato Sanches in particular orchestrated the play from the middle of the pitch and looked like he was worth every penny that Bayern Munich paid Benfica for him.

And it was no surprise that it was Sanches that drew Portugal level just after the half hour mark. Cutting in from the right, Sanches played a neat one two with Nani and curled a shot from the edge of the box - via a slight deflection - into the net. It was nothing more than Portugal deserved but both sides had looked good and pleasantly surprised most viewers expecting a dull game.

Those expectations, unfortunately, were to be met - and then exceeded - as the game went on. The second half was most notable for Ronaldo reverting to the way he performed in the first two games of the group stage - and another pitch invader.

Ronaldo made a mess of one through ball in particular when he missed the ball completely attempting to shoot - an action that perfectly summed up the second half of the match. Poland looked more confident of the tie going to penalties while everyone else sat through a turgid extra time period.

After three penalties each both sides hadn't missed but then Blaszczykowski - the hero in the match against Switzerland - had his effort saved at full stretch by Rui Patricio. Next up was Quaresma, who had come on for the woeful Joao Mario, and the rejuvenated forward swept the ball into the roof of the net to put Portugal through to the semis.

Poland didn't really look like winning the match even after their early goal and the incisive play from Sanches gave Portugal a distinct advantage. Ronaldo still isn't hitting top form though and he will need to do so if they are ultimately going to be victorious.

Tonight's match sees Wales face Belgium for what seems like about the hundredth time in the past few seasons. These sides faced each other in qualifying for this tournament where Wales took four points off the Belgian 'golden generation'. But not too much should be read into that. Belgium can be very arrogant in their play and not perform as well as they might if they believe that they have a right to beat a supposed smaller nation. I can't see them playing that way today.

From losing in their first group match, Belgium have clicked into gear and, led by an Eden Hazard showing the form of previous seasons, will be very confident of meeting Portugal in the semi final. But if this tournament has been encapsulated by one theme it has been teamwork and the 'Together Stronger' slogan of Wales is much more than a marketing gimmick.

Although they lost to England, Wales deservedly topped the group by playing to their strengths, teamwork and passion, backed up by some exemplary individual displays. Ramsey and Allen in particular have been outstanding, giving Bale the room to add his little bit of magic. The fact that Bale has not looked at his very best yet shows how well Wales as a whole have played - and how much Belgium should worry that he hits his stride tonight,

Although I obviously would love for Wales to reach the semi finals (even just typing that is incredible) Belgium seem to be back at their best and it will be very tough for Chris Coleman's men. Belgium are missing some vital players in defence so that could be where Wales might win this game. As much as it pains me to say it, I think Belgium will probably nick it but I'm hoping that my standard of predicting matches continues in its usual way tonight!

Day Eleven in France

Oh, to be in Toulouse last night! Wales crushed Russia with a performance that must rank with the very best this tournament has seen so far. The victory meant Wales topped the group as England could not break down a Slovakian defence intent on getting a point that should take them through as well.

Everything went right for Wales against Russia. Gareth Bale had easily his best game so far thanks to a Russian team who offered little and didn't seem to be able to cope with him running at them. Alongside Bale, Aaron Ramsey - arguably Wales' best player so far - ran the show alongside Joe Allen and it was those two who linked up for the first goal after only ten minutes.

Allen spotted the early run by Ramsey and split the accommodating Russian defence with an inch perfect pass. Ramsey coolly lifted it over the advancing keeper and Welsh nerves began to abate.

Ten minutes later a powerful run from Bale was only stopped by a Russian boot inadvertently playing Neil Taylor through on the left hand side. The Swansea defender took two attempts to score his first ever goal for Wales and Russia looked dead on their feet.

As well as Wales played, Russia were awful. Their centre back pairing had a combined age of 70 but the way they played you wouldn't have been surprised if you were told that was their individual age. Wales could have been four or five up by half time and were playing some lovely football cheered on by a noisy and exuberant crowd.

Bale finally got the goal he deserved with just over 20 minutes to go when Ramsey once again split the Russian defence before the Real Madrid man stuck it past Akinfeev with the outside of his left boot.

Wales will now play one of the best third place sides and will be hoping that the tournament's top goal scorer - Gareth Bale - will continue his goal a game form to take them even further in the competition.

Roy Hodgson made a whole host of changes for the match against Slovakia and although some of them had been called for - Vardy and Sturridge playing from the start - it was a strange decision to upset the cohesion in the team however admirable the belief in his squad was.

Both full backs were replaced with Clyne and Bertrand starting. Clyne looked very good and he is only unlucky that Kyle Walker has had such as good tournament so far or he could well be expecting to play in the next game.

Obviously I can only judge the England performance from the highlights but their finishing really let them down - especially from Vardy and Sturridge. With Slovakia content to defend for the first half, England found it hard to get clear shots on goal but the chances that did come their way were wasted.

The second half saw Slovakia come out a little bit more but it was still largely one way traffic. Vardy seemed to disappear as the game went on and Slovakia could have picked up a very unlikely victory had Hamsik made more of Smalling's error when heading it back to his keeper.

A 0-0 draw was met with a few boos at the end of the match but England still go through to the next round unbeaten. This is a better squad than they have had in a while but Hodgson seems unsure who to play and where to play them. They now have a week's rest before their second round match so maybe he can work it out on the training ground between now and then.

Other things I noticed yesterday...

• Sam Vokes played really well, occupying the Russian defenders to give Bale space to run with the ball. He should probably start in front of Robson-Kanu or Johnny Williams in the next game
• Igor Akinfeev seemed to be the only one to go over to the Russian fans at the end of the game. By the look of it they were telling him exactly what they thought of the side's abject performance
• England have the expanded tournament format to thank for their next fixture. Although by finishing second they would have qualified even if there was only 16 teams, they would have previously faced a group winner. Now they get a fellow runner up (although it could well be Portugal)
• A plea to all English TV reporters: Please, please, please stop interviewing Eric Dier. He may well be having a pretty good tournament but he rivals Michael Owen for the mantle of most boring man ever

A plethora of matches today as both Group C and D come to a close. Poland have been disappointing so far but if Milik continues to get in the right positions he must find his shooting boots soon. It could be today and I'll go for 2-0 against Ukraine.

Northern Ireland could go through even if they lose today, which is good as they are playing Germany. The Germans failed to kick on from their opening match win but should be too good today - I'm going for 3-1.

Croatia will be thinking that they will need something from their game against Spain to make sure of at least second place in the group. They are both already through but it will be interesting to see how Croatia react to the crowd-related incidents of their last match. Spain, without being back to their world beating best have looked comfortable so far but I think it will finish 0-0.

Turkey have looked woeful in both matches with a real lack of invention or innovation. The Czech Republic will be buoyed by their comeback against Croatia and I can see them winning easily today - 2-0.

Day Seven in France

It was so close for Wales. They almost got the point that would have guaranteed qualification for the next round. But an injury time winner from Sturridge gave England the win they deserved.

Choosing to start with the same eleven, Roy Hodgson was made to pay for his conservatism with Harry Kane - and Raheem Sterling in particular - not performing and then Gareth Bale firing in a free kick from 36 yards to put Wales one up just before half time.

Wales had started nervously but had settled in to their game of stifling the English attack without showing too much of their own. Aaron Ramsey really shone in a side that looked like they were a little bit overawed by the occasion early on.

Joe Hart should have kept out Bale's free kick as he got across to the ball in time but only parried it into the inside of the net. Against the run of play maybe, but England had not really looked like capitalising on their dominance and that was mainly due to an insipid front line.

Vardy and Sturridge came on for the second half and instantly changed the look of the game. Wales were looking worried again and as the half went on offered less and less in the way of attack. Speaking as a Wales fan, the sight of Vardy and Sturridge - along with the later introduction of Rashford - was a far more worrying site than the eleven that started the game.

If any team was going to grab a winner it was going to be England and Sturridge broke Welsh hearts right at the death after waiting perfectly for the possibility of a one two on the edge of the box and then poking it past the prone Gunter and Hennessey.

A real kick in the teeth for Wales then, but they know that a result against Russia on Monday will put them through to the knockout stage and that is definitely possible given their displays so far. England looked much better with Roy's second choice strikers so it will be interesting to see what he does from now on. I think Vardy is still better used as an impact sub but Sturridge should start instead of the woeful Sterling.

After all that excitement Northern Ireland needed to change a lot of things from their first match if they wanted to get anything out of their game with Ukraine. I thought Ukraine got their tactics just right against Germany but were still not strong enough so I expected them to be able to power past Northern Ireland.

Michael O'Neill made five changes to the starting line up though and his spirit of adventure certainly paid off. In sometimes torrential rain Northern Ireland looked a million miles better than they had against Poland and deservedly took the lead just after half time. A beautifully weighted free kick from the left was met by West Brom's Gareth McAuley who steered his header past the Ukraine keeper.

Although Ukraine started to attack after going one down they showed that they didn't have much about them except the defensive tactics that almost worked against Germany. Northern Ireland looked very good on the attack and Jamie Ward in particular was really worrying the Ukraine defence down the right hand side.

But it was Ward's replacement, Niall McGinn who put the game beyond doubt in injury time, tapping it in after some good work down the right wing and a shot from captain Steven Davis was saved. Northern Ireland completely deserved the win and Ukraine find themselves with no chance of getting through to the next stage.

Germany v Poland was expected to be a really fiery encounter but both sides offered little and eventually played out a largely boring 0-0 draw. Poland will be the happiest with the result and it seemed like that they went out with the sole intention of grabbing a point.

I expected Germany to push on from their late victory against Ukraine and look to show their championship winning credentials, but they created little insight and Mario Gotze up front again failed to perform. Gomez was given his chance later on but never really looked like troubling the Polish defence.

Poland's Arkadiusz Milik missed the best opportunity of the night by electing to head from two yards out - and sending it past the post - when he could have simply tapped it in. But even with Toni Kroos bossing the midfield, Germany lacked a final ball that could open up the game.

Other things I noticed...

• Ukraine's lanky striker Yevhen Seleznyov looks like he has stepped right off the Amish settlement to play for his team (see below)
• The BBC provided us with Robbie Savage and Martin Keown as co-commentators for the England v Wales game. Thanks BBC, but you really shouldn't have
• Although it would have been unlucky for England, I thought for a second that Gareth Bale had met his last gasp header perfectly. Worrying for England that they gave him a free header much like the one that led to the Russian goal though
• Although he again got into a lot of good positions, Poland's Milik did make you wonder how good strikers in the Dutch Eredivisie really are
• Dan Walker's presentation skills consist of at least 87% statistics

Three good looking games today. Italy can show that they are a possible eventual winner when they take on Zlatan's Sweden in the early game. I don't expect Italy to be quite as dominant as they were against Belgium but still should come away with the victory. I reckon 2-1 (with Zlatan popping up for the Swedes).

Another one of the more impressive sides from the first round of matches, Croatia take on the Czech Republic in Saint-Etienne and should be too strong for them. This group is going more to the script than some of the others and although initially I thought that the Czechs might be able to do something at this tournament I'm not sure now that's the case. I'm going for Croatia 1 Czech Republic 0.

Spain take on Turkey in the evening match and even without looking like world beaters in their first match they should be too strong for a spirited but ultimately limited Turkey side. It will be interesting to see if Morata has a good game and lives up to his transfer rumour talk but overall Spain should come away winners 1-0.

Coleman in Correct Decision Shocker

Chris Coleman has been portrayed as stamping his own personality and authority on the Wales national team by stripping the captaincy (captaincies are always ‘stripped’) from Aaron Ramsey. At the same time he’s told Craig Bellamy to make up his mind about playing for his country again. Wales fans may shudder at the all too familiar prospect of the national coach risking the ire of the country’s best players by issuing ultimatums. With Chris Coleman still awaiting his first victory this could easily be seen as a bold move – if not foolhardy. But that doesn’t mean that, in this case, that his move is a bad one.

The Ramsey decision will probably be seen as a bigger deal of the two. But this is where I think Coleman has got it completely right. When Ramsey first burst onto the scene as a teenager at Cardiff he was seen as many to be THE future of Welsh football. A star in the making that, unlike Wales’ traditional superstars, could actually run a game from the middle of the pitch and not be let down by the less skillfull members of the side. The British (see English) media became aware of him on a larger scale when he ran England’s midfield ragged in the U21 European Championship play-off games in 2008 – capped by a great goal at Villa Park in the second leg. 

I would argue that his level of influence and skill are not at the same level now. The main reason for this, of course, is the terrible double fracture he endured playing for Arsenal against Stoke in 2010. But, as is the way with Wales, he is still looked at as a saviour - a player who can take the nation to the promised land. Brazil in 2014 to be precise. This is both incorrect and unfair to Ramsey. The pressure of captaining the side only made it worse. This is a view I’ve held for a while but was strengthened by watching him in two recent games. As part of the Great Britain Olympic side that went out of the competition at the hands of South Korea he constantly looked like he wanted much more time on the ball than he actually had and made a string of poorly conceived passes that gave away possession. The fact that he missed a penalty that would have taken Team GB undeservedly through to the semis just topped off his night.

Against Belgium in the recent World Cup qualifier in Cardiff he again took far too much time and repeatedly gave the ball away. Although Belgium were nowhere near as impressive as their team of superstars had promised, Ramsey failed to inspire a side (admittedly on the back foot after James Collins’ red card) that desperately needed their ‘star’ player to start the qualification group off on a positive note. The fact that Ramsey is unable to hide his frustration with himself when misplacing passes just goes to prove that he knows that he is not performing as well he used to.

Of course this being Wales there is no way that he should be dropped as he is still a Premiership star in a team of lesser players. But taking away the captaincy may take some pressure off of his very young shoulders and help him concentrate on his game - hopefully resulting in Ramsey rediscovering the form that made him one of the best young midfielders in Britain just four years ago.