If you haven't been paying attention, Wales are really good. They win all the time now, and they are almost certainly going to compete in Euro 2016 next Summer.
Now that you're caught up, you may be wondering how the fortunes of such a small country with a history of qualifying for absolutely nothing in recent years decades has managed to find themselves in such a great position going into the final stages of Euro 2016 qualification. It's really quite simple:
1) Gareth Bale is good enough to occupy the entire back four and two holding midfielders on his own.
2) Aaron Ramsey is also very good at football.
3) Chris Coleman has turned an average Welsh defence into one of the stingiest in European football.
Bale scores goals, Wales don't concede them. It's a winning formula, but the magnitude of Wales' rise to relevance has been made startlingly clear by a stat which the BBC released today:
In 2011 Wales were ranked 117th in the world.
In July they will enter the top 10.
http://t.co/R1XoqsEkYA pic.twitter.com/09F3zp8YOv
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 15, 2015
From 117th, to top 10, in four years.
That is incredibly good going. Take into account that Wales were bottom seeds in their last qualifying group, in the same pot as San Marino, and now, when the World Cup 2018 qualifying group is drawn next month, Wales will be top seeds.
Top seeds. Wales.
Try not to daydream about how good life would be if Ireland were top seeds in a qualifying group, you'll only get upset. But hey, at least we're not Greece.
