“Best defeat of my life” – Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Welsh hero you’ve never heard of

Wales has suffered more than half a century of international isolation, having missed major tournaments since the 1958 World Cup.

Decades of false starts and agonizing stumbles at the final hurdles followed, until a golden generation of players emerged to inspire new hope.

Bale, Aaron Ramsey and the rest had been around for a while by the time the Euro 2016 campaign began, and with those star talents approaching their peak, they were ready to take Wales to new heights.

“There was definitely optimism, a quiet confidence,” says Hal Robson-Kanu, the former Wales striker who started the attack against Bosnia.

“We were starting to achieve results that you wouldn’t normally expect Wales to achieve at this level. We knew we could do something special.”

After winning three and drawing two of their first five qualifiers, Wales really began to believe this could be their moment when they beat Belgium – then ranked second in the world – in Cardiff.

Coach Coleman’s team then missed the opportunity to secure qualification when they drew 0-0 with Israel, but they knew that getting a point in Bosnia or at home against humble Andorra would give them the opportunity to cross the goal line.

And so on until that night in Zenica, a harsh industrial city in the heart of Bosnia, drenched by torrential rain.

Even with security in place for their next match against Andorra, Wales could not hide their frustration after goals from Milan Djuric and Vedad Ibisevic gave Bosnia a 2-0 win in the second half.

“It was the first game of the season that we lost, so it hurt us,” Coleman told BBC Sport Wales.

“We were playing Andorra at home in our last game, and we needed one point, and I remember thinking about our history, how we always go down at the last hurdle and I was thinking: ‘Come on, really?’ I imagined we would do something against Andorra, but you never know, right?

“Then I walked off the pitch. Our fans are on the left. I remember thinking: ‘They’re a bit happy.’ We just lost 2-0. Why are you doing this?”

“Then I saw Mark Evans (Head of International Affairs at the Welsh Football Association) and he had a look on his face. He said Israel had won. He swore he waited three or four seconds and then said: Cyprus two.” He stopped again and said: Israel is one and Cyprus is two.

“He said we had qualified and then I remember I turned around and all the players were waiting for me because I think they knew before I did, and I couldn’t contain myself. I just ran towards everyone.”