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‘I have a dream for Tuesday. We’re going to thrash England!’ the politician and songwriter Dafydd Iwan told hundreds of Wales supporters at an event in Doha’s West Bay, on Sunday evening, before launching into a rendition of Yma o Hyd (‘Still Here’) — his anthem to the country’s indefatigable spirit.
The crowd loved it. Just like they love how the grizzled, bearded firebrand, jailed in 1970 for not paying fines for defacing English road signs as part of the fight for Welsh language rights, has become a totemic part of a campaign in which national identity features prominently.
On Tuesday night — as always — that national identity is pursued in the face of England and Englishness at this World Cup. The Welsh FA’s video of Yma o Hyd, issued as the team anthem for this tournament, includes footage of Welsh language protestors clashing with police, of striking miners and of the 1950s flooding of Capel Celyn, a village in the Tryweryn Valley, to create a reservoir to supply water to residents of Liverpool.
Politician and songwriter Dafydd Iwan (L) told Wales supporters Wales will ‘thrash’ England
That sense of the small nation, fighting to assert itself, was evident in the first moments after qualification at Ukraine’s expense on a night of biblical rain in Cardiff. Aaron Ramsey’s words were captured by one of the camera crews who moved among the jubilant players. ‘Little old Wales,’ he said, laughing in the face of those who patronise his country.
They ushered Iwan onto the field with the players that night to belt out the anthem he first recorded 39 years ago, with Bale and team-mates swaying and singing behind him. It was a beautiful scene — ‘pitch-perfect,’ as the Washington Post recently put it. An ageing folk singer leading a rendition of his protest song from a bygone era. That just wouldn’t have made sense in England.
On the eve of the tournament, we witnessed the sentiment again on a wild, vivid night at Tylorstown, where Rob Page returned to his roots for a choreographed ‘squad announcement’ at one of the last remaining miners’ institutes in the Rhondda. He spoke about ‘hiraeth’ — a word with no exact translation, but means a yearning for home.
Wales’ hopes on Tuesday night rests on whether Bale and Ramsey can defy expectations again
Sometimes in football, the lyrical fairytales actually happen. David beats Goliath 1-0. But Wales, a nation of just three million, has only produced very good sides when a generation of two or three outstanding talents play. John Charles and Cliff Jones in 1958. Ryan Giggs, Ian Rush and Neville Southall in 1993. Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen in 2016.
The pair who have piloted them through a near-decade of glorious achievements have aged together and Tuesday night rests on whether Bale and Ramsey can defy expectations again.
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Bale made all the right noises last night in a discussion of the task ahead, though his body language told you he did not want to be there. He looked at his watch four times in the first two minutes of his press conference. He was taciturn and non-committal on many of the questions sent his way.
How would a first win against England since 1984 actually rank? ‘I’ll let you know if it happens tomorrow.’ Would Wales, needing a win to survive at this tournament, go gung-ho? ‘You’ll have to wait and see.’ Did the possibility of it being his last Wales game offer greater motivation? ‘No.’
Even a question about a chef arriving on Sunday to prepare Welsh lamb at their hotel ahead of this game didn’t trigger a reaction. ‘I didn’t have any lamb but it was a boost and a laugh.’
The brutal truth is that there is very little more Wales can say about their patriotism until their performances justify it.
On the West Bay, where Iwan sang on Sunday, fans said they would settle for a creditable, determined, battling display — even if tonight ends in defeat. They spoke of how qualification, and the adoption of Iwan’s song, showed a more self-confident Welsh nation.
‘To be on this stage shows how far we’ve come,’ said one.
There is very little more Wales can say about their patriotism until their performances justify it
There is no disguising that a heavy defeat would be a blow. The kind of punishment that tarnishes the memory of this adventure for many of the 3,000 who have formed a sea of red at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, the site of all their games.
But a creditable display can allow Wales to leave here satisfied that they have made some kind of mark. ‘One nation, singing with one voice, a song of hope, a song of courage,’ as the Welsh actor Michael Sheen put it, in a clip about the team which went viral.
Iwan said he was only joking about hammering England — he really knew nothing about the sport. He spoke with the optimism of a man who was among his own people but Bale and Co could do worse than mulling the words he uttered before departing the stage. ‘We’ve lived a lifetime in the past couple of weeks,’ he said. ‘It’s not about scores. It’s about building a sense of identity.’
