Football is glorious and merciless in equal measure. As Wales huddled in the center circle and the pockets of Bosnia and Herzegovina fans wiped away tears and struggled to keep their feet as they celebrated their penalty shootout win, 'Yma o Hyd' rang out. It translates as 'We're still here,' and was the anthem of Wales' journey to the semifinals of Euro 2016.
When Demetriou, the then Walsall defender, scored the only goal of his 51-cap international career to put Cyprus 2-1 up in Israel, the small but raucous red corner of the Bilino Polje Stadium burst into scenes of pure elation.
The most recent meeting came three years ago in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar when Marcus Rashford's double helped England top Group B and eliminate Wales. Rashford's free-kick at the start of the second half gave Gareth Southgate's side a deserved lead before Phil Foden headed in six minutes later. Rashford added a third by blasting the ball through Wales keeper Danny Ward's legs. England lost to eventual champions France in the quarter-finals.
"There were many, especially in the early stages. We were very successful back then, at EURO 2016 and then winning the Confederations Cup the following year. The period after that was...actually worse than mediocre."
