00:04The 1958 World Cup is remembered the world over as the coming of age of Pelé.
00:10In Sweden, the 17-year-old became the first teenager to score in a World Cup final,
00:16as he secured the first of a record three winner's medals.
00:22Two rounds earlier, Pelé also found the back of the net to advance Brazil out of a tricky quarter-final.
00:30That match remains Wales' only knockout fixture in World Cup history.
00:38The 1958 tournament was the first Wales had ever come close to qualifying for,
00:44and the last they would make for 66 years.
00:50There were near misses in 1982 and 1986,
00:53while failure to beat Romania at home meant the 1994 World Cup would pass them by
01:00and lead to a sinking feeling among Wales fans that their team may be cursed.
01:08They would have to wait until the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to return to football's greatest stage.
01:16Qualification assured via a playoff victory over Ukraine in Cardiff.
01:21Phil, it's an unbelievable feeling.
01:23If you could see the scenes in the changing room now, it's incredible.
01:27It was a stressful game.
01:28It was.
01:29I thought Ukraine were excellent.
01:31I really did.
01:31And they didn't.
01:32They didn't surprise me when we watched the Scottish game.
01:34We thought they were excellent and thoroughly deserved the win.
01:36And we knew we had to be at our complete best tonight to get the result.
01:40And we had to dig deeper times.
01:42But it's an incredible feeling.
01:44And I'm proud of the players and the supporters.
01:46I thought from the first minute again, they were magnificent.
01:50This iteration of the Wales side was becoming accustomed to ending hoodoos.
01:55In 2016, after 56 years of failure, they qualified for the European Championships for the first time.
02:05And they were rewarded handsomely, with the Euro debutants doing far more than making up the numbers,
02:13advancing to the semi-finals in a run that captivated the continent.
02:19For decades, Wales' international sporting reputation had been built on rugby.
02:24But now it was the footballers who returned home to a hero's welcome.
02:31Very special.
02:34It's what it means to the whole country.
02:37Obviously, it's nice for us to say a little thank you as well for supporting us
02:40and being there with us for the journey.
02:43Amazing scenes and one we'll all never forget.
02:46Bales' victories over Slovakia, Russia, Northern Ireland and Belgium proved so profound,
02:54a movie was even made of the accomplishment.
02:58I enjoy it because they're told the truth.
03:02And you just, you understand, you know, because we were away for so long.
03:07It's not just the highs, it's the lows.
03:09You know, we try to deal with it and everybody looks at Wales now as if we've been here forever,
03:14you know,
03:14which we certainly haven't.
03:16We've been in some real low periods in our experience together as a team and as a squad, as a
03:22group.
03:23And you see a bit of awe, which I thought was really well filmed.
03:28Ian Rush might be the greatest goalscorer in the history of Liverpool FC.
03:33And Ryan Giggs might have won more trophies than any other Manchester United player.
03:38But neither managed to replicate that success with the national side.
03:44The talisman to finally drag Wales over the line was Gareth Bale.
03:50It's never a one-man team.
03:53There's 11 men on the pitch for a start.
03:55So, no, for us it's a squad thing.
03:58We're together stronger.
04:00It's there for a reason.
04:02We don't just say it for no reason.
04:03And we all work hard as one unit.
04:06We defend as one, we attack as one.
04:07And, yeah, when we lose the ball, we all fight back to get it.
04:12So, yeah, it's obviously people write stories.
04:16They can write what they want.
04:17But we all know that we work very hard on the training pitch every day.
04:23And come a match day, we work even harder.
04:26Bale, along with fellow A-lister Aaron Ramsey,
04:30applied the finishing touches to a group of hard-working, often unheralded footballers
04:35who understood how their contributions could make history.
04:40I think this whole team, every single player is just hungry
04:44and wanting to play for Wales.
04:48There's no better feeling than representing your country
04:51and especially playing these big games and big moments
04:54there's literally no better feeling.
04:57It is no longer a surprise if Wales qualify for a major tournament.
05:02There is unlikely to be another generation or two suffering the heartbreak
05:06of watching the world party without them.
05:09Many, many years ago, a lot of people thought Wales was in England, you know,
05:12but now people know we're our own country.
05:18Never mind rugby.
05:20Wales is a proper football nation.
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