To say the Welsh football team have enjoyed a good few years is an understatement.
A Gareth Bale-inspired victory over Belgium ensured they went into the World Cup qualifying draw as top seeds, a far cry from four years ago when the qualifying campaign for the 2014 tournament began.
Back then they found themselves bottom of the pile thanks to the diligent efforts of a student from the Faroe Islands.
In the summer of 2011, a run of eight defeats in 12 games saw Wales slip to 112th in the FIFA rankings, level with the Faroes.
However, inspired by a momentous 2-0 victory over Estonia and a healthy distrust of football’s governing body, political science student Jakup Emil Hansen set about doing some detective work on behalf of his countrymen.
He recalculated the Faroes’ ranking and found that they were a whole 0.07 points ahead of the Welsh, enough to earn them the final spot in pot five and leave Wales in the bottom group with minnows Luxembourg, Andorra and San Marino.
Not that it did the Faroes much good. One point from 10 games saw the islanders finish bottom of Group C, though their qualifying campaign for Euro 2016 has been more impressive, including a remarkable double win over Greece.
Still, Hansen is not too upset at the reversal in fortunes of the two nations. Indeed he was among the first to congratulate the Welsh squad on their impressive rise.
https://twitter.com/Jakup_Emil/status/609460492315324417
