Gareth Bale and Wales break Ukraine hearts to seal historic World Cup place

Gareth Bale celebrates with Wales team-mates after taking the lead against Ukraine.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Gareth Bale was the inspiration as Wales broke Ukraine hearts and sealed World Cup qualification for the first time since 1958 after a 1-0 win in the teams' play-off in Cardiff on Sunday.

Bale's excellent first-half free-kick was headed into his own net by West Ham defender Andriy Yarmolenko after 34 minutes to send supporters wild at the Cardiff City Stadium.

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Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is the Weekend Editor of FourFourTwo. A European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.