Gareth Bale was the savour of Wales again, as the Dragons clinched one of the biggest victories in their history to beat Belgium 1-0 and take a massive step towards Euro 2016 qualification.
An unlikely victory hands them a three-point lead at the top of Group B with four games left to play, and also means they will be among the top seeds for next month's World Cup draw in Russia.
Manager Chris Coleman described it as the nation’s “biggest game for more than a decade”, against a side ranked second in the world which boasted both the Premier League and Bundesliga players of the year.
But, apart from a threatening early spell, the likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Christian Benteke failed to click and the Red Devils struggled to really get going against the stubborn hosts.
Chances came and went for Benteke, captain Hazard and Raja Nainggolan, who saw a low drive from 20 yards well saved by Wayne Hennessey, but the midfielder will be having nightmares about his dreadful defensive error which led to Bale’s strike, coming on the winger’s 50th Wales appearance.
The Real Madrid star was played through by an attempted head back to the keeper, and displayed superb control to bring the ball down with his chest before coolly slotting through the legs of Chelsea glovesman Thibaut Courtois in the 25th minute, sparking wild celebrations at a bouncing Cardiff City Stadium.
It was only the second goal the Red Devils have conceded in the whole of their qualifying campaign, and the hosts should have had another moments later.
Courtios did well to get a glove to Aaron Ramsey’s initial shot from an angle, but striker Hal Robson-Kanu was guilty of a horrible miss on the follow up, sidefooting wide with the goal at his mercy.
After the break, it was expected Belgium would look to spark a comeback, with Everton’s Romelu Lukaku joining Benteke up front to form an intimidating partnership, but instead they looked sluggish and rarely forced Hennessey into a telling save.
The visitors were frustrated as they piled forward in the late stages, but Wales, who were encouraged by the earlier goal and grew in confidence as the game wore on, performed an admirable shut-out.
Ashley Williams got a vital block in to divert Benteke’s header over the bar, while Nainggolan and De Bruyne whistled efforts just wide of Hennessey's goal, but that was the closest they came.
It was a heroic display from the dogged Dragons, with Bale’s 17th goal for his country sending Wales a huge step closer to their first major tournament since the 1958 World Cup.
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