Ian Rush hailed it as the best night of his managerial career as Wales celebrated going 10th in the FIFA world rankings by thumping Argentina 5-0. A Steve Morison hat trick, combined with a Hal Robson Kanu header and a Rojo own goal made for one of the best nights in Welsh footballing history.
Wales went into the match without the injured Craig Bellamy and had as many as 4 uncapped players on the bench, while Argentina had Lionel Messi, the best player in the world, plus the likes of Tevez, Aguero and Di Maria.
It was a dream start for Wales as Gareth Bale burst down the left before crossing to Hal Robson Kanu who continued his excellent goalscoring run for Wales as he headed in at the back post. However after that the match went down to a normal friendly match tempo and atmosphere, with Wales showing grit and determination to keep hold of their 1-0 lead.
Just five minutes into the second half Steve Morison got his first of the game with a header from a Bale corner, and then Ramsey slipped him through again two minutes later as Morison scored again to make it 3-0 and send the Millennium Stadium into pandemonium.
A Bale cross forced Radu to turn into his own net on 60 minutes before Steve Morison sealed his hat-trick with a nicely executed finish following a scrappy piece of play.
Argentina showed little threat to the Wales goal throughout the match. They had 13 shots but only 2 on target, compared to Wales' 16/9.
A superb Gareth Bale, a spectacular Steve Morison and a shock win sealed a perfect year for Wales. They go into their last game of 2013 on tuesday with a friendly against San Marino which they will, undoubtedly, win.
European WC playoff 1st leg results:
Belgium 2-1 Spain
Bosnia & Herzegovina 2-1 Holland
Czech Republic 1-0 Northern Ireland
Sweden 1-2 England
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