Serbia thrashing brings back unwelcome Dutch memories for Wales (Video)

Wales fans may currently be lamenting their side's 6-1 hammering at the hands of Serbia on Tuesday night but supporters of an older generation will remember that this is not the first time their team has been beaten in such a convincing fashion in World Cup qualification.

As the video below shows, November 1996 saw Wales under the guidance of Bobby Gould travel to Eindhoven to take on a Holland side who were beginning to stake their claim as one of the most talented sides in world football.

Akin to Tuesday night, Wales had injury problems that stripped them of arguably their two best talents in Ryan Giggs and Mark Hughes and despite the presence of the likes of Neville Southall, Gary Speed, John Hartson and Dean Saunders, they also fielded Vinnie Jones who predictably picked up the only booked of the game.

In contrast, the Dutch were able to field their strongest 11 at the time, featuring the likes of Edwin Van der Saar, Jaap Stam, both Frank and Ronald De Boer, Clarence Seedorf, Philip Cocu and Dennis Bergkamp. Marc Overmars was only afforded a place on the bench.

The title of the video tells you the story of the game as Wales were completely outclassed by move after move of Dutch genius and but for Neville Southall, it could well have ended worse than the eventual 7-1 scoreline. Bergkamp in particular was at the peak of his powers, scoring a hat trick, grabbing two assists and masterfully controlling matters as he pulled strings all over the pitch.

Wales unsurprisingly would come second bottom of their qualification group, with their only two victories coming against statistically the worst side in Europe, San Marino. As for the Dutch, they would win the group and go on to reach the semi finals at France 98 under Guus Hiddink, where they were only beaten on penalties by Brazil.

It looks similarly bleak for Wales 16 years on after two consecutive defeats to open their qualification campaign, but it would take a serious stretch to suggest that Serbia, despite all their talent, are would be World Cup semi finalists.

Adam Mazrani

Follow @AdamMazrani

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