Watch: The wonderful anthem that inspired Wales to victory over Finland

To say Wales looked motivated in their 4-1 demolition of Finland in their European Championship playoff semi-final would be something of an understatement.

If Rhys Ifans stirring the blood with the most passionate of battle cries when addressing the Welsh squad on Monday evening wasn’t enough to have Rob Page’s men running through walls, then the sound of 30,000 voices bellowing out Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau as if their lives depended on it, certainly was motivation enough.

With home advantage The Red Wall are Cymru’s 12th man – an amorphous mass of unbridled emotion channelling Welsh heart and hwyl.

When the opening burst of the anthem fades and the crowd takes over it is truly one of the greatest sights and sounds in world sport, more than a match than anything the Principality Stadium has served up in recent times.

No wonder Wales scored two minutes into the game, the remnants of the anthem was no doubt still reverberating in their souls, let alone their ears.

Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau is pride and nationhood, an auditory awakening that will hopefully help propel this little nation onto a third European Championship in a row.

These are heady days for Welsh fans who have suffered past failures and business as usual for those youngsters for whom this a commonplace experience.

Poland in the playoff final next week will no doubt offer a sterner test, but with home advantage and that Red Wall roar who wouldn’t bet against a summer to remember in Germany.

Watch and enjoy!

Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ❤️@Cymru | #WALFIN pic.twitter.com/BVhAWYUtXL

— Sgorio ⚽️ (@sgorio) March 21, 2024

And from the crowd…