Wales were trailing Belgium in the 66th minute when the game was halted and could not restart until a pitch invader could be removed
The Wales versus Belgium World Cup qualifying clash on Monday night came to an unexpected standstill after a rat scurried onto the playing surface at Cardiff City Stadium.
Craig Bellamy’s team were behind 2-1 in the 66th minute when the official paused proceedings to attend to an injured Belgian player who had sustained a head knock.
However, before the match could get back underway, the players found themselves waiting for a four-legged pitch invader to be cleared off the field.
Replacement Brennan Johnson was forced to shepherd the rat away as it scampered towards a camera operator positioned on the touchline.
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“Seen it all. Brennan Johnson escorts a rat off the pitch,” remarked one observer.
“Joe Rodent,” quipped another, creating a play on words referencing Wales and Leeds United defender Joe Rodon, who had netted the opening goal that evening.
“The rat was the best part of this game imo (in my opinion),” another social media user posted, moments before Wales conceded a third goal following a Kevin De Bruyne spot-kick.
“There’s no way I’ve just watched Brennan Johnson chase a rat off the pitch,” another astonished X user wrote.
Rodon had given the home side an early advantage before the away side responded with two goals prior to the interval.
This left them facing an uphill battle, Wales Online reports.
De Bruyne converted his second penalty of the evening with merely 15 minutes remaining, making the challenge significantly harder for Bellamy’s squad.
But the one-sided game of cat and mouse eventually came to a seemingly inevitable conclusion, with Belgium taking the game 4-2.
The loss significantly chews away at Wales’ hopes of automatic qualification for next year and leaves them relying on the results of other teams to help them out of the hole.