Overview
- Play was paused shortly after the hour mark in Cardiff when a rat appeared on the field during a break for a head knock.
- Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois tried to catch the animal before Wales substitute Brennan Johnson ushered it off the pitch.
- The rodent slipped past a ball boy and disappeared behind the VAR monitor and advertising boards, ending the brief disruption.
- Belgium won 4-2 with Kevin De Bruyne converting two penalties, a result that leaves Wales trailing in Group J and likely facing the play-off route.
- Cardiff City head of operations Wayne Nash called the incident a “freak of nature,” citing bait stations, strict cleaning, and nearby allotments and railway bankings as factors in occasional sightings.