Legends' joy as Wales reach World Cup in Qatar

The long wait is over - Wales are back in the World Cup finals for the first time since 1958.

It's been 64 years, and no-one was happier than Cliff Jones to see his country make it to Qatar - he was a part of the last Welsh team to play in the finals in Sweden in 1958.

Back then, Wales were denied in the quarter-finals by a certain Pele, then just 17, who sowed the seeds of his superstar status in the game with six goals in the knockout phase of the tournament, starting with the winner and only goal of the quarter-final against Wales.

There were three players in that Wales squad in Sweden - Cliff, Mel Hopkins and Terry Medwin. This time around, two Spurs players have been instrumental in Wales' qualification - Ben Davies and Joe Rodon, while Spurs legend Gareth Bale shone again for the Dragons. His deflected free-kick saw Wales home against Ukraine in the play-off final at Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday, but the performances of Ben and Joe to keep a clean sheet, alongside goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, saw the team home.

There were emotional scenes on the final whistle and we caught up with two Spurs and Welsh legends on Monday morning - Cliff and Mike England, 108 caps between them, 775 Spurs appearances between them - and asked them how it felt for their beloved Wales to be back on world football's main stage.

"It's fantastic, it took me back to 1958, I must admit," said Cliff, now 87, who earned 59 caps between 1954-69. "It's a very special moment and I thought the team and the support from the fans was amazing. Ben and Joe were class. Ben must one of the best around, now and a great lad as well.

"I always believed we'd get there again. Over the years, we've had some good sides and some outstanding players, we've been close, I just didn't think it would be so long... 64 years, it's a lifetime, isn't it?

"We're there now so look out - the Welsh are coming!"

Mike, now 80, 49 caps and eight years as Wales manager, 1980-88, told us: "I'm very proud, thrilled, because we've been close so many times. In 1985, when I was manager, we needed to beat Scotland in our last group game to qualify, and we were winning 1-0 until they were awarded a late penalty, they scored, and then Jock Stein collapsed right in front of me (Scotland's famous manager died of a heart attack that night). The draw wasn't good enough for us (Wales finished third in the group, Scotland qualified for the 1986 finals via a play-off) and last night, with Wales 1-0 up again, I was thinking, 'please hold on this time'.

"It was great to get through and the Spurs lads, they were absolutely brilliant. The whole of Wales is so delighted we've qualified. The management team and the players have done a great job."