Yahoo Finance Wales Face Northern Ireland In Brexit Derby
Thousands of Wales and Northern Ireland supporters are cheering their teams in Paris in the Euro 2016 last-16 meeting.
The winner will be guaranteed a first ever European Championship quarter-final. At half-time, the score remained 0-0 but an own-goal from Northern Ireland in the 75th minute has given the upper hand to Wales.
The "Brexit derby" comes in the wake of the United Kingdom vote to leave the European Union, and pitches two home nations who were on different sides of the referendum result against each other.
Northern Ireland, like Scotland, recorded a majority vote to remain, while Wales voted to leave alongside England.
The political impact of the referendum is still resonating in France and across Europe, but for the fans, teams and managers the focus is on a game of huge significance to both nations.
Wales have not reached a major finals in 58 years, and it is Northern Ireland's first since the 1986 World Cup.
Qualification for the knockout stages - Wales won their group ahead of England while Northern Ireland were among the best third-place finishers - means the tournament can already be deemed a success for both.
But both will see the tie as a wonderful opportunity to extend their stay in France, and neither will be overawed by familiar opponents.
They have met 95 times previously, most recently in May when Wales needed a late equaliser to secure a 1-1 draw.
That result was achieved without leading players Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale, the tournament's leading scorer with three goals already and who has the air of a world class player ready to seize his moment.
The Real Madrid forward offered Wales an edge in a game that has summoned the atmosphere of a domestic cup tie in the Parc des Princes, a ground where Wales enjoyed many successes on the rugby field.
One Wales fan told Sky News: "It's very tense."
Alongside Bale, Wales manager Chris Coleman could call on the Premier League experience of Ramsey, Swansea's Ashley Williams and Liverpool's Joe Allen.
His counterpart Michael O'Neill has a more modest squad on paper but they have risen to the occasion in previous games. They beat Ukraine and ensured qualification on goal difference by holding Germany to a 1-0 defeat, thanks in large part to a heroic performance from Hamilton Academical goalkeeper Michael McGovern.
O'Neill, who expressed regret at failing to arrange a postal vote for the referendum, perhaps an indication he thought he might be home in time to vote, said he expected similar commitment today.
"I want my players to play with loads of emotion, I want them to show that they understand the significance of the game. I won't be asking them to take emotion out of it because I don't expect anyone to play without emotion," he said ahead of the match.
Coleman said he wanted his team to learn from their defeat to England, when he felt the occasion inhibited his players, and had his eyes on the latter stages.
"This is the biggest thing they've ever been part of but by no means is it: 'Wow, we got there, that was fantastic.' It's going to be: 'What do we do after this? Are we going to rest or are we going to go again?'
"We want to go further and we've a chance. Let's do everything we can to take that chance."
