On a day where England and Scotland only draw and Ireland were beaten it's the Welsh who are getting all the plaudits, and rightly so.
IC Wales
Wales got their Euro 2004 challenge off to a marvellous start in Helsinki with a smash and grab victory.
Under a lot of pressure throughout, they managed goals from John Hartson and Simon Davies - the second a savage killer blow - to stretch their unbeaten run to six games.
Wales skipper Gary Speed, 33 on Sunday and playing his 69th international, was once again saddled with the left-back role with such a profusion of midfielders fighting for a space.
He and the rest of the Wales defence had to deal with a deluge of long balls and throws in the opening minutes, all aimed at Sheffield Wednesday's burly Shefki Kuqi, with the much vaunted Jari Litmanen. late of Liverpool, dancing around in the space behind the front man, as is so much his style.
John Hartson, who had pleaded for a fair deal from referees before the game, got away with sending Hannu Tihinen crashing to the ground on nine minutes, but Pembridge was not so lucky, booked a minute later for a foul on Litmanen.
But referee Konrad Plautz seemed to have heard Hartson's pleas because the big Celtic man won a string of free-kicks as he battled for the ball in the air.
Litmanen was a constant danger, finding space with such ease, and one ball to Nylund ended with a viciously swerving cross that dropped between Danny Gabiddon and Paul Jones, but thankfully for the Welsh, sped on out of play.
The Austrian official was being overworked with a string of offences, and got the book out again when Tihinen cut down Savage in full flow on 20 minutes.
Mika Nurmela down the right was having plenty of joy, Litmanen finding him constantly, but the delivery wasn't good enough.
But the battle was being waged in midfield, an area packed with flying bodies, tough tackling and immense effort.
In all this toil, Litmanen - now away from his nightmare at Liverpool and being officially unveiled at Ajax next week - was prospering.
But then on the half hour Wales grabbed the lead.
Jones's long ball out was headed on by Speed, Ryan Giggs got some sort of connection in the box and Simon Davies miskicked, but there was Hartson all alone six yards out to drive the ball into an empty net.
The Wales bench erupted, thousands of their countrymen were in raptures and Hartson had claimed his seventh international goal and his fifth in his last 10 appearances for his country.
Finland's response was more flying action from Nurmela, and a 40th minute swirling free kick from Litmanen that cleared Jones's bar before Tihinen headed over from an Aki Riihilahti set piece.
A minute from the break Davies robbed Janne Saarinen and raced for goal, only to be bodychecked by Sami Hyypia on the edge of the box. He was booked and lucky to stay on the pitch.
But another swerving free kick right on half time forced Jones to a fine save by his left hand post.
Wales's tacklers, in the shape of Mark Delaney and Pembridge in particular, were constantly in the action as Finland continued to press.
Just how long Wales could stand the war of attrition in which the Finns were having so much of the ball was questionable.
A Wales break from Davies saw the Tottenham youngster find Giggs, who sent Johnson into the box, but solid defending from Hyypia halted the midfielder.
The frustration started spilling over among the Finnish fans, while the singing from the Welsh fans boomed around this famous bowl of a stadium.
And when Delaney's fine run won a 60th-minute corner, Wales went close when Giggs's flag kick was headed just wide by the towering Hartson.
A rare poor clearance from Pembridge ended with Joonas Kolkka's cross flying right across goal for Teemu Tainio to lash into the side netting.
Despite all the Finnish pressure, Jones had barely had a save to make such was the quality of the defending in front of him by Andy Melville and the young Gabiddon, in only his third international.
Finland responded by bringing on another striker in Jonatan Johansson in place of full back Nylund.
But Jones did need to be at his best to touch a Kuqi header onto the bar and over.
Wales broke out on 72 minutes to score a wonderful second. Robbie Savage picked up a lose ball in midfield, fed Giggs, who set off on a run that had defenders backing away in fear.
His pass to the feet of Davies was perfection, and the youngster drilled home his second goal in successive internationals.
Wales brought on Craig Bellamy for Johnson with 15 minutes left, and Finland put on another forward soon after, this time taking off Saarinen and bringing on Peter Kopteff.
Litmanen had a header against a post and Giggs sent a free-kick spinning towards the near post for Antti Niemi to save.
Mark Hughes conceded beforehand that this was the moment for the talking to stop and for months of good preparation to bear fruit when it matters in the this opening European Championship Group Nine qualifier.
Wales had around 3,000 fans in the Olympic Stadium, their best following since the days of Terry Yorath and the agonising failure to reach the World Cup finals in the United States back in 1994.
The expectation is high and Hughes has the best squad at his disposal he has ever had as manager. His side have put together Wales' best unbeaten run since those heady days and now the reality is beginning to dawn.
BBC Wales
Wales proved how far they have come under manager Mark Hughes by grabbing a fine win over Finland in Helsinki on Saturday.
Goals from John Hartson and Simon Davies got Wales off to the best possible start in their European Championship qualifying campaign, stunning their Group Nine rivals.
Finland, who had not lost at home for 10 matches, hit the woodwork twice in the second half as they piled on the pressure, but Wales dug deep to claim their first competitive win away from home in three years.
Both sides started the match in cagey fashion, and there was little goal-mouth action at either end. While the former Liverpool player was in a lively mood, the home side's main threat in the first half came from Mika Nurmela down the right flank. Wales skipper Gary Speed, playing at left-back rather than his more usual of midfield role, was tormented by the Heerenveen winger. And only good defensive cover from Robbie Savage and Danny Gabbidon prevented any real damage being done. Although Speed struggled for pace, his overall worth to Wales was underlined by his part in the game's opening goal. With half an hour gone, the Finnish defence failed to deal with Speed's long ball into the penalty area. Ryan Giggs helped it on and Hartson arrived at the back post to slide the ball under Antti Niemi. It was the Celtic striker's seventh goal in as many games for Wales and underlined his value to Hughes' team. A goal down, Finland were forced to take the game to Wales, and after the break they appeared to be getting on top of the visitors. First, Joonas Kolkka found a yard of space in the box but was foiled by Mark Delaney's speedy challenge. Then Nurmela picked out Litmanen with a great cross only to see the assistant referee's flag go up for offside. But moments later the other Southampton goalkeeper on the pitch, Finland's Niemi, was not so fortunate. Savage picked up the ball in midfield and fed Giggs, who drew the Finland defence towards him before slotting a perfect through-ball to Davies. The Tottenham youngster opted for the near post and rifled his shot home for his second goal in successive internationals. Charlton's Jonatan Johansson, on as a substitute for Finland, hit a post late on, but Davies could have given Wales a third with a cheeky chip that Niemi did well to claw away. Wales should take huge heart from this result and will go into the next qualifier, against Italy at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on 12 October, with real expectation of getting a result. The Welsh dragon has been a benign footballing force for far too long but victory in Finland courtesy of two opportunist strikes is a wonderful fillip at the start of a new European Championship campaign for Mark Hughes's rapidly improving side. England and Germany failed to win here in the 2002 World Cup qualifying series, which is a measure of this Welsh achievement. Goals in each half from John Hartson, who always rises to the big occasion, and a composed finish from Simon Davies sent the 4,000 or so Welsh visitors home in typically good voice. Hughes had said this mission was primarily one of avoiding defeat but with Tottenham's Davies and the fit-again Craig Bellamy adding firepower to Hartson's muscular toil and Ryan Giggs's magic, Wales now have the potential to score from a variety of means. And once more the defence, who helped construct a run of six unbeaten games, were solid and assured when placed under pressure. They were reprieved when Jari Litmanen miscued from six yards and were fortunate to see a glancing header from the former Liverpool player come back off a post. But for the manner in which they made the most of a bare minimum of scoring openings Wales well deserved this win. It sets them up perfectly for the visit of group favourites Italy next month. Giggs and Davies found themselves boxed in on the narrow pitch early on. Robbie Savage ensured that Litmanen would also be denied space with some typically brusque challenges. Paul Jones watched as Shefki Kuqi headed high; a rare occurrence as most Finland crosses were not reaching their target. That was heartening for Wales in the first half because the understanding between Litmanen and Mika Nurmela was occasionally creating space behind the dogged block of three central midfielders. In his own private battle to prove that he should keep his Southampton place ahead of their new signing Antti Niemi, Jones was not winning any points with his kicking. Yet when Wales burst out to score on the half-hour it derived from the goalkeeper's clearance. Speed headed on towards Giggs, who could have shot himself but instead allowed the ball to roll on to Hartson, who poked it home. Unable to win a starting place this season with Celtic, Hartson remains top quality at this level. This was his fifth goal in his last seven competitive outings. Aki Riihilahti attempted an instant reply but Speed made an acrobatic block. With their goal Wales visibly grew in stature but it required a decent save from Jones on the stroke of half-time to keep them in front at the interval. That came after Litmanen had found a route through the defensive wall. With Finland becoming more desperate the longer the game went on it was always on the cards that Wales could score again. Hartson headed wide but a flowing counterattack involving Savage and Giggs was finished off by Davies with a shot inside Niemi's near post. Jones had to tip a Kuqi header on to the woodwork but Wales could have scored more as Davies was foiled in injury time and Hartson got under his shot.
Mark Pembridge, playing the holding role in Wales' midfield, earned an early booking for a clumsy lunge on Finland's play-maker Jari Litmanen.
The Daily Telegraph