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Billions witnessed Mario Gotze fire home the winner for Germany in the World Cup final, but just imagine it had been Gareth Bale instead.

That is ludicrous of course, Wales came nowhere near qualifying for Brazil, indeed the Dragons have not troubled a World Cup since way back in 1958.

But there is one way the Bale scenario could become a reality, and that would be as part of a unified Great Britain side.

OK, perhaps it is fanciful to suggest a team comprising Scottish, Northern Irish, Welsh as well as English players would have won the tournament, but surely a side with the likes of Bale and Aaron Ramsey rubbing shoulders with Daniel Sturridge and Wayne Rooney, one containing Cardiff City’s impressive Scottish goalkeeper David Marshall too, would have been in with a much better chance of success.

Now the suggestion of a merging all the home nations is usually enough to have your average Welshman choking on his laverbread or falling out of his coracle, but is it really such and outlandish and unwelcome idea?

Read: How you reacted to Steve Tucker's controversial column

England’s dismal efforts in Brazil and the failure of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to even qualify have led MP Laurence Robertson to call for a debate on the issue in the House of Commons. It is a suggestion that has been ridiculed in most quarters.

Britain is unique in that it fields the four different home nations on the international footballing stage. No other country in the world does such a thing and it is clearly a handicap. How would Germany get on with different sides from Bavaria and Lower Saxony rather than the one representing the country as a whole?

On these shores, the result has been down the years that some amazing players have missed out on strutting their stuff on the biggest stage of all. Northern Ireland’s George Best and the likes of Wales’ Ian Rush and Ryan Giggs may have thrilled at club level, but they missed out at international level, and whatever your thoughts on the subject, that has to be regarded as a shame.

It would appear nationalism and mild jingoism stand in the way of a British football side, but, in reality, are the majority of fans in the home nations actually against it?

Pictures: How a Great Britain XI could look

The strange thing is,of course, that in most of the big sports we are represented by British sides or individuals operating under the British flag and no one bats and eyelid.

In tennis the whole country reacted with joy when Andy Murray won Wimbledon, with very few in Surrey concerned that Murray is, of course, Scottish. In cricket, England and Wales quite happily play as a unit, whilst in golf, the very pinnacle of the game sees Britain part of a European team.

But the biggest example of British unity in the sporting world is in the Olympic Games.

I remember as a youngster screaming at the TV as London- born Sebastian Coe and Brighton-born Steve Ovett left the world’s elite trailing in the Moscow games. More recently I was punching the air in triumph as Dame Kelly Holmes, who came into this world in Kent, somehow found the burst of speed needed to win double gold in Greece.

Why did I feel like that? Because I felt British, I guess. I suppose I still do, and these people were wearing ‘my’ country’s flag on their chests, giving their all for we British. Does that make me any less Welsh? I don’t think so, but many would probably argue it does.

There are plenty opposed to a British football team for various reasons. Most vociferous in that opposition are obviously the football associations of the home nations themselves, but you would not expect turkeys to vote for Christmas.

Indeed, many would argue a radical overhaul and modernisation of the FAW is long overdue and merging them into a British association would most certainly do that.

The idea of a unified British side might seem to buck the trend on a political level too to with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all receiving degrees of devolved power in recent years, but, despite a forthcoming referendum, full on independence for Scotland seems unlikely and remains even more remote here in Wales. A British side might actually reflect the feelings of the majority of people living on these isles anyway.

It has to be faced that Wales might never qualify for a World Cup again. A European Championship with an increased amount of teams in it is a possibility, but with Fifa actually wanting to remove a qualification spot from Europe, the chances of Wales making the greatest competition of all look bleak to say the least.

The idea of a Great British side has often been unthinkable for many in Wales, but things move on, football has changed and maybe the game here needs to change too. If we want success, if we want to at least give ourselves and future generations the chance to witness Welsh players at a World Cup it might just be time to start thinking the unthinkable.

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