BALE NABBED WOODBURN FOR WALES

GARETH BALE has revealed he “tapped up” wonderkid Ben Woodburn to convince him to snub England for Wales.

The Liverpool teenager scored a stunning winner on his international debut against Austria, on Saturday, to boost Wales’ World Cup hopes.

Woodburn qualifies for Wales through his grandparents, and has played for them since Under-15 level, but was born and raised in England.

And Real Madrid superstar Bale admits he spoke to the youngster back in November 2015, to persuade him to play for the Dragons.

Bale, whose agent also represents Woodburn (below), said: “I remember meeting him one game against Holland, and I was injured and he was sat in the box next to me.

“I obviously had a little chat with him then to get him on board. We knew he was a great player and are delighted to have him. He is Welsh so he is ours.” Bale (right) has 26 goals in 67 caps for his country and thrived at Euro 2016. Now he could eclipse the Welsh scoring record of former Liverpool hitman Ian Rush on 28. He could go level with Rush with a brace against Moldova tonight. He added: “It doesn’t matter who scores, it is a team game.”