DESTINY CALLING FOR BALE
Forget the others, if we win today then we are through, says Gareth EURO 2016
Gareth Bale has a straightforward approach to the complex horizon that lays before Wales as they look to find a route into the last 16. the myriad permutations ahead of their final Group B game against russia form a maze nigh on impossible to navigate. So Bale will not try. ‘a few of the boys have been looking,’ he conceded. ‘But in the end we say: “Just win, lads”, and then we don’t have to look.’
Chris Coleman’s side could yet finish in any position in the table and such is the format of this expanded european Championship that third place would mean an anxious 48-hour wait for the rest of the groups to catch up and reveal whether Wales were one of the best of the rest.
they must, therefore, as Bale made plain, concentrate on themselves. Victory would clear the fog and seal a top-two spot.
‘I feel like we’re going to enjoy this last game a bit more,’ said Bale. ‘the first game was a different experience for us all. the second was a massive game against a home nation.
‘Maybe the stakes are higher in this last game but I think the boys feel more relaxed. We know what we need to do and we’re actually really looking forward to it.’
how much that belief is founded in reality will become clear on the pitch in toulouse tonight.
Should Wales fail to win, their conquerors from lens can, curiously, lend a hand. If Slovakia lose to england they cannot finish higher than Wales, so a draw would then do. russia, though, must win to stand a chance of going through, so the game in toulouse and the group as a whole is deliciously poised.
Bale has sustained Wales so far by twice scoring free-kicks to take advantage of suspect goalkeeping. his first strike flew in after Matus Kozacik stepped away from his starting point in anticipation of the ball’s trajectory, while his second did Joe hart for pace from 35 yards. Bale is looking for a hat-trick of set-piece strikes today.
‘With the free-kick I scored in the first game, I knew the goalkeeper was going to gamble and that’s why I went that way,’ revealed Bale. ‘But we did our research and I knew Joe’s not going to gamble if I have a free-kick.
‘he can’t afford to because if it goes in on the keeper’s side they really do get the blame. So I was always going to go over the wall. With the third game I don’t know what I’m going to do.
‘I put a lot of practice in. even now after training I’m there for an extra 10 or 15 minutes hitting balls and doing what I normally do when I’m at Madrid and when I was at tottenham.’
rarely does Bale get dead-ball opportunities for real due to Cristiano ronaldo’s place at the top of the pecking order. But the Portuguese has not scored in 36 set-piece attempts at international tournaments and Bale is not about to start taking notes. ‘We obviously practise together in training but on different sides,’ he said. ‘I do it my way. I like my own style. My technique depends where I am on the pitch and what side. I hit it slightly different depending on where the ball is and how close you are. You stand over them and think: “Please just go in”.
‘I’ve always enjoyed taking them. I used to curl them before but I started a different technique because I found it more exciting. I found the curl a bit boring, I’m not going to lie.
‘this style of free-kick is more exciting. It can go 50 yards over the bar but then it can look even better when it goes in.’
Coleman cannot necessarily rely on Bale producing a moment of magic and yesterday encouraged his team to keep possession better than they have so far in France, crafting chances from open play. ‘I’m concerned we didn’t show what we are capable of against england,’ said the Wales manager. ‘In possession we were out of sorts.’
that russia provide the opposition at this critical juncture in Welsh football history is perhaps apt. It was defeat by russia at the Millennium Stadium in a euros play-off in 2003 that ended Welsh hopes the last time a major tournament finals looked within reach.
Joe allen was in the crowd that day 13 years ago and believes it will provide a motivating factor. ‘We understand that for all of us this is not just a key part of our careers, it’s such a key part of our lives,’ he said.
‘Further down the line we want to look back with pride and understand that it wasn’t something that we took for granted.
‘the 2003 game is something that has come up previously because we were all at an age where we were budding footballers who thought we might get the chance to represent our country (at a major tournament) in a few years’ time. We probably didn’t feel we would have to wait this long. I think whatever happens in this tournament, this group understands that this is about establishing Wales on the international scene long term.’
Coleman added: ‘We know our fate is in our hands if we win the game. If you worry too much you lose your focus. What we must do is take care of our own business. We did that to get here and we’ve got to do the same again.’