BALE: I’LL KEEP GOING FOR AS LONG AS I CAN – AND I’M WANTED
GARETH BALE insisted he may still play on for Wales despite being subbed at the break as they made a painful exit from Qatar.
Defeat by England condemned Rob Page’s men to last place in the group of their first World Cup in 64 years.
Wales were lucky to get a point in their opener against USA and were well beaten by Iran plus England. Bale was replaced by Brennan Johnson at half-time with the score 0-0 in a game Wales needed to win as boss Rob Page revealed he had hamstring trouble.
It looked to be a potentially sorry end to Bale’s illustrious career as a five-time Champions League winner.
At the end a frustrated Bale pushed a camera away from filming him come the final whistle as he walked on to the pitch to shake hands with England’s stars and commiserate with his team-mates.
But he suggested he wants to play on when Wales return to action in Croatia on March 25 when they start their qualifying campaign for Euro
2024. He said: “We go again in March. I’ll keep going as long as I can and as long as I’m wanted. I hope so.”
Bale was key as he helped Wales reach their first finals since 1958 with some heroics in qualifying.
But he struggled for form and fitness in Doha after making only two League starts for Los Angeles in the MLS. Wales were second best from the start before England set up a last-16 clash with Senegal with a double from Marcus Rashford either side of Phil Foden’s close-range effort.
Bale said: “Everyone is disappointed but we are all proud of what we have achieved to get here to qualify.
“We have to look how far we’ve come. If you’d said that two years ago, we’d have all had to pinch ourselves.
“We’ve worked hard to get here and it is just disappointing to go out but we will walk out of that changing room with our heads held high and proud of each other.
“We always give 100 per cent and play with heart. There are no regrets.”