WALES ENDS UKRAINE DREAM
Weeks of back spasms were not going to stop Gareth Bale’s mission to lead Wales back to the World Cup.
Wales 1, Ukraine 0
Try stopping the captain taking the field when there is a 64-year drought to end.
Try stopping a free kick from a forward who was once the world’s costliest footballer. Ukraine winger Andriy Yarmolenko could only divert it into his own net with a header.
The 1-0 win over war-disrupted Ukraine on Sunday, secured in the 34th minute in the Cardiff downpour, was enough to send Wales back to the World Cup as the country with the longest gap between qualifications for the FIFA showpiece.
“It’s the greatest result in the history of Welsh football,” Bale said. “I’m just delighted we are going to a World Cup. It means everything, it’s what dreams are made of. I’m speechless. I’m so glad we’ve done it for these amazing fans.”
Bale was one of those spectators for the remaining 10 minutes or so after being substituted when his body could offer no more.
“It was difficult,” Bale said. “I haven’t played too much football these last three or four weeks because of my back spasm, but the most important thing was to get through. I give my all. I was running on empty.”
The trip to Qatar gives Bale — British soccer’s most decorated foreign export at Real Madrid — a chance to finally play on the sport’s biggest stage. But the five-time Champions League winner is without a club for next season after being released by
Madrid. While saying he has “loads” of offers, the 32-yearold free agent had been coy about his playing future.
Now there is a new club to find to stay match fit for the Nov. 21 World Cup opener against the United States. Then there is Iran and England to play in Group B.
The Welsh also played their neighbors at the 2016 European Championship when they lost to England in the group stage.
But Wales did go further than England at Euro 2016 in France, reaching the semifinals where Cristiano Ronaldo led Portugal to victory and then the title.
Another soccer great knocked out Wales at the 1958 World Cup, with Pele netting the only goal in eventual champion Brazil’s quarterfinal win.
U.S. forwards struggle
Jesus Ferreira failed to convert a pair of first-half chances as U.S. forwards kept up their goal-scoring struggles, and the Americans played a 0-0 draw against Uruguay at Kansas City, Kan., in their second of four World Cup warmup matches this month.
The U.S. took the field three hours after learning Wales would be its opening World Cup opponent in November, and the Americans stretched their home unbeaten streak to 25 matches since a September 2019 loss to Mexico. That’s one shy of the team record set from 2013-15.
Wales is ranked 18th in the world, three behind the U.S.
“We know what their team’s about, and we’re going to have to put in a good performance,” American star
Christian Pulisic said.
U.S. players watched the last 15 minutes.
“To get to play a guy like Gareth Bale I think is something we can all be excited about,” defender Walker Zimmerman said, referring to Wales’ career scoring leader.
Ferreira had the best American chances, a 15-yard shot saved by Fernando Muslera in the 19th and then an open header wide a minute later. Haji Wright, who debuted Wednesday, replaced Ferreira in the 61st.
American forwards have one goal in the team’s last 13 matches — by Ferreira in a 5-1 rout of Panama in a World Cup qualifier on March 27.
Edinson Cavani was wide with an 8-yard shot for Uruguay in the third minute of second-half stoppage time.