Share

Gareth Bale and Wales embracing pressure of qualification bid

A night meant to honour Welsh football, with the team on the brink of qualification for Euro 2016, was instead focussed on the Real Madrid attacking player, who scooped three of the main awards at the Football Association of Wales awards night.

Advertisement

Bale has scored six of Wales’ nine goals in qualifying to spearhead their bid to reach the finals of a major tournament for the first time since the 1958 World Cup.

He was also named “Players” Player of the Year” and “Fan’s Favourite of the Year” – an award which he said was “close to his heart’.

“Look at the previous year and he’s scored a few incredible goals for us”, Coleman told reporters.

Gareth Bale says he is ready for Wales’ Euro 2016 qualifiers against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Andorra after recovering from injury.

Meanwhile, Coleman has accused the major European nations of being scared to play his side ahead of Euro 2016.

But Italy are among the countries to reject the offer of a Wales friendly, much to Coleman’s frustration.

He said: ‘We kind of thought we might be able to tempt a Spain or a Germany and find out how good you are but there’s been no interest.

When asked whether it was because opposition teams were now running scared, the former Fulham boss added: “I don’t know, maybe”.

“We need a point from two games and we want to take care of our own business”.

“But we’re not seen as an England, Italy or Spain and we’re in that spot where we are a danger to a few of the big boys in that we could win”.

“If you look at the friendly games and the big boys tend keep it among themselves and that’s disappointing”.

Advertisement

“We hope that over the next 12 months we will achieve even greater success”.

Gareth Bale vies with Diego Godin