Gareth Bale is understandably ecstatic after Wales’ 3-0 hammering of Russian Federation in their final group fixture, which has seen the red dragon rise to the summit of the mountain that is Group B. Wales beat Northern Ireland 1-0. “It’s a bit of a bragging rights that we finished top.it’s always nice to get one over the English”.
Advertisement
Bale, now the tournament’s leading goal scorer with three goals, has told The Guardian “it is hard to describe, it was an unbelievable occasion”. But if they lose to Portugal, and Austria win against Iceland, they’ll take second spot by virtue of their head-to-head record against Austria (thanks to a 2-0 win in the opening match). The story of the night, however, was a Welsh one.
Gareth Bale said that qualification for the knockout stage of Euro 2016 with Wales sits alongside anything he has achieved with Real Madrid.
“We were just very, very good”, he said.
“We have shown that we are a good defensive team, but also what a good team we are in possession as well”. “But the team as a whole worked incredibly well and we spoke before the game about moving the ball, making them exhausted and ultimately they would make mistakes”.
There was more to come just nine minutes later as Bale again made a nuisance of himself and althyough Taylor’s first shot was blocked, the wing-back made no mistake with the rebound.
– This is the first encounter between two British teams in the knockout stages of a major tournament.
They will be underdogs once more as they go toe-to-toe with Gareth Bale and company in a battle of Britain that will be refereed by Englishman Martin Atkinson.
On only their second appearance at a major finals following their elimination to a Pele victor for Brazil in the quarter-finals of the 1958 World Cup, Wales have returned to the worldwide football stage with a bang.
“And to win in style like that is a special moment for Welsh football I think”.
Bale, who last month won the Champions League with Real Madrid for the second time in three years, made it 3-0 in the 67th minute with a deft finish from a Ramsey pass.
Bale: “The performance was probably the best I’ve been involved in”.
Northern Ireland goalkeeper Michael Mcgovern applauds at the end of the Euro 2016 Group C soccer mat … “We are delighted and very proud”.
In five transformational years, Wales and Northern Ireland have gone from playing in front of 529 fans to preparing for a British derby in the 45,000-capacity Parc des Princes in Paris.
Advertisement
“As a nation, geographically we’re small”.
