Bale said there was “no fear” within Chris Coleman’s squad and also made the point that their achievements so far were made all the more enjoyable by the fact that this group of players had come through some dark times.
Advertisement
O’Neill twice pitted his wits against Ronaldo during qualification for the 2014 World Cup, leaving Bale’s club team-mate goalless on his 100th cap – a 1-1 draw in Porto – before being on the receiving end of a hat-trick in a 4-2 Belfast loss. We’ve only conceded two goals in three games which isn’t bad considering the players we’ve been up against. We know his threat, his threat at set-pieces. In its first major tournament in 58 years, Wales has risen to the occasion, edging past Slovakia and even shaking off the disappointment of a last-gasp defeat to England to produce a fine performance, brushing Russian Federation aside 3-0.
“Positionally, he’s better, he’s a lot more disciplined with us”.
Striker Kyle Lafferty said: “It’s going to be a tough game and I agree that Gareth is the stand-out player, you don’t play for Real Madrid by being average”. “We want to go as far as we can and not waste this opportunity”.
“I think there will be an edge to the game because of what’s riding on it and both sets of players believe they can progress to the next stage”.
“We’re in such a position here to create history that can last a long time and we don’t want to let go of that”, he said.
Wales will like their chances in Saturday’s match against Northern Ireland. “We’ve come up against world-class players and kept them relatively quiet”.
Wales surprised everyone including themselves by finishing above England, meaning they’ll now face the “easier” part of the draw, starting with their fellow United Kingdom friends, Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland pulled off a heroic 2-0 win in appalling conditions against Ukraine, and fought hard to limit the damage in defeats by both Poland and Germany: that defending proved crucial, as they eventually went through only on goal difference.
That moment has arrived and I think this superb Northern Ireland side can take that next vital step.
“It’s been since we were all young boys, playing together”.
His father Noel, 77, has also been in France and his son Rory, 16, has now finished his exams and is flying over for the game against Wales today [SAT].
“The main thing is that we make the game a cup tie”.
“With the support we have at home and here you can either accept and enjoy it or you get put off by it and get afraid of the attention”.
“We’ve obviously got more specialists in the team than me”.
But the 28-year-old is not about to take all the credit. With the new format, Northern Ireland has squeaked into the knockout stage by becoming one of the 4 best 3rd place finishers.
Advertisement
“I can call on my experience now – I never thought I would ever say that, I feel I am like 18 still – and use it to my advantage, and help my team as well”.
