Wales have to now beat England in their final group match and hope the other game in the group ends in a draw in order to reach the last-16 round.
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Wales are finding themselves in a difficult position to qualify out of Group B of the FIFA World Cup 2022 following their shock loss to Iran in their last encounter. That result has left Rob Page’s side at the bottom of the group with just one point from two games. That point had come in their opener against the United States. Wales came from behind to secure a late draw, thanks to a Gareth Bale penalty. They were expected to build on that momentum, however, Wales were left stunned by an inspired Iran in their last match.
The 2-0 loss means Wales no longer have the destiny of qualifying out of the group in their own hands. They have to now beat England in their final group match and hope the other game in the group ends in a draw in order to reach the last-16 round. It will not be an easy task to beat the Three Lions, however, Bale is confident of getting the three points in their final group fixture. The 33-year-old would like to take inspiration from the few shocks the World Cup has already produced.
“There’s been a few shocks in the tournament already and there’s no reason why we can’t do the same,” Bale said, as quoted by irishexaminer.com. “Everyone has weaknesses. We’ve done our homework and had meetings, and I’m sure they’ve done the same with us. “We know how difficult it will be. England are a very good team, They’re one of the favourites to win the tournament. We are under no illusions it will be hard, we’re going to give everything like we always do.”
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Despite scoring their only goal of the tournament till now from the penalty spot, Bale’s contribution in games have been questioned by pundits and some section of the supporters. Not only Bale, but another senior player Aaron Ramsey has also come under criticism for his performances in Qatar. Wales manager Rob Page, however, did not reveal whether the duo will be selected or dropped for the crunch clash against England.
“It’s a big ask for anybody to play again just four days later,” Page was quoted as saying by skysports.com. “I’m going to pick a team that’s competitive against England, whether it’s with or without Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey. If they don’t start, they can make an impact off the bench. Whether they come on or whether they start and last, we’re all getting criticism now and rightly so.
“That’s the industry we’re in. We’re big enough to take it. We put our big-boy pants on and we will take it. We have to give the supporters a performance to be proud of. We’ve worked so hard to get into this position. My frustration for the players is that we’ve shown nowhere near the level of performance to get to this World Cup. We’ve got to draw a line under it. We want to react in a positive manner and I’ll pick a team who will go out and give everything to the cause.”
