‘The dragon on my shirt; that’s all I need,” Gareth Bale said, looking down at the Wales crest on his red polo shirt, swaying on a swivel chair in Dinard with a little abandon before their quarter-final victory over Belgium at Euro 2016. That statement feels as though it will soon be put to the test.
As the sun set in Doha yesterday , morphing into the marshmallow skies, Bale was again holding court, repeatedly checking his watch as the questions flowed . He knew it was only a matter of time before he was asked whether Wales’s game against England tonight could be his last for his country? “Nope,” Bale snapped back, arms folded. Well, that’s that – for now at least.
Not all questions were so predictable . Among the others was: how was the rack of Welsh lamb? On Sunday the celebrity chef Bryn Williams brought Welsh cakes and cooked dinner, fit with mint sauce and caper dressing, at the team hotel in West Bay. “Hopefully it gives us a better performance – we would love nothing more,” Bale said with a spoonful of perspective.
“We are trying to keep our spirits high. We have to remember we are at a World Cup, for the first time in a long time. We would rather be at a World Cup maybe not doing amazingly well than sat at home on the sofa not doing anything. We are happy to be here and we are going to give everything we can to try to qualify.”
Six years ago Bale, whose career is winding down in the US, could do no wrong, a superpower grazing and grinning his way through Wales’s extraordinary ride to the semi-finals. He infamously served up a home run for anyone with even a millilitre of Welsh blood, insisting Wales had more passion than England.
This story is from the November 29, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 29, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Liverpool comeback falls short despite early Salah penalty
Jürgen Klopp has taken Liverpool to four European finals, one Champions League trophy and places that players and fans alike may never have imagined possible but a journey that pulsated and punished is over. There will be no fairytale ending in Dublin after one more feat of escapology proved beyond Klopp's team against Atalanta.
City's system failure offers glimmer of hope to rivals
Real Madrid's collision with Pep Guardiola's grooved machine represented a gripping clash of ideologies
'We have a superior product': Dukes maker asks Key to discuss ball
The maker of Dukes balls has entered the debate on the trial use of the Kookaburra ball in county cricket and invited Rob Key, the England and Wales Cricket Board's managing director of men's cricket, to talk to him about the type of ball he wants to see.
'I'm not swayed': Hamilton bats away criticism of Ferrari move
Lewis Hamilton has insisted his decision to join Ferrari in 2025 does not need any vindication, as he bemoaned the continued discussion over whether it is the right choice.
England's dreaming - If Dier can leave and kick on, how can the Premier League be the world's best?
It’s that Mitchell and Webb sketch reprised. Premier League fans looking around nervously. Are we … the farmers? (credit to Charlie on X who asked me this question).
Customers failed by poor 'country of origin' labels, says Which?
\"Misleading\" and \"inconsistent\" labels make it hard for shoppers to know where their food comes from, the consumer organisation Which? has said. It found supermarket chains were selling products with \"meaningless\" statements on their packaging.
Russia's war in Ukraine a barrier to global growth, says IMF boss
Russia's war with Ukraine is stoking geopolitical tensions and damaging the recovery prospects of the global economy, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned yesterday.
Victims of 1981 Dublin fire were unlawfully killed, inquest finds
Forty-eight young people were unlawfully killed after an electrical fault started an inferno at the Stardust nightclub in Dublin in 1981, an inquest jury has found.
Husband of influencer accused of tax evasion joins Russian military to secure her release
When his wife, a prominent Russian Instagram influencer, was threatened with years of imprisonment over tax evasion charges, Alexei Blinovsky opted for what seemed the most viable means to secure her freedom in Russia today: he joined Vladimir Putin's military campaign in Ukraine.
India's 'most predictable' election begins with Modi accused of undermining rivals
Voting has begun in India's general election, as Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata party looks to increase its parliamentary majority amid allegations that the country's democracy has been undermined since it came to power 10 years ago.
