Gareth Bale praised Wales’ reaction to a poor first-half performance as his side drew 1-1 with the USA in their first World Cup match for 64 years on Monday.
The Americans deservedly led at the break through Tim Weah’s cool finish, but Wales could once again rely on Bale to come to the rescue, winning and equalizing with a penalty eight minutes from time.
“It’s not a good first half, to be honest, they played well and we played badly,” Bale told ITV.
“A great speech at half-time from the gaffer and the lads came out fighting and battling as always. It’s a great point where we were, we showed character again like in Euro 2020 and we’re going again.”
Wales boss Rob Page hopes his side can continue a similar start to Euro 2020 when they finished second in their group after a 1-1 draw against Switzerland.
“Going a goal down against a really good USA team, it’s like the Euros for us,” Page said.
“We showed character and determination. It’s important to start a tournament so as not to lose the game, so credit to the boys.”
Wales next face Iran, who beat England 6-2 on Friday.
Bale is confident of victory, but admitted at the end of the game that he felt the effects of a lack of playing time at club level.
“In the second half, our performance was fantastic. Now it’s a question of recovery and it goes again”, he added.
“We have to dig deeper into our country, we always do and we continue to do so.”
AFP
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