Gareth Bale insists Wales are fully focused on their mission to qualify for next summer’s European Championships after he helped his side beat Cyprus.
The pressure was on Chris Coleman’s men in Nicosia but they once again delivered in hot and humid conditions.
Wales, 67.00 to win Euro 2016, struggled to deal with the heat back in 2008 for their last trip to Cyprus but Coleman’s side proved too good on Thursday night.
Midfielder Dave Edwards had a goal disallowed during the first half but Bale delivered late on. Bale’s pace continued to cause problems and he eventually got his reward as his inch-perfect header found the back of the net.
Coleman’s side are now just one win away from qualifying for their first major tournament in 58 years. They will need to get past Israel on Sunday but if they do their fans can look forward to France next summer.
Speaking after the match, Bale said he felt he did not play well and revealed Wales want to get the job done.
He told Sky Sports: “I don’t think I had the best of games tonight but when there’s a chance, hopefully I can tuck it in.
Sometimes it happens like that. Luckily enough I did tonight and it has given us an important three points.
“We knew the task coming in and obviously there has been a lot of media surrounding us. We know what we have to do [against Israel] but we’re a strong team.
“We’re together and we know what our capabilities are. We’re one unit and we know what we need to do now [to reach Euro 2016].”
Leave a comment
Link Dafabet