Gareth Bale proved he is still a game-changer
Every international break the world gets reminded how good Gareth Bale can be when he gets the chance to play. That is what has happened once again during FIFA’s March international break.
Bale has been a different player for club and country and that is part of why he was seen waving a Welsh flag with the words “Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order.” written across it. Wales and Bale are currently fighting to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and moved one step closer on Thursday with a 2-1 win over Austria.
In the match against Austria, Bale played incredibly, scoring both of Wales’ goals in beautiful fashion. First, he struck a freekick from around 23 yards away with his left foot and placed the ball perfectly in the top right corner grazing the underside of the crossbar as the goalkeeper watched helplessly. Bale then scored again after a cross from Leeds United’s Daniel James fell to him after bouncing around in the box.
With the two goals from their captain, Wales was able to advance to the final of Path A in the second round of UEFA World Cup Qualifying where they will face the winner of Scotland and Ukraine with a place in the World Cup on the line.
Bale’s two goals on Thursday were more than he has scored all season for Real Madrid. The Welshman used to be a key part of the Real Madrid dynasty that won three consecutive Champions League Finals, but he has since fallen down the pecking order and played in only four matches this season. In those four matches for Spain’s top team, Bale scored once while picking up two yellow cards.
During the La Liga season, he has been struggling with injuries for Real Madrid, but miraculously those injuries are suddenly healed when it is time to play for Wales. That is good news for fans as there is something different about Bale when he pulls on the shirt of Wales. The passion he showed while celebrating his first goal since September was contagious as he sprinted toward the Welsh fans and slid on his belly before getting up and screaming something to Cardiff’s finest while being swarmed by his teammates. The goals were his first in any competition since scoring a hattrick for Wales against Belarus.
It is great to see Bale back scoring goals as it has been far too long and his role in Spain has been going down for a while. Following his two-goal performance, Bale called out the Spanish media and told them that “They should be ashamed of themselves.” This comment came days after a Spanish paper called him a “parasite” for Real Madrid.
It was great to see Gareth Bale silence the haters with two good goals leading his team over a strong Austria side that had the ability to win and now sit just one win away from making it to the World Cup for the first time since 1958.
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