Bale saves point for Wales against USA in World Cup after 64 years

21 nov 2022 om 22:01Update: een dag geleden

Thanks to Gareth Bale’s superb penalty, Wales drew 1-1 against the USA in their first World Cup match since 1958. Wales bounced back from a poor first half in their group game at Al Rayyan.

The chances during the fight in Group B can be counted on the fingers of one hand for a long time. The U.S. was in control before the break and took a 1-0 lead that showed the difference in quality. Timothy Weah, son of former Ballon d’Or winner and current Liberian President George Weah, is a famous man.

Having played aggressively before the break, Wales woke up in the second half. The 2016 European Championship semi-finalist leveled the score in the 82nd minute with Bale’s penalty.

England beat Iran 6-2 in the same division. The battle continues in this group with Wales-Iran at 11am Dutch time on Friday. On the same day, at 8 p.m., the first whistle will blow in England-USA.

If the Netherlands survives the group stage, they will meet a country from this group in the last eight. Orange won Group A the previous day 0-2 with From Senegal.

Groep B

1. Engeland 1-3 (+4)
2. Wales 1-1 (0)
3. Verenigde Staten 1-1 (0)
4. Iran 1-0 (-4)

Wales had a disappointing first half

While the USA returned to the top stage on Monday after eight years, Wales celebrated its return to the World Cup after 64 years.

Star player Bale got off to a tough start. Wales hit back and escaped an early deficit in the ninth minute when Anthony Robinson missed from close range.

Deserving 1-0 down after 36 minutes. Tastemaker Christian Pulisic set up Vea, who finished straight past goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey with the outside of his right foot. Wales’ game was characterized by a lack of creativity. Bale, who often took his team by the hand, did not escape the tragedy in the first half.

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Bale hits himself from the penalty spot

Wales showed improvement after the restart in the sense that national coach Rob Page’s side continued to succeed in pushing the United States back. Wales mostly opted for the long ball, with the tall Kiefer Moore’s entrance replacing the light-footed Daniel James. Had it not been for goalkeeper Matt Turner’s excellent save from a Ben Davies header, this opportunistic play looked to have paid off.

The U.S. looked to have weathered Wales’ strong phase unscathed, falling to a 1-1 draw. Umpire Abdulrahman Al Jassim kept the ball in place of Walker Zimmerman’s ball. Then the left-footer made no mistake from 11 metres.

Nine minutes deep into stoppage time, goalkeeper Turner came wide of his target to create a dire situation for the US. Bale looked to lash out but was knocked out by Kellyn Acosta who casually picked up a yellow card.