Wales have played in the World Cup for the second time since 1958, and Bale and Ramsey made their debuts
author：Southern Metropolis Daily
Qatar World Cup Round of 32 Tour · Group B Wales
Wales have played in the World Cup for the second time since 1958, and Bale and Ramsey made their debuts
England, Iran, USA and Wales form Group B, and fans can immediately taste the "gunsmoke" of this group compared to the other groups. England is the only team in this group, and after the draw results came out, Fleet Street thought that England had drawn "on the draw"; Iran is the best among the six Asian teams, shouldering the responsibility of reaching the round of 16 for Asian football; The U.S. team, which has been absent from the World Cup for eight years, is on the verge of youth; The aging Welsh team is focusing on showing the style of the "European Red Dragon".
Wales have played in the World Cup for the second time since 1958, and Bale and Ramsey made their debuts
On 6 June, Bale led the Welsh team to celebrate their qualification for the World Cup. IC picture
In the early morning of November 10, Beijing time, the Welsh team announced the 26-man squad for the World Cup, led by Bale, Ramsey and Daniel James were selected, with an average age of 26.27 years old.
Returning to the national team from Real Madrid, Bale, who carried a team alone, returned. In this World Cup qualifier, St. Bell once again showed its might, scoring all the goals in the two games of the European play-offs of the qualifiers, carrying the "European Red Dragon" to stand on the World Cup stage again since 1958.
St. Bale's form has declined badly in recent years, and his performances at the club are unbearable, and he has been sitting more on the bench on matchdays in recent years. He made a total of seven appearances at Real Madrid last season, scoring one goal and no assists. He also failed to secure a starting spot after a free transfer to MLS Los Angeles FC this summer.
But when it came to the national team, Bale put on a very different performance from the club. In this World Preliminary Round, Bale made 7 appearances, scored 5 goals, provided 3 assists, and let the opponent pose for 1 goal, directly participated in 9 goals, and averaged more than 1 goal per game. In terms of time, Bale played a total of 570 minutes in this World Qualifier, averaging 63 minutes to participate in one goal.
Bale is past his peak and the overtaking on the wing is no longer visible, but he can always help his team score with his experience, especially from set-pieces. In the final life-and-death battle to decide World Cup tickets, Bale took a free-kick in the 34th minute against Ukraine, causing Yarmolenko to put himself in the face and Wales headed high to Qatar with this goal. Bale's free-kick was most memorable from Euro 2016 against England. After six years, Wales meets England again, will Bale become the big saint familiar to fans to lead the team to victory?
In the MLS final on November 6, Bale came off the bench and drew 3-3 with Philadelphia United in overtime with a header, and Los Angeles FC won the 2022 MLS championship on penalties. It can be seen that Bale was in good shape before the World Cup.
Wales have played in the World Cup for the second time since 1958, and Bale and Ramsey made their debuts
Welsh player Moore (front) celebrates after an equaliser in the group stage of the European Championship on 12 June 2021. Xinhua News Agency
In addition, center Moore will probably receive special attention from Chinese fans, especially the media, because Moore is a fourth-generation Chinese. He was one of the naturalized targets of the Chinese team when he was playing in the Championship a few years ago. In 2016, he tried out Beijing Guoan and Jiangsu Suning, but the evaluation was not very good. Moore now plays for Bournemouth in the Premier League and is a regular centre-forward for Wales.
Wales have played in the World Cup for the second time since 1958, and Bale and Ramsey made their debuts
Ramsey (first from right) greets the audience after Belgium's draw away with Wales in the World Cup World Cup on 16 November 2021. Xinhua News Agency
Wales will face the United States and Iran in the first two rounds of the group stage, and if they miss the first two rounds, it will be particularly difficult to face England in the final round. This tournament should also be the curtain call for the golden generation of Welsh football, goalkeeper Hennessey is 35, defender Gauntel is 33, midfielder twins Ramsey and Joe Allen are 31 and 32 years old, striker Bale is 33 years old and Moore is 30 years old... When Bale announced his farewell to Real Madrid this summer but has not yet decided on a home, there have been persistent news that he could retire if Wales do not make it to the World Cup. After completing their career World Cup debut, the stalwarts of the Welsh team are very likely to bid farewell to the national team, and the subsequent players are likely to be unable to replicate the glory of this batch of "red dragons".
