Gareth Bale proved that he desperately wants to play in the FIFA World Cup by scoring two goals which helped Wales to beat Austria 2-1 in the semi-final of the World Cup qualification play-off.
Bale scored in the opener in the 25th minute and doubled Wales’ lead in the 51st minute before 28-year-old Austrian midfielder, Marcel Sabitzer scored in the 64th minute to end the game 2-1 in favor of the hosts.
The win means that Wales has qualified for the final of the play-off. They are expected to play either Ukraine or Scotland in the playoff final.
Note that the playoff semi-final between Ukraine and Scotland was scheduled to take place this March. But the Russian invasion of Ukraine halted the plan.
At the time of publishing this report, the world football governing body, FIFA, was yet to determine when the match will be played. As it stands, the game can only be played when the war between Russia and Ukraine is over.
Reports claimed that the match might be played around September, two months before the commencement of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. However, no official conclusion has been reached yet.
Hence, Gareth Bale and his teammates would have to wait for FIFA’s decision concerning Scotland vs Ukraine semi-final play-off.
Gareth Bale describes the Spanish press as disgusting
So far in the 2021-2022 season, Gareth Bale has been on and off the pitch due to fitness issues. His fitness issues at Real Madrid where he has been since 2013 have forced him to make just 5 appearances in all competitions for Madrid in which he scored a goal.
Less than a week ago, Bale who is paid over £600,000 per week at Real Madrid was not named in the squad FC Barcelona defeated 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu on March 20, 2022.
Less than four days after the humiliating defeat, Gareth Bale was looking fit and happy at Wales’ training camp.
Ahead of Wales’ semi-final play-off against Austria on Thursday, Spanish publication, Marca, published an image of Bale alongside his Wales’ teammate, Joe Rodon, looking excited. Marca tagged the picture with “it doesn’t hurt anymore”, to mock him for not playing in the 4-0 humiliation of Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
Aside from the publication, some Spanish journalists have been actively criticizing him for his fitness and form issues to the extent a Marca reporter called Bale a “parasite”.
When Bale scored the first goal via a free kick during the pay-off semi-final against Austria on Thursday, he celebrated by saying some inaudible words to the camera.
GARETH BALE! OUT OF THIS WORLD 🤯 pic.twitter.com/JcNsViMiMp
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 24, 2022
After the game, Sky Sports asked him whether he was passing a “specific message” to someone and who the message was meant for, and Bale said it was a waste of time to send a message to anyone.
“I don’t need to send a message, honestly. It’s a waste of my time”, he said. “It’s disgusting and they should also be ashamed of themselves. I’m not fussed. End of.”
GARETH BALE! OUT OF THIS WORLD 🤯 pic.twitter.com/JcNsViMiMp
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 24, 2022
On the 2-1 win over Austria, Gareth Bale added: “It was a massive game. We knew coming into it how big a game it was and we had to perform. We had to dig deep and look at our experience in big games and it’s a perfect scenario.”
Garth Bale’s contract with Real Madrid will expire on June 30, 2022, and it is not looking like the Spanish giants will renew his stay at the club. Before he lost his prominence in Madrid, the 33-year-old winger helped Real Madrid to win four UEFA Champions League, two La Liga, four FIFA Club World Cup, and a host of other titles.
So far in his football career at Real Madrid, the Wales international has scored 106 goals and provided 67 assists in 256 games in all competitions.
Special night! Let’s goooo 🔥🏴 pic.twitter.com/Qb8xV826yT
— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11) March 25, 2022
