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TThe last time Wales faced Slovakia in Cardiff, in a less than half empty Millennium Stadium, in October 2006, they suffered one of their most humiliating defeats at home, but there was a glimmer of hope in the sinking of a 5-1 hammer blow. Gareth Bale, a fresh-faced 17-year-old, scored his third international goal with his first goal for Wales, scoring a glorious free kick in the top corner this afternoon as a sign of what was going to happen. pbad.
The last 13 years have been very fast and Bale is preparing to face the same opponents on his home soil Sunday as the most senior player in the Welsh team, the country's unprecedented striker and to borrow the own description of the Real Madrid striker, as one of the "old players".
Bale smiles while remembering to have sung Wonderwall during his initiation ceremony at the time John Toshack was in command – "It will not happen again," he says with a laugh – and gave the impression that he liked to watch the next generation follows the same process as him, on and off the pitch.
"The singing is pretty bad," said Bale, who will turn 30 in July. "But we have good young people coming. It's about us, the elders, now giving them advice and helping them through the process. I hope that they will bring some freshness, a little leg, maybe five or six years ago. But do not count the old ones. "
The challenge for Ryan Giggs is to take advantage of this exciting young talent, especially in offensive areas. Harry Wilson (22), Dan James (21), David Brooks (21), Ben Woodburn (19), Rabbi Matondo (18) and Tyler Roberts (20) all point to a bright future, but for the Wales, it's also about here and now. Their qualification campaign for Euro 2020 begins with the visit of Slovakia and Bale's answer to the question of whether these two nations will compete for the second place in Group E has all said about his own expectations.
"No, we are aiming for first place. I do not know why we would not, "said Bale, rejecting the idea that Croatia, the World Cup finalists, was forced to flee with the qualifying group for Euro 2020." We are still outsiders and bookmakers are not always right. We are going in this campaign to win the group and there is no reason we can not. "
The bad news for Wales is that they will have to face Slovakia without one of their most influential players. Aaron Ramsey was unable to participate in the last training session and Giggs confirmed that the midfielder had returned to Arsenal for treatment for a thigh injury against Rennes in the Europa League. "It's a blow for us," said Bale. "We will miss him, but it gives someone else a chance to intervene."
In many ways, Ramsey's absence weighs heavily on Bale's shoulders, since Arsenal's substitute – Roberts, Woodburn or James are all possible options, depending on the system that Giggs favors – is likely to be a young. Bale, however, never seems baffled by this pressure to deliver for his country and often seems released under a Wales shirt, almost like he's dreaming of escaping the ruthless light under which he often plays. for Real Madrid.
It can not be denied that the season has been tough for Madrid and Basel, which have been criticized by some of the club's fans. Questions about his football club were off-topic at the pre-game press conference, but Bale's response suggested a sense of frustration when a reporter asked him about his injuries this week. season.
"I only suffered an injury. I'm fine, "said Bale. "I play, I scored a lot of goals. I am ready, I am looking forward to going there.
Bale and his teammates in Wales do not need to look far to find inspiration when it comes to this qualifying campaign. Slovakia was its first opponent at Euro 2016, when Bale scored on another free kick on a beautiful summer afternoon in Bordeaux. Wales won 2-1 and laid the groundwork for a semifinal race in their first major event. tournament since 1958. The challenge now is to experience the same thing.
"Everyone knows how difficult it is to qualify, we have only done it twice in our history," said Bale. "All young people know what it means and what it takes to do it. We watched videos from the last qualifying campaign to relive what it was.
"We know it will be difficult, we know it's a difficult group. But we are all ready and ready to give everything for the jersey. We will do everything we can. "
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