Setting out a Plan for England to Shut Down Wales’ Gareth Bale

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 14, 2016

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Gareth Bale and his Wales team-mates have started their historic Euro 2016 campaign in fine fashion. Goals from the Real Madrid star and Hal Robson-Kanu gave Chris Coleman's side a 2-1 win over Slovakia last Saturday, their first victory (and game, for that matter) at a major tournament since the 1958 FIFA World Cup.

England, held to a 1-1 draw with Russia in their opener, take on the Group B leaders next. Thursday's clash is also a somewhat unprecedented occasion for them—a rare chance for this Premier League generation to take on an assortment of familiar Welsh peers and foes in the colours of their country, rather than their club.

Bar a few qualifiers, that was not an occurrence too many of their predecessors experienced with more recent Welsh stars such as Craig Bellamy and Ryan Giggs. The current crop has the task of setting up and enacting a plan that can shut the Dragons' current talisman Bale down, and on an even bigger stage, too.



"Every single training session and every game there's definitely a Gareth Bale moment where you just think, 'wow'," Wales captain Ashley Williams told the recent BBC profile Gareth Bale: Euro Star. Former international John Hartson was similarly in awe, stating when he "is in full flow he is unstoppable, simple as that."



The Slovakia game provided a little evidence of both.

Stood in that recognisable stance synonymous with so many of his great strikes, Bale's monumental free-kick (see above) bamboozled goalkeeper Matus Kozacik.

The slight swerve did it, yet it would not be a surprise if the attacker was already in his head. The indecision seen in his goal-line positioning betrayed at least some uncertainty.

The circumstances of a back-and-forth contest meant a rampaging Bale did not come to the fore as often as he would have liked. Still, there were enough hints beside the goal of why he will be so feared at this tou...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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