Football
ESPN staff 8y

Wales' Gareth Bale: 'We knew it was going to be ugly' vs. Northern Ireland

Gareth Bale said Wales' win over Northern Ireland was just as "ugly" as he expected it to be as his side advanced to the quarterfinals at Euro 2016 on Saturday.

Bale's 75th-minute cross led to Gareth McAuley's own goal as the defender had no choice but to try to keep the ball away from the on-rushing Hal Robson-Kanu.

It was the only goal of the game, and Bale said he knew it would be enough for Wales to secure their first-ever win in a knockout stage at a major tournament.

"What can I say? We knew it was gonna be an ugly match, obviously no disrespect to Northern Ireland, they made it difficult to play, we knew that from the start," Bale said on the BBC.

"We knew up top we weren't going to get a lot of the ball. There was not much space but what can I say, the team is the most important thing. We worked hard, we did everything we could and we knew a goal would nick the game and thankfully it came to us.

"You can't ask for anymore. It's incredible."

Bale was kept on a tight leash by Northern Ireland in a cagey Battle of Britain in Paris, but the Real Madrid star believes Wales have momentum to go even further in the tournament.

"It's similar to qualifying, you get one win and the confidence grows," said Bale. "We're very confident at the moment, we know we've had difficult games.

"But we've battled today, shown our team spirit and passion and we just want to carry on riding this wave. We will keep working hard to get as far as we can."

Hungary and Belgium will meet in Toulouse on Sunday night to decide who plays Wales in Lille.

"I can't choose [who to play]," said Bale. "Hungary have been very good in this tournament, but we probably know a bit more about Belgium as they have been in our last two qualifying groups.

"Either game, no matter who we play, will be difficult.

"You don't get to a quarter-final of a major tournament with luck, you have to be a very good team to get there.

"We know no matter who we play it's going to be a difficult game, but we will be ready for it."

Bale celebrated victory at the final whistle with his three-year-old daughter Alba Violet.

"The feeling after was difficult to describe, very happy, very emotional," said Bale. "To be able to share it with my daughter and my family was emotional for me. I haven't seen them for four or five weeks.

"It was an amazing experience that I will never forget. "But our ambition is to keep fighting on and win every game we play.

"We knew it would be difficult today, but we had that one moment of quality that forced them into a mistake and ultimately that won us the game."

Information from Press Association was used in this report.

^ Back to Top ^