Bale salvages draw for Wales against U.S. in World Cup draw
LONDON (Reuters) – If Gareth Bale does not return against the United States tomorrow, he will have salvaged a potentially nervy World Cup draw for Wales, who go into the tournament as underdogs against a United States side likely to remain resolute despite their own struggles.
The Liverpool forward was forced to leave the field with a right knee injury in the quarter-final win over Belgium but was a constant presence on the touchline in the rest of the group games and could yet feature in the key group-stage match against the United States.
His absence would leave Gareth Bale, who captained Wales during the 3-2 defeat to Belgium, as manager Chris Coleman’s third-choice centre-forward in the tournament but he has proved to be a valuable contributor despite his injury record.
Coleman said after the Belgium match he would discuss the situation with Bale before deciding on his place as a starter in the World Cup.
“We will consider his availability in the event he does not feature against the United States if he is not able to play again today,” he said. “It’s clear he would have been a massive loss in this tournament if he were not to play.”
LOW DATING GAME
Wales are not a team to underestimate in the World Cup but they have only a five percent chance of winning the tournament. A draw for Wales, who lost 2-1 to Belgium, would leave them as underdogs against the United States, who have a record of 16-0-2 over the group stage.
“They are going to be tough opponents and they could become favourites,” said midfielder Gareth Bale, who came on as a sub in the Belgium match, and who played at the back against Belgium, in which he scored with a powerful header after going close with a header.
“They don’t play like they did against Belgium. They played three strikers, but they don’t play like that against us.”
After winning the last two games against Colombia and Serbia, the U.S. have dropped just two out of four games and will be confident
