Bale Ready for Historic W’Cup Opener with Wales 

Gareth Bale is ready to lead Wales in a “massive piece of history” when he captains them in their first World Cup match for 64 years tonight. 

Wales face the United States in their Group B opener in Qatar. 

Although Wales qualified for the past two European Championships, they have not played at a World Cup since 1958. 

“It’s probably the biggest honour we could have for our country, qualifying for a World Cup, something we haven’t done in 64 years,” said Bale. 

“It’s history in our country. Schools are going to stop to watch our games [the second group game against Iran kicks off at 10:00 GMT]. Kids are going to miss school, fortunately for them. 

“It’s a massive piece of history in our country and something we have all wanted for a long time. 

“We have the support of the nation back home, no matter what happens, as long as we give 100% our country will love us for that.” 

No country has waited as long between a first and second World Cup appearance than Wales have done with their 64-year absence. 

That barren spell was littered with painful tales of near misses, from Scotland in 1977 and 1985 to Romania in 1993 and the Republic of Ireland in 2017. 

But Wales are now in the midst of a golden generation, ending their 58-year wait for a major tournament by qualifying for Euro 2016 – where they reached a historic first semi-final – and backing that up by reaching the second round of Euro 2020. 

World Cup qualification continued to prove elusive, however, until Wales overcame Ukraine in their play-off final in June. 

“Everybody’s dreamt of it for such a long time, so many close calls,” said Bale. 

“For us to be the team that got over the line was incredible for us but, most importantly, the best thing was to do it for our country, to grow football and inspire another generation, and to get more kids playing football. 

“By doing that we’ll hopefully have a stronger national team in the future. In 20 years’ time if someone is sat here and says we have inspired them then that’s incredible.”