Kieran Trippier believes England’s defence is well-equipped to stop Gareth Bale in what could be the last match of the Wales captain’s career.
Bale hopes to inspire his side to keep their World Cup dream alive and insists they can pull of a shock and beat England in tonight’s ‘Battle of Britain’.
The 33-year-old has one season left on his contract at MLS side Los Angeles FC but, while he has denied he is planning to retire, his future beyond this tournament is unclear.
Trippier hailed Bale as one of the best British players of all-time but is confident England can deny him as Gareth Southgate’s side bid to secure qualification to the last-16.
“Gareth has won five Champions Leagues and three LaLigas so he is certainly up there as one of Britain’s greatest ever players,” said the England defender. “He was at Real Madrid for nearly 10 years and you don’t see many players survive that long there if they are not top players.
“But Gareth has shown ever since he has been in charge how strong we are defensively. In 2018, we had a good defensive record and at the Euros as well. You need to be defensively strong at tournaments. If you don’t, you will not succeed. We need to keep clean sheets.
“We have great attacking players and depth in those positions but ultimately you need to stop goals going in as well, ultimately need balance. Gareth knows and understands that we need balance and he has shown that in the past few tournaments.”
Bale was anonymous in the 2-0 defeat by Iran but, along with fellow veteran Aaron Ramsey, is targeting another big performance for a highly motivated side.
Wales must beat England for the first time since 1984 to stand any chance of reaching the last-16, while England need a win to seal top spot in Group B.
Southgate has suggested he will send his players out on a revenge mission by reminding them of the infamous leaked video of Bale and the Wales squad celebrating England’s Euro 2016 defeat by Iceland.
Wales players Kieffer Moore and Sorba Thomas had also both said they would relish the chance to knock out England, who now have a chance to turn the tables on their rivals.
Southgate is set to recall Jordan Henderson and Kyle Walker as he looks to add experience to his team. Marcus Rashford, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish are all pushing for starts in attack.
