With 15 minutes left, Gareth Bale raised his arms up and down in front of the Red Wall, imploring them to give more.
In fairness, the Wales fans would have been entitled to make the same gesture towards their skipper, such was the peripheral role he played for his country. Four days earlier, at the same Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Bale was his nation’s hero once again, winning and converting a late penalty to earn a 1-1 draw with the USA.
Superlatives were lavished on Bale, from his ability to manage his energy levels throughout 90 minutes, to the cool head he kept in dispatching such a high-pressure spot-kick. But here, in the searing lunchtime heat of Doha, Bale was found wanting, the 33-year-old unable to influence the outcome with his individual brilliance, as he has done on so many big occasions in the past, for club and country.
