Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? They were the unmistakable lyrics a dozen or so Wales supporters sang as they hopped off a metro escalator and descended on a stadium adjacent to a 500,000 square metre shopping mall fit with a five-star hotel. A few days after the Brazil legend Cafu wished Wales good luck wearing a tricolour bucket hat now synonymous with the nation, they are the kind of words that could have reasonably been running through Gareth Bale’s mind after his penalty snatched a late draw on their first appearance at the World Cup finals since 1958.
Bale is the true prince of Wales and despite spending almost the entire match on the margins he provided another one of those big‑game moments to file with the rest of them. His catalogue this year is already turning into quite the collection: two stunning goals against Austria in March, a match-winning free‑kick against Ukraine to secure their place at these finals, and, a fortnight ago, an extra-time header to help Los Angeles FC en route to lifting the Major League Soccer Cup.
