Wales' goal hero Gareth Bale has dedicated his Player of the Match award against the USA to his father in a candid interview after their opening World Cup game.
Bale had little impact on the game for the best part of 80 minutes, but write him off at your peril because he always comes up trumps for his country. He won the decisive penalty and stuck it away emphatically to cancel out Timothy Weah's first-half effort and earn Rob Page's side a crucial point in their first Group B match.
Tournament sponsor Budweiser crowned Bale their Player of the Match after his telling late intervention and they spoke to Bale after the game.
GRAB YOUR COPY: Get your brilliant 48-page Wales at the World Cup souvenir special
During the post-match interview, the 33-year-old was asked to name one person who helped him on his journey to becoming a star player in a World Cup match and he did not skip a beat before revealing his answer.
"My dad," he replied. "He sacrificed everything when I was younger, he took me everywhere.
"Without my dad and my parents, I wouldn't be where I am today."
Bale was born and raised in Whitchurch, Cardiff, and was brought up by his dad, Frank, which is Gareth's middle name, and his mum, Debbie, both of whom still live there.
Frank was a school caretaker, while Debbie was a local operations manager. Debbie's brother, Chris Pike, will also be a familiar name to Cardiff City fans, with the former striker having been a Bluebirds fans' favourite during the early 1990s. You can read our interview with Bale's uncle here.
After the 1-1 draw with the USA, WalesOnline named half-time substitute Kieffer Moore the star man in our player ratings, which you can read here , and when asked who Bale would have given the award to if not himself, he agreed with our verdict.
"Probably Kieffer," he added. "He came on and made a big difference in the second half, he gave us that physicality.
"It was a great performance by him when he came on."
READ NEXT
Wales issue strong statement and demand talks with FIFA after fans' rainbow bucket hats confiscated
The best pictures from Wales team pool session as players jump on inflatables and play slaps game
Roy Keane and Graeme Souness in angry live TV bust-up during Argentina and Saudi Arabia match
More people watched Wales than England in opening games of World Cup
