Wales captain Gareth Bale gave a passionate plea to a teammate to keep going in the heat of battle during the nerve-wracking World Cup opener against the USA on Monday night. Wales were outplayed and outfought for the first half in the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan as they got their Qatar 2022 World Cup campaign underway.
Wales failed to produce any clear-cut opportunities and were fortunate to go in at the break only one goal behind. But a change in approach at half-time - and the introduction of striker Kieffer Moore - made all the difference as Wales suddenly had a spring in their step and an outlet in the final third who allowed other players to move up the pitch and get involved in the game.
All of a sudden there was far more energy in the legs of the Wales players, but a few seemed to be struggling towards the end of the game with cramp and other minor issues. Gareth Bale himself played a full 90 minutes despite having limited time on the pitch since his move to Los Angeles FC in June.
