Page praises Bale's intelligence after late penalty seals World Cup point for Wales
Wales manager Rob Page was relieved to get an 'important point' in their World Cup opener against the United States, and hailed the intelligence of Gareth Bale by winning a penalty in the second half.
USA took a deserved first-half lead through Timothy Weah, although an improved Welsh side came back in second and equalized via Bale's spot kick in the 82nd minute.
>The 1-1 draw leaves both points behind England after the opening Group B games in Qatar after the Three Lions beat Iran 6-2 earlier on Monday, but Page was quite happy with a point and suggested that his team were the ones who could have won late.
"It was a really important point for us," he told reporters in his post-match press conference. "I thought for the last 10 minutes that if anyone was going to keep picking up the winner, it would be us too."
Bale's penalty made him the fourth player to score a World Cup goal for Wales after John Charles, Ivor Allchurch (two) and Terry Medwin, all in their 1958 campaign.
The Los Angeles FC striker had an otherwise quiet game but once again stepped up when his country needed him, winning the penalty when he ran past USA defender Walker Zimmerman and made a mistake.
"We kind of evolved Gareth's position, in other words," Page explained of his star player. "He can still play outside, of course he can, but I like giving him the freedom to come inside and play against a leader.
"He's very good at finding those spaces, he's smart, he's got a wise header, so he gets into those positions in the box so he can get us penalties, and the defenders are committed to tackles , and if they don't if they don't have the right timing in the box, it's inevitably a penalty.”
Welsh full-back Neco Williams played 79 minutes at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium and was visibly emotional at full time, later revealing he only found out last night that his grandfather had died.
Williams tweeted after the game: "Yesterday was the hardest news I have ever had to deal with and that was listening to my mum tell me my grandfather died last night. last night.
"Crying all day to start a World Cup match was extremely difficult, but I managed to get through it thanks to the support of my team-mates and my family."
Wales take on Iran in their second Group B game on Friday.
Wales manager Rob Page was relieved to get an 'important point' in their World Cup opener against the United States, and hailed the intelligence of Gareth Bale by winning a penalty in the second half.
USA took a deserved first-half lead through Timothy Weah, although an improved Welsh side came back in second and equalized via Bale's spot kick in the 82nd minute.
>The 1-1 draw leaves both points behind England after the opening Group B games in Qatar after the Three Lions beat Iran 6-2 earlier on Monday, but Page was quite happy with a point and suggested that his team were the ones who could have won late.
"It was a really important point for us," he told reporters in his post-match press conference. "I thought for the last 10 minutes that if anyone was going to keep picking up the winner, it would be us too."
Bale's penalty made him the fourth player to score a World Cup goal for Wales after John Charles, Ivor Allchurch (two) and Terry Medwin, all in their 1958 campaign.
The Los Angeles FC striker had an otherwise quiet game but once again stepped up when his country needed him, winning the penalty when he ran past USA defender Walker Zimmerman and made a mistake.
"We kind of evolved Gareth's position, in other words," Page explained of his star player. "He can still play outside, of course he can, but I like giving him the freedom to come inside and play against a leader.
"He's very good at finding those spaces, he's smart, he's got a wise header, so he gets into those positions in the box so he can get us penalties, and the defenders are committed to tackles , and if they don't if they don't have the right timing in the box, it's inevitably a penalty.”
Welsh full-back Neco Williams played 79 minutes at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium and was visibly emotional at full time, later revealing he only found out last night that his grandfather had died.
Williams tweeted after the game: "Yesterday was the hardest news I have ever had to deal with and that was listening to my mum tell me my grandfather died last night. last night.
"Crying all day to start a World Cup match was extremely difficult, but I managed to get through it thanks to the support of my team-mates and my family."
Wales take on Iran in their second Group B game on Friday.
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