USA 1-1 Wales: Bale penalty secures deserved draw in long-awaited World Cup comeback

Wales thanked talisman Gareth Bale yet again as their captain won and scored a penalty to salvage a 1-1 draw with the United States at the World Cup.

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USA led the first half of Monday's encounter at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, but Bale - Wales' top scorer and top scorer in major tournaments - stepped up to ensure that the first Dragon World Cup match since 1958 was not. end in defeat.

Timothy Weah deservedly put the United States ahead in the first half, scoring at a World Cup as his illustrious father - 1995 Ballon d'Or winner George - never could play it.

But Bale, largely anonymous before his late show, drew a reckless tackle from Walker Zimmerman and duly smashed the resulting spot kick to seal some of the spoils in Group B.

USA should have been rewarded for a strong start in under 10 minutes when Josh Sargent hit the post with a header from close range after Wayne Hennessey had spared Joe Rodon's blushes, preventing a goal against his camp.

But Wales gave in to the pressure in the 36th minute. In a quick counterattack, Christian Pulisic brilliantly found Weah, who coolly pushed past Hennessey.

The introduction of Kieffer Moore in place of Daniel James was the catalyst for Wales' improvement.

Ben Davies forced Matt Turner into a nice save with a diving header, with Moore heading for the resulting corner.

With Brenden Aaronson bulking up his lines at the other end, Wales got their lifeline when Zimmerman clumsily rushed Bale, who - with eight minutes to go - struck home a unstoppable kick into the right corner, giving the huge mass of Welsh fans behind goal a moment to savor.

What does this mean? Wales show courage as experience shows

For much of the game it looked like the chance might have gotten the better of Rob Page's side, but their fantastic captaining stepped up - as he always seems to do for his country.

There is no doubt that Gregg Berhalter will be frustrated. He fielded the youngest USA starting XI at a World Cup since 1990 and they could have, and perhaps should have, put the game beyond Wales given their dominance in the first half. time, but perhaps inexperience showed up in crucial moments.

Weah leaves his mark

George Weah is often regarded as one of the greatest players never to appear at a World Cup, but the family name will go down in tournament history after all, thanks to his son Timothy.< /p>

The Lille striker, eccentric on the right, succeeded in his first match with flying colors, taking his total of international goals to four. The last player to score against Wales at a World Cup was Pelé, 64 years ago.

Bale bails out Page

Page got it wrong in the first half. His decision to leave Moore on the bench was odd, with the form he displayed in midfield equally baffling.

But Bale was there at the end. Wales' all-time top scorer has scored 85% (35/41) of his international goals in competitive matches. He lives for the big moments and rarely misses them.

Key facts about Opta

– Two of the three meetings between the United States and Wales in all competitions have ended in a tie, with the United States winning the other 2-0 in 2003.

– USA have won their opener in just three of the 11 World Cup tournaments they have appeared in (D3 L5).

– Wales (D2 L4) went six games without a win in all competitions for the first time since September 2010 to May 2011 (six successive defeats).

– The United States remain winless in their last 10 World Cup games against European nations (D5 L5), conceding each of their last 18 games against such opposition in the competition, since winning 1- 0 against England in 1950.< /p>

- Timothy Weah, who scored with the only shot on target in the first half, has scored twice in his last four appearances for the United States in all competitions, as many as in his first 22 games for his national team.< /p>

What's next?

Both teams are back in action on Friday, with Wales taking on Iran, while USA take on England.