Bale back to his best

Posted Saturday, September 05, 2015 by Marca.com

To say that the Wales team are Gareth Bale and ten others is no exaggeration, especially if we stick to the stats. The Real Madrid man has played a part in eight of the nine goals - scoring six and setting up another two - his team have scored in qualifying. That means he has had a hand in 88% of Wales's strikes.

Wales's 'Bale-dependency' grows with every game. The former Tottenham man did not play as well against Cyprus as he did against Israel or Belgium, but his late header did seal the points for the Dragons.

Comparisons are odious, but sometimes unavoidable. Bale has scored 15 goals in his last 22 games for Wales... and only three in his last 22 appearances - including friendlies in both cases - for Real Madrid, although he did end his club drought with a brace against Betis.

Wales are enjoying their football right now. Chris Coleman and co. already knew ahead of kick-off in Nicosia that they had moved up to ninth place in the FIFA world rankings, ahead of England (10th) for the first time ever. The icing on the cake may come on Sunday. If they beat Israel, they are through to a European Championship - they played at the 1958 World Cup - for the first time in their country's history.

Bale looks destined to do something that even Ryan Giggs could not: lead Wales into a major international tournament. It may be easier now with 24 teams qualifying, but that does not detract from what Wales have achieved. Bale and his band of merry men sit top of Group B on 17 points - three more than a much-vaunted Belgium side - from seven games.