World Cup 2022: Wales hoping for history repeat after Bale salvages USA draw

World Cup 2022: Wales hoping for history repeat after Bale salvages USA draw

Even in unfamiliar territory, Wales will feel like they have been here before.

Playing at their first World Cup for 64 years, the nation turned to a familiar saviour in Gareth Bale as they pulled a point from the fire in their opening game against the United States.

And although they had not graced this stage since 1958, Wales can turn to more recent history for inspiration as they plot their way forward in Qatar.

Having been absent from major tournaments for 58 years, Wales have qualified for three out of four since 2016. And it is the most recent of those, last year’s delayed Euro 2020, which could form the template for progress at this World Cup.

In the sweltering heat of Azerbaijan, Wales’ first match in 2021 was not going to plan as they trailed 1-0 at half-time against Switzerland, whose lead was no reflection of their dominance.

On that occasion, Kieffer Moore’s header earned Wales a 1-1 draw and set the platform for the second group game – when they blew Turkey away to take a huge stride towards the second round.

In Qatar on Monday night, there were echoes of that campaign’s beginning in Baku.

Wales were thoroughly outplayed by the USA in the first half and were fortunate to be only 1-0 down at the break, before Moore’s introduction transformed them.

Bale, their captain, all-time leading scorer and scriptwriter in chief, then conjured yet another decisive moment with a late…