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Wales national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Sep 6, 2019 at 7.45pm UK
 
Azerbaijan national football team

2-1

Pasayev (26' og.), Bale (84')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Madatov (59')

Gareth Bale "raring to go" after summer of speculation

Gareth Bale
© Reuters
A summer move to China looked on the cards for Bale until Real Madrid pulled the plug.

Gareth Bale says he feels more settled and is "raring to go" for Wales on Friday.

Ryan Giggs' team take on Azerbaijan on Friday in a European Championship qualifying match.

Bale looked set to leave Real Madrid for a big-money move to China this summer, only for the Spanish giants to pull the plug at the last moment.

Gareth Bale File Photo
Gareth Bale ended his scoring drought with Real Madrid on Sunday (PA)

The 30-year-old  ended a scoring drought stretching back to March 16 with two goals in the 2-2 LaLiga draw at Villarreal on Sunday, although he did blot his copybook by being dismissed in stoppage time.

Bale told a press conference: "The transfer window has closed. I don't think mentally it affected me but I had not played for four to six weeks.

"It was nice to be back on the scoresheet (for Real Madrid) and now I am fit and raring to go."

Wales Press Conference
Ryan Giggs was pleased with Bale's double against Villarreal (PA)

Real team-mate Thibaut Courtois suggested in an interview that Bale is generally isolated from the squad and would rather play golf on the weekend than bond with the team.

That earned him the nickname 'The Golfer', but Bale is happy with the moniker, adding: "I am a golfer. People make a lot of it, but I enjoy it and it keeps me calmer on the pitch."

The Wales forward claimed not being picked by Harry Redknapp at Spurs "for a year" was a harder time in his career.

He said: "I just kept my head down and worked hard in training. If you want answers you maybe need to ask Real Madrid."

Soccer – UEFA Champions League – Group A – Tottenham Hotspur v Inter Milan – Tottenham Hotspur Training – Chigwell Park
Bale said not being picked by Harry Redknapp at Tottenham was tough (PA)

Wales struggled to impress against Croatia and Hungary in the summer. They trail group leaders Hungary by six points, albeit with a game in hand, and are three adrift of Croatia and Slovakia in the race for a top-two spot.

Bale added: "We know what we need to do. It was disappointing what happened in the summer but we have the chance to put it right."

Giggs was pleased with Bale's contribution on Sunday and said: "When he scores he tends to get on a roll."

However, the boss revealed that Ben Woodburn is likely to be missing against Azerbaijan.

The Liverpool forward, currently on loan at Sky Bet League One side Oxford, is struggling with a bug.

Bradford City v Liverpool – Pre-Season Friendly – Utilita Energy Stadium
Ben Woodburn has a bug (PA)

However, Giggs confirmed that the rest of his squad are fit and available – including Daniel James.

Manchester United's summer signing from Swansea has scored three goals in four appearances for the club so far this season.

Former United winger Giggs has not been surprised by James' start to life at Old Trafford.

"He's at the right club – a club which loves wingers," Giggs said. "We've all seen what he's capable of in the last eight or nine months and he's going to get better and better."

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Gareth Bale in action for Wales on June 11, 2019
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Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain870121
Q Scotland flag Scotland852117
3 Norway Norway832311
4 Georgia Georgia82248
5 Cyprus Cyprus80080

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France871022
Q Netherlands Netherlands860218
3 Greece Greece841313
4 Ireland Rep. Ireland82066
5 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar80080

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England862020
Q Italy Italy842214
3 Ukraine Ukraine842214
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia82248
5 Malta flag Malta80080

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Turkey Turkey852117
Q Croatia Croatia851216
3 Wales flag Wales833212
4 Armenia Armenia82248
5 Latvia Latvia81073

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania843115
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic843115
3 Poland Poland832311
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova824210
5 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands80262

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Belgium Belgium862020
Q Austria Austria861119
3 Sweden Sweden831410
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan82157
5 Estonia Estonia80171

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Hungary Hungary853018
Q Serbia Serbia842214
3 Montenegro Montenegro832311
4 Lithuania Lithuania81346
5 Bulgaria Bulgaria80444

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark1071222
Q Slovenia Slovenia1071222
3 Finland Finland1060418
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan1060418
5 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland103079
6 San Marino flag San Marino1000100

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania1064022
Q Switzerland Switzerland1045117
3 Israel Israel1043315
4 Belarus Belarus1033412
5 Kosovo flag Kosovo1025311
6 Andorra flag Andorra100282

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal10100030
Q Slovakia Slovakia1071222
3 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg1052317
4 Iceland Iceland1031610
5 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina103079
6 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein1000100


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