From Graham Thomas in Bordeaux
Gareth Bale has accused England of believing their own hype and claimed that when it comes to passion the Three Lions are no match for the Dragon.
The Wales striker will make his major international tournament finals debut on Saturday when Chris Coleman’s side open their Euro 2016 campaign against Slovakia in Bordeaux.
It is match that Bale and Wales have given their full focus to, but that has not stopped the Cardiff-born player from peering towards Thursday’s battle with England in Lens and questioning “the enemy” and what he suggests is an inflated self-opinion.
“They big themselves up before they’ve done anything, so we’re going to go there and we believe we can beat them,” said Bale.
“For me it is probably the standout game in the group stages, but there is no pressure on us because they believe they can beat us.
“I had a chuckle when England came out, I’m not going to lie.
“It’s an amazing game to be involved in and it’s like any derby, you never want to lose to the enemy.
“Yes, even in the recent [rugby] World Cup when we won. I remember those. England don’t get that, do they?
“I think we’ve got a lot more passion and pride about us than them. We’ll definitely show that on the day.”
Bale – who has won 55 caps over 10 years for his country – qualified to play for England as he had an English grandmother.
But the Real Madrid forward said he would never question his choice to play for Wales, even if they had failed to qualify for a major tournament during his career.
That feeling extended to watching major competitions as a kid, with him saying: “I never used to have a team, I just watched it for the tournament itself.”
Bale added: “I don’t know what it is, but if you’re Welsh, we feel more pride and passion than anyone else.
“Look at the national anthem, everyone sings, the whole stadium.
“I remember the Belgium game, we were all tired, and the whole stadium just started singing it.
“I don’t think any other nation would do that. Being Welsh just brings it out of you.
“It’s like when I was young and being in a pub with my parents, everyone watching rugby or football on the television.
“Everyone was together, singing. It’s the way we are brought up.”
Wales’ own journey to a major tournament has been longer and more painful than most.
As well as the desperate near-misses down the years, the current squad had to cope with the shock death of their manager Gary Speed in November 2011.
Speed’s death hit the Wales squad hard at a time when their fortunes were on the up, and it took them some time to recover.
“What happened made us come together, stronger,” said Bale.
“We’ve had to go deep to bring our emotions out, bring it onto the field.
“In this campaign you’ve seen it, after every game we are all in huddles.
“We’ve been through so much to be here now, and it’s definitely a shame that we’ve had so many great players — Ryan Giggs being one of them — who never experienced a major tournament.
“I think we appreciate it more than other countries — and we just have to give it a go.”
Playing Slovakia in Bordeaux will bring back special memories for Bale.
He became Wales’ youngest ever goalscorer, at the age of 17 years and 83 days, when he scored a trademark free-kick against Slovakia in October 2006.
But Wales lost that Cardiff game 5-1, and there have been plenty of dark days on the field as the current generation matured into the players they are today.
“There was difficult times for a while, but we were all young and building for the future,” said Bale.
“We’ve had a style of play which has taken time to embed.
“I don’t think we stopped believing but we had to get more experience, grow together.
“The difference from when I was 18 or 19 to what I am now, it’s changed.
“A lot of us have, we’re stronger and mentally tougher.
“It’s just been a process. A long one, but something that needed to happen.”
