From Alex Bywater in Nanning
Gareth Bale has always been adored by Wales fans but his global appeal was once again in evidence as the Real Madrid superstar became his country’s record goalscorer in a 6-0 thrashing of China.
Bale’s first international hat-trick saw him move past Ian Rush and on to 29 goals as he got Ryan Giggs’ tenure as Chris Coleman’s successor off to the perfect start in Nanning.
It meant there was only one man on the lips of the 36,533-strong Guangxi Sports Centre crowd.
At the full-time whistle, Bale cradled the match ball and walked along the touchline with Wales’ hardy travelling support and thousands of fervent Chinese supporters standing in appreciation to applaud the 28-year-old’s spectacular individual display.
Bale opened the scoring in the second minute and netted twice in the first-half before completing his treble in the 62nd minute to move past Rush and seal his place in Welsh football history.
Sam Vokes also scored twice and Harry Wilson added a screamer on his 21st birthday as Wales ran riot against a woeful China side. Giggs and Bale, unsurprisingly, were delighted.
Unbelievable reception here in China and to see so many Welsh Fans make the trip. Very proud to break Ian’s record tonight with the hat-trick ⚽⚽⚽ #29 #togetherstronger pic.twitter.com/siujPl2wvR
— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11) March 22, 2018
“This is right up there, if not the best achievement I have done,” said Bale, who has won three Champions League titles with Madrid.
“Anything you do for your country is the pinnacle, it is the biggest honour you can have. On a personal note it’s obviously great to break the record and on my daughter Nava’s birthday too, but I couldn’t have done it without my team-mates over the years.
“It’s not just an individual thing, it’s thanks to the whole team, everyone who I’ve played with and all the managers I’ve had. The most important thing for me and for us was to get off to a good start under the new manager and I thought we played very well. We did exactly what Ryan asked. There are still things to work on, but we’re happy with the way we’re going.”
After making a 7,500-mile trip from Madrid to the leafy southern Chinese city of Nanning on Monday, Bale ensured the journey was worthwhile.
Two first-half goals had even the home fans applauding and the former Tottenham man then turned creator to tee-up efforts from Vokes and Wilson.
Wales avoided losing £100,000 of their £1million fee, had they competed in the China Cup without Bale and Giggs left his star man out there for the second-half.
After Wilson’s fine reverse ball had allowed Vokes to make it 5-0, then came Bale’s moment of history. Joe Allen pumped a long ball forwards, the China defence – as it had been all evening – was at sixes and sevens and Bale did the rest to slot home his 29th Wales goal.
He dashed off to the corner flag in celebration at reaching the milestone figure and was substituted almost immediately after. His work had long since been done.
Bale is arguably Wales’ greatest ever footballer already and he is set to pull further clear of Rush in the years ahead. His new record will certainly take some beating.
“It’s a tremendous achievement for Gareth to be the top goalscorer in front of someone like Ian who was a legendary goalscorer and one of the best I have ever seen,” Giggs said.
“Once upon a time his was a record that many people thought would not get beaten, but Gareth has not only beaten it, he will carry on scoring as he is a tremendous talent. It’s a fantastic moment for him and he fully deserves it. It was a great result and a great performance.”
The standard of China’s shocking display must be taken into account, but this was a fine night for Wales, Bale and Giggs. They will now face either Uruguay or Czech Republic in the China Cup final as they look to secure silverware in their first tournament under the Manchester United legend’s guidance. With Bale in their ranks they have every chance of doing just that.
“There have been some good goals along the way and some great moments, but for the time being I still want to carry on scoring, carry on playing well and taking this team as far as we can go in major competitions,” Bale said.
“It is right up there, a major honour and a massive achievement. I never dreamed of being a record breaker, but it is one of the best things I’ve achieved in my career.
“We played on the front foot and we were at it from the start. We just tried to enjoy ourselves and when we enjoy ourselves, we play our best.”
