From Graham Thomas in Lens
Gareth Bale insists Wales are down but far from out of Euro 2016 after their agonising 2-1 defeat to England.
The Real Madrid star put Wales ahead in Lens with another devastating free-kick, but was left on the losing side after England hot back with goals from Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge.
Bale said: “Obviously, it is massively disappointing but I am very proud of everybody.
“We gave everything, like we always do, and I have said before if we go out but have given 100%, then we can’t do any more.
“We are disappointed at the moment but we are strong inside and the tournament is not over yet. We will go into the next game with even more strength. We keep fighting all the way. We will keep fighting to qualify.”
That defiance was echoed by Wales skipper Ashley Williams, whose headed clearance went straight to Vardy for the Leicester City striker’s equaliser.
Williams said: “It is tough for everybody obviously but we have another game on Monday and it is a quick turnaround so we won’t get down about it.
“It hurts, obviously, but we were close to getting a point. We didn’t, but we will get over it.
“You haven’t done enough until the final whistle blows. We’ve seen late goals in this tournament, it wasn’t that we switched off, it was just one of those things.
“It will be fine. A few of us have spoken, the manager has spoken, we will re-group and get over it.
“At the end of the day, we have three points from two games and we will focus on the next game and getting out of the group.”
