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– Wales captain Gareth Bale has said qualifying for the knockout stages of the World Cup “will be difficult” after Friday’s 2-0 defeat by Iran.
– Robert Page’s side have one point from two games and must beat England to stand any chance of progressing.
– Stoppage-time goals by Roozbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaeian sealed the defeat for Wales, who also had goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey sent off.
Also Read: Iran strike last-gasp dagger through Wales hearts
– “It’s gutting – there’s no other way to say it,” Bale said.
– Manager Page was scathing in his assessment of Wales’ performance, which he described as “nowhere near the levels we’ve set”.
– He added: “When there are so many off days, there is only one outcome. It’s a difficult changing room at the minute, but we will be ready [against England].”
– Bale struggled to make any impact against a rejuvenated Iran, who bounced back from their opening 6-2 defeat by England with a vibrant performance.
– So often Wales’ talisman, Bale had the fewest touches (36) of any outfield player who was on for the whole game, and managed only one shot on goal.
– He also received the lowest score in BBC Sport’s player rater for his performance (2.56), with team-mate Aaron Ramsey only slightly above him on 2.63.
– “We fought till the end but it’s difficult when you go down to 10 men in the World Cup against good teams,” Bale added.
– “We have to keep going and we have to pick ourselves up straight away. It will be difficult now, but we have to try to beat England – it’s as simple as that.”
