Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Ian Mitchelmore

Gareth Bale spent night with Wales team and played round of golf before his special moment

Rob Page revealed Gareth Bale addressed the Wales squad prior to their 1-0 win over Latvia having spent the evening before the contest with his former team-mates.

Bale officially retired from football little more than a month after the Qatar World Cup and was given the chance to address the Red Wall before the Euro 2024 qualifier with Latvia on Tuesday night.

And Page says the 33-year-old spent the afternoon playing golf prior to receiving a rapturous reception from the Welsh supporters for what was their first home game since Bale hung up his boots.

READ MORE: Gareth Bale just found the perfect words to sign off in front of the Red Wall one last time

"He was with us last night, he had an evening meal with us," said Page.

"I think he went and had a round of golf today. He came in to see the lads before the game.

"Rightly so, he went out and had his moment with our supporters because it's been a really big decision for him to make.

"We all know in the room what he thinks of the nation and what it means to him to play for us and to have that moment tonight would have been really special."

Kieffer Moore's 10th international goal was enough for Page's side to earn a hard-fought success over the Latvians at Cardiff City Stadium.

Victory was the Red Dragons' first since qualifying for the World Cup by beating Ukraine 1-0 in June last year while it leaves them top of Group D with two fixtures played.

"We hoped for four points," he added. "The minimum we were going to accept was three. That's no disrespect to them. We knew the challenges that we were going to be up against from a physical point of view.

READ MORE: Gareth Bale's emotional day saying farewell and thankyou to Wales fans - in pictures

"We had to defend our box really well because of the centre-forwards that they've got.

"But, coming into the camp, it was about if we could go and get a point in Croatia and then win the home game, so it's job done."

Wales return to action against Armenia on June 16 before facing Turkey three days later.

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.