Gareth Bale has described the celebrations in Cardiff on Tuesday as one of his greatest nights but insisted that qualification for next summer’s European Championship finals is just the start for a group of players who want to “inspire a generation” of young Welsh football fans.
The Real Madrid forward joined his team-mates in a lap of honour after they were introduced one by one to a sell-out crowd at the end of the 2-0 win over Andorra that completed a memorable qualification campaign.
Wales finished second in Group B, behind Belgium, to reach their first major tournament since the 1958 World Cup finals and can now look forward to rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest nations in world football in France.
Asked whether the celebrations in Cardiff were similar to what he has experienced at Real Madrid, Bale said: “It was special and so close to my heart.
“Everybody knows what Wales means to me. To do it was an incredible feeling. It was one of my greatest memories. An amazing night, a historical night for Welsh football. I can’t really describe the feeling at the moment. It was a bit surreal and I don’t think it has quite sunk in that we have actually qualified, but the fans were incredible.
“It’s exciting times for Welsh football and exciting times for us. But we also want to get the nation behind us and we obviously want to get more kids playing football, which is important. Hopefully now we can kick on with this campaign and we can qualify for other tournaments. This is just the start and we want to inspire a generation and nation.”
After Aaron Ramsey had given Wales the lead against a resilient Andorra side, Bale scored the second, which was his seventh in the qualification campaign and his 19th for his country in 54 appearances. He is now only nine goals behind Ian Rush, the all-time leading Wales scorer, and tied with Craig Bellamy in fifth place.
“Yes, that’s good,” Bale said. “But for me, I’m not really trying to concentrate on that. I’m just trying to do my best for the team, trying to create chances and score goals and ultimately try and win games which is what we have been doing.”
Despite being ranked eighth in the world, Wales are likely to be placed in pot four when the Euro 2016 draw takes place in December. Not that Bale is concerned after a campaign when Wales took four points off Belgium.
“I’ve heard we are not going to have a great group,” he said. “But we are going to go over there and expect to play the best teams and I’m sure we will give them a run for their money.”
Bale agreed when it was put to him that John Toshack, the former Wales manager, and Bellamy have both said that there is no reason why this team should not go on and qualify for more tournaments.
“Yes, definitely. This is just the start for us. We know that. We have got a team that has been together for a long time and we have finally produced. We will get a taste of that in the summer and I’m sure that will make us thirsty for more.”
