Gareth Bale‘s lack of playing time is of no concern for Rob Page, who has backed the Los Angeles FC forward to leave his mark for Wales at the World Cup.
Former Real Madrid star Bale was named as part of Page’s 26-man squad on Wednesday that will travel to Qatar for just Wales’ second ever participation in the tournament.
Hanes. History. 🏴#ArBenYByd | #TogetherStronger pic.twitter.com/xqqoAaPfSA
— Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) November 9, 2022
The 33-year-old has managed only two starts for LAFC since joining from Madrid in July and has accumulated just 370 minutes on the field.
Bale has made his impact felt, though, having scored an extra-time equaliser from the substitutes’ bench in Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Philadelphia Union in the MLS Cup final.
Speaking after that match, which LAFC won on penalties for their first title, Bale said he is “not 100-per-cent fit” heading into Qatar 2022.
But having played an integral role in Wales’ qualifying campaign, with winning strikes in the play-off wins over Austria and Ukraine, Page is confident he will play a big part again.Bale captains a squad that has no surprising inclusions or omissions, with Ramsey and Joe Allen also included, despite the latter being considered a major fitness doubt.
“Ideally would we want him to play more minutes? Of course. Am I worried? No,” Page told reporters.
“He’s shown time and time again that irrespective of how many minutes he’s played at club level he always comes in and has important moments in the game.
“Big players step up for big occasions. We’ve said it with Aaron [Ramsey] in the past – Hungary at home when he got two goals for us – and it’s no different with Gareth.
“Opposing managers will look at the team sheet and if they see his name they know at any moment he can win a game for you.”