Wales World Cup Specials

On Monday, Wales kick off their World Cup finals campaign against the United States in Group B, which will be a pivotal match to decide the overall group standings by the end of match day three.

Rob Page’s men are also in the same group as England, who they were narrowly beaten by a 2-1 scoreline at Euro 2016, as well as Iran. The Dragons will fancy their chances of scoring in all three matches, especially with having the likes of Daniel James, Aaron Ramsey, Gareth Bale, Harry Wilson and more in attacking areas of the pitch.

There is every chance that Wales could make the Round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as ultimately they are facing a USA side that finished third in their qualifying group, behind the likes of Canada and Mexico, but, ahead of Costa Rica on goal difference. Meanwhile, Iran are ranked one place lower than Wales in 20th place.

On top of this, the Dragons may find themselves thinking that they have a chance to beat England, as Gareth Southgate’s men have failed to win any of their last six matches heading into the tournament.

Bournemouth striker Kieffer Moore has scored four Premier League goals for the Cherries this campaign, whilst managing nine in 28 matches for Wales.

Wales' hopes at the upcoming World Cup will likely pin on their two marquee players in Bale and Aaron Ramsey who now ply their trades at LAFC and Nice.

Bale is arguably Wales’ greatest-ever player, having found the back of the net 39 times in 108 matches for his country, whilst Ramsey will be looking to add to the goal that he managed at Euro 2020 when he scored in Wales’ crucial group decider against Turkey. The 31-year-old has bagged 20 goals for Wales heading into Qatar 2022.

Group B will be a fascinating contest, with England the favourites to win it if they perform to their expectations.

Wales will likely fancy their chances of qualifying and earning themselves a place in the Round of 16 at the World Cup for the first time since 1958. The Dragons have managed to qualify for the Round of 16 in each of their last two outings at major tournaments, doing so at Euro 2020 and Euro 2016.

With England failing to win any of their last six matches, including a humbling 4-0 home loss to Hungary in the Nations League prior to their relegation from League A Group 3, Southgate’s men will be under major pressure to perform, potentially meaning that there is a chance of another side snatching top of the group.

This was the case at Euro 2016 when England were managed by Roy Hodgson, as Wales beat England to the top of Group B with six points to the Three Lions' five.

Bale is a known marksman when it comes to shots outside of the penalty area, going all the way back to his days at Southampton, Tottenham and Real Madrid.

Notably back in 2012/13, whilst at Spurs, Bale set an all-time Premier League record for the most goals from outside the penalty area when he found the back of the net nine times.

Bale has 225 goals for club and country, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the 33-year-old manage two goals from outside the penalty area.

Back at Euro 2016. Bale managed to score the opening goal in Wales’ 2-1 defeat to England, as well as against his other group opponents in Russia and Slovakia. There is no reason why the ex-Real man can’t achieve this feat again.

With this potentially being Bale’s one and only chance of playing at a World Cup, he will be more determined than ever to make this opportunity to count on the world stage.

Harry Kane managed to win the World Cup Golden Boot in his last outing at Russia in 2018, scoring five goals. The Tottenham forward has had an impressive start to life in the Premier League this season, scoring 12 times in 15 league matches.

Bale will fancy his chances of scoring against any side that he plays, having done so against the Three Lions before, whilst the USA and Iran’s defences present opportunities for the Welshman to add to his international tally. The 33-year-old will be entering this tournament full of confidence having scored a late equaliser for LAFC in the MLS final on their way to winning the trophy for the first time.

The final special on this list is yet another one that involves Bale…the 33-year-old is priced at 175/1 to score three free kicks at the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.

Although this is perhaps an optimistic punt, Bale did manage to score two free kicks at Euro 2016 when he fired in past England and Slovakia in the group stages. From the right areas on the pitch, the Welsh forward can be deadly at set pieces, as Austria found out in the World Cup qualifying play-offs when Bale struck in a superb free kick to aid Rob Page’s men’s chances of qualifying for Qatar.