Bracing for Bale: USMNT Prepares for Wales and Its Man for the Occasion

Gareth Bale may be past his prime and plagued by questions about his fitness, but the U.S. knows not to doubt his ability to meet the moment.

AL RAYYAN, Qatar — The way Kellyn Acosta describes it, the moment was an MLS version of that viral photo featuring Dwyane Wade celebrating while LeBron James rises behind him, ball in his right hand, still several feet from the rim. Wade understood inevitability.

Acosta, who was on the Los Angeles FC bench after exiting this month’s MLS Cup final, said he felt something similar deep into extra time as teammate Diego Palacios reached the endline and lofted a high cross toward Gareth Bale.

“[Philadelphia] scored the third goal [four minutes earlier] and it’s kind of like a knife to the chest, right? It kind of just takes the wind out of you, and you’re just kind of defeated in a way,” Acosta recalled. 

“But we still had the belief, and when I kind of saw the ball go into the air and crossing to [Bale], it’s like he’s going to dunk on him. So I was already starting to run because I kind of just knew.”

Acosta said he was on his way toward the corner flag as Bale soared into the air, beat 6’6” Union defender Jack Elliott to the ball and forced a penalty shootout LAFC was never going to lose. Acosta reached the corner flag ahead of several players who were still on the field.

“That was probably the fastest I ran in the game,” the midfielder half-joked here as the U.S. men’s national team prepares for Monday’s World Cup opener against Wales. “I was super excited and I just knew then on, once he scored that goal we were going to win.”

Acosta and Bale are LAFC teammates, but they’ll be World Cup adversaries on Monday in Qatar :: Christopher Hanewinckel/USA TODAY Sports

That’s the power of a genuine talisman, an athlete with the sort of résumé, pedigree and aura who stands out from (and above) the most competitive crowds, who delivers consistently in the clutch, who inspires teammates to reach new heights and who has a knack for mastering the most pressure-packed moments. On Monday, Bale will line up in red against Acosta and the U.S. at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium here in the Doha suburb of Al Rayyan. It’ll be Wales’s first World Cup match in 64 years. Teammates feeling anxious will look to him, the winner of five UEFA Champions League crowns—as will American opponents aware of Bale’s ability to snatch victory out of thin air. All eyes will be on the 33-year-old winger, who’s now the most accomplished player in his nation’s history.

"You kind of see it on the field, but being up [close] to him, literally, physically he’s like a specimen,” Acosta said. “And then he does have that glow because when you admire someone, you kind of see them in a different light—just the way that he carries himself.”

World Cups are about national identity and growth and what’s been established and achieved over a four-year cycle. But they’re also about stars, and Bale’s is somewhat distinctive here in Qatar. Perhaps only Poland’s Robert Lewandowski and South Korea’s Son Heung-min are so widely known and regarded relative to their teammates. But those two, and some of those teammates, have been here before. 

Bale’s ascendence, meanwhile, coincided with his country’s. Wales hadn’t appeared at a major tournament since 1958 when it qualified for Euro 2016 and advanced all the way to the semis. Bale scored three times that summer in France. The Dragons returned to the Euro last year and now, finally, are back at the World Cup thanks to playoff wins over Austria (2–1 in March) and Ukraine (1–0 in June). Bale scored all three Welsh goals.

“It's always nice to score in finals, and I seem to have a knack for doing that,” Bale said with a wide smile following his MLS heroics.

There was a long list of iconic goals well before his MLS Cup equalizer and the June free kick that sent Wales to the World Cup. It’s probably topped by the outrageous bicycle kick winner against Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final, and the unforgettable goal in the 2014 Copa del Rey decider against Barcelona, where Bale took a touch at midfield and then became Secretariat, veering several yards out of bounds and blowing by defender Marc Bartra before finishing from six yards. Bale netted the clincher in the 2014 Champions League final, and a second in the ’18 final. He also struck in the ’14 Club World Cup final.

Bale leads Wales into its first World Cup since 1958 :: Mike Egerton/PA Images/Imago Images

Bale is Wales’s all-time leading scorer going away (40 to 28 for Ian Rush) and he’ll tie its senior cap record if he plays against the U.S (at which point he’ll also become the first MLS player to oppose the U.S. at a World Cup).

Rising to the occasion is, “Gareth being Gareth,” LAFC coach Steve Cheurndolo, a U.S. World Cup veteran, said following the MLS final. “He's a guy with big qualities and a guy who makes big plays. Let's hope he doesn't in the first game of the World Cup.

“He does it in training. He's done it this season,” Cherundolo continued. “When he's feeling well and healthy, he makes a difference in games. That's why we bring him in in those moments. I wish he was 24.”

The Welsh may wish that as well. Because the primary storyline revolving Bale at this World Cup, which has been so long in coming for his country, is whether he’s slipped from his robust and devastating prime. It’s been a rough few years for the Cardiff native. Despite sparkling success in Madrid, injuries reduced his impact in 2019-20 and ’20-’21, and for some reason the demanding denizens of the Santiago Bernabéu didn’t offer Bale much benefit of the doubt. The relationship became increasingly strained, or at least awkward, and the famous “Wales. Golf. Madrid. In That Order” flag Bale unveiled following a Euro 2020 qualifier—a response to criticism from former Madrid player and executive Predrag Mijatović—led many Madridistas to believe he wasn’t serious about resurrecting his La Liga career. 

A loan to his former club, Tottenham, then the surprising June transfer to LAFC was a sign of decline to the cynic. Bale continued to struggle with consistency in Los Angeles as minor knocks and the club’s Supporters’ Shield-winning form limited his contributions. Ahead of the final, he’d scored just two goals, missed both Western Conference playoff games and never registered a 90-minute outing.

Bale addressed his situation while on international duty in September.

“We have a plan in L.A. with what we’re doing,” he told reporters. “We’re not straying away from it too much. Obviously, every footballer wants to play as much as they can, but we’re being clever and building myself up now for the last important part of the season. Hopefully then that should put me in great shape for the World Cup as well.”

Wales coach Rob Page added, "If you haven't got a Gareth Bale fit [at the club level], you can perhaps buy someone who is as good as him. It's no disrespect to the fringe players here in the [Wales] squad, but we haven't got two or three Gareth Bales. We have to look after him slightly differently.”

Bale arrived to Qatar having claimed that he’s ready. It’s easy to imagine a player of his renown, and on this stage, fighting through discomfort if necessary. But even though he acknowledged before the MLS final that he still wasn’t fully fit—“I still have a few little issues, like most players do,” he acknowledged—he’s now insisting he’s at 100%.

“I’m fully fit, ready to go and yeah, if I need to play three 90s I’ll be playing three 90s,” Bale said last week.

He’ll do anything not to miss this. There’s a list of notable footballing icons who never reached this tournament, like George Best, Alfredo Di Stéfano, George Weah (father of American forward Tim) and even Welsh winger Ryan Giggs. This time, it really is about putting Wales first.

“Growing up watching the World Cup, I never had a team to really support,” Bale said. “It was always watching these big teams play in this amazing tournament. But for the kids now to be able to have Wales, their country, be able to watch them and have the actual poster up on the wall to mark out each game, will be incredible. It’ll definitely inspire another generation of kids to really love and get into football and I think that’ll just benefit Wales in the future.”

Bale and Acosta after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at a Dodgers game this past August :: Javier Rojas/ZUMA Wire/Imago Images

No matter how much he plays, the U.S. knows it must be wary. Bale is a game-changer, a true talisman and a player who could be devastating on the counter for a team that’s expected to try to draw the U.S. forward and then look to strike.

“If he doesn't start the game, he comes in and you worry even more because you don't have the chance to tire him out. He comes in fresh,” U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter said.

"He’s a top player. There’s no doubt about it,” U.S. forward Christian Pulisic said here. “Whether you want to argue he’s at the absolute top of his game, it doesn’t matter. I think he’s a great player. And someone we have to watch out for, absolutely. … No matter where he’s playing now at club level, I’m sure he’ll be ready.”

No one knows that better than Acosta.

“Special players make special plays, and he’s a guy who you definitely have to worry about, because once he gets into the game and finds space and becomes comfortable and confident he’s very dangerous,” he said. “He’s going to be a catalyst for them.”