A late goal from Gareth Bale saved Wales from a false start in Qatar as they return to the World Cup stage after 64 years.
The star player converted a penalty he took himself in the 82nd minute to make it 1-1 against the USA.
Tobias Rabe
Responsible editor for Sport Online.
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The prelude in the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in ar-Rayyan, which is brightly lit from the outside, belonged to the red block of the many Welsh fans, who were enthusiastically anticipating their country's first World Cup game since 1958 and singing loudly.
But what they saw on the field afterwards was a mood killer for a long time.
Your team mostly entrenched themselves in their own half and still offered gaps.
First, Joe Rodon almost scored an own goal – goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey saved with his chest (9th minute) because he happened to be in the trajectory – a few seconds later a header from former Bremen player Joshua Sargent smacked the outside of the post (10th).
The Welsh defensive tactics didn't last long.
Christian Pulisic, once at Borussia Dortmund, sent the nimble Timothy Weah, who elegantly tipped the ball past goalkeeper Hennessey to make it 1-0 (36').
The 22-year-old winger is the son of George Weah, once a football legend and now the President of Liberia.
Because his third child was born in New York and grew up there and in Florida, he now plays for the USA.
And Bale?
The great name of the Welsh made itself small at first.
For a long time, his most notable scene was a foul, for which he saw a yellow card.
In the second half, however, the Europeans increased offensively.
Ben Davies (64') and Kieffer Moore (65') had two header chances in quick succession, bringing them closer to the goal.
When the American Walker Zimmerman was far too clumsy in the penalty area against Bale, the captain had the chance to shoot free from eleven meters.
His deep left shot was unstoppable for goalkeeper Matt Turner.
At midnight local time, the fans from Wales sang loudly at the final whistle.