Bale dismisses Welsh “one-man team” tag at Euro 2016

Wales match-winner Hal Robson-Kanu was hailed by Gareth Bale after the substitute scored the decisive goal in a 2-1 win against Slovakia.

But Wales held on to earn a win that could see them extend their stay at their first major global tournament in 58 years beyond the group stage.

Martin Skrtel’s uncompromising challenge on Williams left Wales claiming a penalty, but Norwegian referee Svein Oddvar Moen was not interested in the appeals and waved play on.

“We just have to go about our business and, if we do that, there’s every chance that we will get what we need”.

“I had a chuckle when England came out, I’m not going to lie”.

Coleman responded with a double substitution of his own to stem the Slovakia flow, with Joe Ledley back five weeks after fracturing his leg and Robson-Kanu also sent on after injury.

“They big themselves up before they’ve done anything, so we’re going to go there and we believe we can beat them”, said Bale. Marek Hamsik, the gifted Napoli midfielder, has been targeted as the man to stop on an evening when Coleman is looking for his players to produce a gritty performance.

Coleman’s team will be significantly boosted by the return to the starting line-up of Gareth Bale but the Wales manager wants all his players to rediscover their gritty side and play like a coherent force.

Although the subsequent free kick from Bale, who won the Champions League with Real Madrid two weeks, was fairly central, the movement on the ball was enough to deceive Matus Kozacik.

Jan Kozak’s Slovakia illustrated their potential by reeling off six straight victories in qualifying, ending holders Spain’s long unbeaten run and then beating Ukraine.

Nevertheless, the 28-year-old believes the match at Stade de Bordeaux will be about much more than two high-level operators apparently in the prime of their careers.

JOE Ledley looks set to start on the bench for Wales’s Euro 2016 opener against Slovakia tomorrow despite making a dramatic recovery from a broken leg.

I am delighted for Chris Coleman, who was an ex-teammate of mine at Crystal Palace, and for the whole country.

‘I think we’ve got a lot more passion and pride about us than them.

He added: “We are taking it one game as it comes”.

‘What I do know about tournament football is that when the whistle goes it is not the necessarily the team that goes into it in great form that will rip up the tournament.

Wales have been a team on the rise and that can be the reason why they have one of the world’s best players at their disposal.

“The subs have to make an impact when they come on and Hal was wonderful”, Bale told BBC Sport.