Njengesiqhelo, uGareth Bale uyihlangule engozini iWales emdlalweni wayo wokuqala wetumente yehlabathi yebhola ekhatywayo ebanjelwe eQatar. Iqela lesizwe laseWales lifake esikhwameni inqaku elinye emva kokudlala ntanganye neMelika ngo’1-1 emdlalweni obuse-Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium ebusuku izolo (ngoMvulo). Umdlalo ubusemgangathweni ophezulu futhi omabini amaqela ebedlalela ukuphumelela okanye angalahlekelwa emdlalweni wokuqala kaGroup B. Amakhalipha weWales aye emdlalweni wanamhlanje eqhayisa ngamadoda awaziwayo afana noBale, uHarry Wilson noDaniel James. Kanti yona iMelika ibinoChristian Pulisic (oyifolosi eyingozi) noWeston McKennie. AmaMelika aqale ankqonkqoza ezipalini zeWales emizuzwini yokuqala kwisigaba sokuqala.
Unozinti weWales, uWayne Hennessey, wenze umsebenzi omhle kakhulu ngethuba evala ibhola ephantse yafakwa ngugxa wakhe, uJoe Rodon, ezipalini zakhe ngempazamo. IMelika iwulawule umdlalo kwisigaba sokuqala ngaphandle kwamathandabuzo. Akothusanga ukufumana kwayo igowuli elifakwe nguTimothy Weah – unyana wegqala lebhola ekhatywayo okwanguMongameli waseLlaberia, uGeorge Weah. UWeah ushiye amadoda wabeka emnatheni ibhola emva kokudlalelwa kakuhle nguPulisic. Kuyiwe kwixesha lokuphumla iMelika ihamba phambili ngegowuli elinye eqandeni. Umqeqeshi weWales, uRobert Page, ufake uKieffer Moore endaweni kaDaniel James kwisigaba sesibini ekuqaleni.
Injongo ibikukuzinzisa umdlalo weqela lakhe liphinde lifumane amandla okudala amathuba abeyinqabele iWales kwisigaba sokuqala. Lo nto imsebenzele uPage ngoba iWales iye yawulawula umdlalo kwisigaba sesibini. Uphantse wafuma igowuli lokulinganisa uBen Davies ngebhola yentloko – kodwa ifike ethe qwa uMatt Tuner ezipalini zakhe. Izinto ziguquke emdlalweni ngomzuzu wamshumi asibhozo emva kokuba uWalker Zimmerman edlalise kakubi uBale emhlabeni kanozinti. UBale ukhabe ngokwakhe ipenela yahlala emnatheni. Ethetha emva komdlalo, uGareth Bale, uvumile ukuba iWales ayidlalanga kakuhle kwisigaba sokuqala. “Asidlalanga umdlalo omhle kwisigaba sokuqala. Silwile kwisigaba sesibini emva kwamazwi esiwanikwe ngumqeqeshi,” utshilo uBale.
Ithuba lokufunda ukuqhuba kwabakhubazekileyo baseAmathole