DANNY MURPHY: Gareth Bale just needs the right team and the right coach… he shouldn’t retire from football after Wales’ Euro 2020 exit against Denmark
Danny Murphy #DannyMurphy
When there’s a clash between two teams who both have great spirit and togetherness, quality usually shines through. It was the case in Amsterdam on Saturday.
Wales can be proud of their Euro 2020 campaign, I didn’t think they would even get to the knockout stage. They deserve great credit for previous results against Switzerland and Turkey but Denmark were a step too far.
Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey have genuine pedigree but looking through the rest of the respective line-ups, the Danes had players from AC Milan, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund. The Welsh had Championship lads from Stoke, Luton and Cardiff City.
It would be a shame for Gareth Bale to retire as he can still offer football a lot at the top level
Give the Welshman the right club and boss and he still has plenty to offer in the game
My personal favourite Dane was Joakim Maehle, a right-footed left wing back who has Champions League experience with Atalanta. He is one of the players of the tournament and was excellent again.
There will be a lot of talk about what happens next to Bale. He has promised an announcement of some type after Euro 2020. Personally, I think he’s shown enough, in his last couple of months at Spurs and during these championships, that he’s far from finished at 31.
Give him the right club and manager and legs around him, and he’s still got a lot to offer. If I was Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid, I’d be eager to see him back at pre-season training and prepared to give him a chance.
Bale made a great start to Saturday’s game. He looked sharp and so did Wales. But Denmark had the experience to withstand the early pressure and the quality to take their first chance that effectively decided the game. It was a sublime finish from Kasper Dolberg.
Everyone has admired this Denmark team for the way they’ve rallied round after the drama with Christian Eriksen and nobody will begrudge them a place in the quarter-finals.
I don’t think their journey necessarily has to end here. Whoever they meet, the Danes have willing runners and I’ll be looking forward to seeing Maehle again.
For Wales, they should hold their heads high and go again. And that goes for Bale as well. To retire now would be a real shame because he can still contribute at a high level.
Joakim Maehle has been one of the players of the tournament and was excellent again
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