With Wales on the verge of World Cup elimination, Gareth Bale was dismissive when asked if Tuesday’s game against England could be the last for his country. “Nope,” was his one-word answer. He chose not to elaborate. While questions hang over Bale’s long-term future, Wales’ concerns are more immediate. If Wales fails to beat England in its final Group B game it is out of the World Cup. But even a win might not be enough to secure qualification to the knockout stages. “We’re disappointed in the results and the performances,” Bale said Monday. “But that’s football, it’s not easy, it’s a World Cup. We don’t need to get anyone going — we just need to keep working hard and hopefully things will turn around for us.” Read more: Why are World Cup players donning unusual face masks on pitch? The 1-1 draw with the United States in Wales’ opening game, when Bale scored a penalty to tie, was a solid enough start. But a 2-0 loss to Iran has put Wales in jeopardy of World Cup elimination. So it is understandable that Bale had little interest in engaging in discussion about his storied career and what remains for his playing days. He was asked how a win against England and moving into the round of 16 would rank against his five Champions League trophies with Real Madrid. “I’ll let you know if it happens,” he said curtly. At 33, Bale doesn’t need to be told occasions like this might be over for him once Wales’ World Cup adventure ends. After leading his country to the semifinals of Euro 2016 and through to the knockout stages of Euro 2020, he ended Wales' 64-year wait to qualify for a World Cup. But his influence is declining, as has been evident in Wales’ opening two games. Meanwhile, other key players in Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen are also past their peak. With a lack of obvious replacements coming through, qualification for another major tournament may not be on the horizon any time soon. Read more: Viral Wales video hangs over World Cup clash with England Bale has also said goodbye to elite European football – joining MLS team Los Angeles FC in the summer. In short, his opportunities to play in front of a global audience could be scarce beyond Qatar. But it would be unwise to write off a player who has made a career of producing game-changing moments on the biggest occasions. That's a fact England coach Gareth Southgate noted when was asked to pay tribute to one of British soccer’s greats. In his mind, Bale represents a very live threat. “He’s had a fantastic — or is having a fantastic career,” he said. “Clearly his club career and what he won with Real Madrid is phenomenal. We know that he’s capable of those individual moments of brilliance in the penalty area and from distance as well. Free kicks, of course, are a great strength.” Perhaps no team at the World Cup is more reliant on one player as Wales is with Bale. Not Portugal with Cristiano Ronaldo – or Argentina with Lionel Messi. “I do the same as I always do. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,” said Bale. “Sometimes I have a good game, sometimes I don’t. It’s football, it’s difficult to always play well. “I will give everything, like I always do for my country. I will just try to lead by example and hopefully that’s enough on the day. That is all I can do.”

Gareth Bale made sure his missed penalty didn’t matter by setting up two goals. The Wales captain created chance after chance in his team’s 2-0 victory over Turkey on Wednesday at the European Championship. Bale lofted a pass over the defense that Aaron Ramsey chested down before knocking it past onrushing Turkey goalkeeper Ugurcan Çakir in the 42nd minute. Connor Roberts scored the second in the final seconds of injury time after Bale dribbled along the touchline from a short corner. The win moved the Euro 2016 semifinalists closer to a place in the last 16 with four points in Group A. Turkey has zero points after losing both of its matches. Also read: Russia beats Finland 1-0 for 1st points at Euro 2020 “We all turned up, we all put in a great performance and I felt we deserved the victory,” Bale said. “If you’d offered us four points (from two games) at the start of the campaign we’d have bitten your hand off.” Bale had a chance to score one himself in the 61st minute but he sent his penalty kick over the bar after being tripped by Zeki Çelik on the edge of the area. “I felt I played well all evening. The penalty miss is my fault, of course I take responsibility, but I think it shows the character,” Bale said. “I kept going, I kept fighting away and I got the second assist to kill off the game.” Also read: Ronaldo scores 2, Portugal beats Hungary 3-0 at Euro 2020 The Wales captain hasn’t scored for his country in 13 games. His last goal came against Croatia in Euro 2020 qualifying in October 2019. After the match, the team gathered around their captain for a rousing, emphatic victory speech. Ramsey had two earlier chances to score off passes from Bale before finally giving his team the lead. He had one shot saved by the goalkeeper early and then scooped the ball over the bar in the 24th when one-on-one with Çakir. “Third time lucky. I had a couple of opportunities, but there’s nothing I could do about them,” Ramsey said. “Now we can go to Italy (for the third game Sunday) full of confidence and who knows what can happen there.” READ: Copa America 2021: Brazil Win, Argentina Draw With Chile, Messi’s Stunning Goal Turkey captain Burak Yilmaz had five shots but couldn’t convert any of them, most notably when he missed an excellent chance early in the second half. He volleyed over the bar from close range when a corner was headed on to him. Turkey had strong support from traveling fans and many locals in front of a crowd of nearly 20,000 in close ally Azerbaijan. The presidents of both Turkey and Azerbaijan were in attendance. Turkey coach Şenol Güneş was sharply critical of his team on Roberts’ late goal, blaming “a lack of attention” after Bale had tried a similar dribble from another corner moments before. “We are all sorry for this result,” Güneş said through an interpreter. “We couldn’t get any points from these two games so we are sorry. This team could have played much better than this.”

Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale practiced separately from the squad on Friday and is set to miss the team's match against Espanyol in the Spanish league on Saturday.