Gareth Bale offered only a halfway answer to questions over his international future with Wales after their World Cup 2022 exit, but insisted the Dragons should be proud of their progress over the last few years.
A poor overall performance and 3-0 defeat to England in their final group stage match ensured Robert Page’s side finished bottom of Group B without a victory, with Bale acknowledging they had not played their best at the tournament.
“We’re disappointed but we’re all proud of what we’ve achieved, to do something no other Wales team has achieved,” he told BBC Sport at full time.
“Of course we’d have loved to get past the group but football’s not always easy. We didn’t quite live up to our expectations but we take massive experience from it and going forward we need to look at how far we’ve come.
“We would have pinched ourselves two years ago [to be at the World Cup], we’ve worked really hard to get here and we’ll walk out of the changing rooms with our heads held high and proud of each other. We’re frustrated and would have loved to play better, create more chances, but it didnt happen for us in this tournament.”
While their first appearance at a World Cup in over six decades did not go to plan, Wales have now reached three major tournaments in the space of six years - having previously only made one in their entire history.
As such, expectations are heightened, Bale admitted, but the performances could not match the intent. “We’ve done well the last two tournaments and the expecation was there but we haven’t played very well. We always play with our hearts though and give everthing, so we can never have any regrets.”
When pressed on his own future with the national team, Bale - who is the all-time Wales record holder for both appearances and goals scored - stopped short of saying he would unquestionably continue, though pointed towards Euro 2024 qualifiers which are only four months away.
“I’ll keep going as long as I can and as long as I want to,” he replied. “We go again with the qualifying campaign in March, we get away from international football now which is disappointing, we would have liked to stay here a bit longer.
“I hope so [to be involved], yes.”
