‘Unplayable’ – the night Bale tore Iceland apart

Nations League: Wales v Iceland

Venue: Cardiff City Stadium Date: Tuesday, 19 November Kick off: 19:45 GMT

Coverage: Live on S4C, BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru, live text and commentary on the BBC Sport website and app

Gareth Bale scored some of the best and most important goals in Welsh football history, and there is one – arguably his most spectacular of all – which some believe does not get the recognition it deserves.

Maybe that is because it came in a friendly at a half-empty stadium, a stage unbefitting for the then Real Madrid star who would become Wales’ all-time leading scorer in men’s football.

Or perhaps it is overshadowed by the remarkable, mirror-image goal he conjured a month later in a Copa Del Rey final against Barcelona.

But for those who saw Wales’ 3-1 win against Iceland in 2014, their abiding memory will be Bale’s act of genius, the crowning glory of a virtuoso individual performance.

Receiving the ball deep in his own half, Bale motored past Iceland’s defenders – and was even forced off the pitch by one flailing would-be tackler – before driving into the box and firing into the bottom corner.

Only 13,219 were at Cardiff City Stadium to witness it, but this was a moment of enduring class, a glimpse of brighter times to come on the cusp of Wales’ greatest era.

A decade on, as Iceland return to Cardiff on Tuesday for the first time since, BBC Sport Wales relives Bale’s wonder goal with those who were there.

Empty seats but an emerging golden generation

Having failed to qualify for a major tournament since the 1958 World Cup, Wales were in the midst of a long and painful barren spell – but they sensed it might soon come to an end.

The main source for that hope was an emerging golden generation of players, including Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen and Ashley Williams – and spearheaded by Bale.

For all that optimism, though, some still needed convincing.

“I always think of the empty stands at Cardiff City Stadium, which you don’t really see anymore,” says Sam Vokes, who started up front for Wales that night.

“So it kind of shows where we were at the time, but things were growing. The Iceland game was one that started to get us back on track, going into Euro 2016 qualification.”

Danny Gabbidon, who won his 48th and penultimate cap in defence, adds: “We were thinking what the potential of this team could be, how we could get to a level where we’re qualifying for a major tournament.

“At that point Gaz was just unplayable. You watch a montage of his goals and there’s every type of goal you could think of. He could head the ball, he could dribble, he could shoot from distance, he could assist. He could do everything.”

‘Wales were almost a one-man team’

The fact Bale was there at all was a statement in itself. He had played in a fiery Madrid derby just three days earlier but, contrary to expectations of a fleeting cameo for this friendly, he started.

“It was labelled against Ryan Giggs that he was really good for Manchester United and in a Wales shirt he wouldn’t show up, miss friendlies and stuff, but you never got that with Gaz,” says Gabbidon.

“He was so driven and focused, not just for club but for country as well. At that point he was just running games on his own.”

Bale created the opening goal in the 12th minute with a free-kick from the right, curled perfectly into the path of James Collins to glance in.

“I think we were all queueing up for that cross. I was by James Collins ready to tap in if he didn’t,” says Vokes, who did not have to wait long for his chance.

Iceland equalised later in the first half as Williams turned Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s shot into his net but Wales were back in front after the break. Bale, of course, was at the heart of it.

Collecting the ball on the right, Bale feigned to turn inside, drove past Ari Skulason and accelerated before shooting with the outside of his left foot.

Only an outstanding block on the line by Kari Arnason denied Bale a superb solo goal, but the ball merely bounced up for Vokes to nod in.

“I just had to finish it from a yard out,” Vokes recalls with a smile. “I don’t know what you do as a defender. There was no stopping him at that point.”

As a centre-back, Gabbidon had a keener sense of what Iceland’s defenders had to face.

“I felt sorry for some of the teams that were coming up against him because he was just unplayable,” he says.

“He had that hunger about him as well. Sometimes you see players love playing for their clubs and, for their countries, they maybe play a gear down.

“But Gaz wasn’t like that. It was the same in a Welsh shirt, and there were quite a few games around that period, not just the Iceland one. We were almost like a one-man team.”

‘An unbelievable goal’

The only thing missing from Bale’s performance was a goal for himself. In the 70th minute, he provided one in stunning fashion.

There did not seem to be much on for Bale when he received the ball deep inside his own half near the right touchline, so Solvi Ottesen rushed up to tackle him.

Bale knocked the ball beyond the Iceland substitute and, in a desperate and cynical attempt to stop the Real Madrid man before he even crossed the halfway line, Ottesen tried to grab him by the neck and forced him off the pitch in the process.

But, such was Bale’s strength and pace, he shrugged off the Icelandic defender, stayed on his feet and surged back on to the field to gather the loose ball.

“I remember watching him take off and, as soon as he went past the Iceland defender, it was inevitable. I knew what was going to happen,” says Gabbidon.

“He was still 80 or 90 yards from goal but I was thinking ‘this is a goal’. That’s how good he was. Trying to defend against that is pretty much impossible.”

Bale powered on and strode purposefully into the Iceland penalty area, where Arnason was waiting. He backtracked nervously at first and, by the time the centre-back lunged towards the ball, Bale had already rifled a low left-footed shot into the bottom far corner.

“It was unbelievable,” says Gudmundsson. “Our defender tried to tackle him but he ran off the pitch and still got the ball. He was a fantastic player.”

Ben Davies will captain Wales against Iceland on Tuesday. When Bale scored that goal, he was on the bench waiting to come on as a late substitute.

“That’s pretty much all I remember of that game. That night, Gareth was on fire,” says Davies.

“That at the time seemed to be a trademark goal of his, that he was able to skip past players so easily and be so calm in the box as well. I don’t remember too much from that game but I most certainly remember Gaz’s goal.”

‘It doesn’t get spoken about enough’ – the goal’s legacy

Few players have an individual collection of goals as impressive as Bale’s.

From the staggering bicycle kick for Real Madrid in their 2018 Champions League final win over Liverpool, to his long-range missile for Wales against Scotland – not to mention the simply outrageous solo efforts he summoned time and again for Tottenham – it is difficult to compile a shortlist of Bale’s best goals, never mind choose one.

The Iceland friendly was one of his lower-profile matches but, in terms of pure quality and invention, Bale’s goal that night takes some beating.

“It’s right up there,” says Vokes. “If you don’t compare it to a qualifier or big club game, as a technical goal in itself, we stood back and just thought ‘wow’.

“Then he did it against Barcelona and mirrored it. Amazing.”

Gabbidon believes that goal against Barcelona – where Bale did to Marc Bartra what he had done to Ottesen – just a month later is partly why his uncannily similar effort against Iceland is overlooked.

“It doesn’t get spoken about enough. It’s overshadowed by the Barcelona goal but this one is very similar, and just as good,” he says.

“I’d like to see them both played simultaneously together because they’re so similar, just on opposite sides of the pitch. It’s a ridiculous goal. Not many people in world football could score that type of goal.

“You could ask Wales fans for their favourite Bale goal and I reckon most would go for ones that have meant more, to qualify for tournaments and things like that.

“But you will not see a better goal scored.”