鈥楥areer highlight鈥� for captain Bale as Wales mount Euro return

Wales midfielder Gareth Bale, center, and teammates during a training session in Baku on Friday. (AFP)
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  • Wales start campaign against Switzerland in Baku

BAKU: Wales and Gareth Bale head into their second straight European Championship with aspirations kept in check after their surprising run to the semifinals in 2016.

Five years later Bale will captain his country having taken over from the emblematic Ashley Williams who wore the armband five years ago in the run to the last four and defeat to eventual winners Portugal.

Wales start their campaign against Switzerland on Saturday in Baku.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a massive honor to lead your country out in a major tournament. It鈥檚 going to be one of the highlights of my career,鈥� Bale, a four-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid, said.

鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward and I鈥檓 excited. The team talk will come naturally to me in the huddle tomorrow,鈥� he said.

Switzerland have a more consistent past in reaching finals but have failed to get further than the last 16 in their previous three tournaments 鈥� the 2014 and 2018 World Cups and Euro 2016.

鈥淲e have high expectations from ourselves and also from our public,鈥� captain Granit Xhaka said.

鈥淲e proved we can make it, this time we don鈥檛 want to talk, we want to do it, and achieve it,鈥� he added.

The pair will compete with Italy and Turkey for a place in the last 16, in just their third appearance at a major tournament.

鈥淲e know the qualities of Italy, being such a big nation with such a history. Switzerland are a top 10 ranking team in the world,鈥� Bale said.

鈥淭urkey have proven over the last 12 months because they鈥檝e beaten some big teams as well.

鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult to say who the favorite is. I don鈥檛 think one stands out,鈥� he added.

Recently Bale has found it difficult scoring for his country, who are 17th in the FIFA rankings, and is without an international goal since October 2019.

Despite his barren run of 11 matches in the red shirt he finished the club season with six goals in as many Premier League games while on loan at Tottenham from Real Madrid.

鈥淚 feel good, very sharp, I feel ready to go,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 scored quite a few goals in the last three to four months of the season and I felt the performances were getting better and better each time.

鈥淚鈥檝e timed my fitness to perfection hopefully and I can continue that in the tournament,鈥� he added.

This weekend, Xhaka will face former Arsenal teammate Aaron Ramsey, who left the Emirates Stadium for Juventus in 2019.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 see too much danger on Saturday. If we focus and play as we want then there鈥檚 no danger,鈥� Xhaka said.

鈥淲e have huge respect for Wales. A lot of their players play abroad, in the Premier League, who I have played alongside like Aaron Ramsey, who is a very skillful player,鈥� he added.