Gareth Bale’s 10 best moments from his 100 Wales appearances

Gareth Bale earned his 100th Wales cap in his national team’s 5-1 victory over Belarus on Saturday. It was another big moment for the forward as Wales took a big step towards the 2022 World Cup, which would be Bale’s third major tournament qualification if he and his teammates make it.

Over the 15 years since his debut, Bale has been behind some of the Dragons' greatest ever achivements. Here, we take a look at his top 10 moments for his country.

1. His Wales debut

It was all the way back on May 27th 2006 that Bale made his Wales debut, over a decade and a half ago. This first outing came in a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago when he was just 16 years of age and the debutant even assisted Robert Earnshaw for the winning goal of the 2-1 victory.

2. His first goal for his country

Although it came in a 5-1 loss to Slovakia in Euro 2008 qualification, there’s nothing like your first goal for your country and Bale will always remember that freekick strike.

3. A brace to beat Scotland

In a qualifier for the 2014 World Cup, Bale produced his first international brace to achieve a 2-1 victory over Scotland. With Wales down 1-0 with 10 minutes to go, Bale first scored a penalty and then hit a long-range last-minute winner to start a Friday night party in Cardiff.

4. The header against Cyprus

It was Bale who came up with the clutch goal against Cyprus that proved vital in Wales’ successful Euro 2016 qualification campaign. Away at the GSP Stadium, his 82nd minute goal earned three huge points for the Dragons.

5. The Euro 2016 run

There is no doubt that Bale’s greatest achievement with Wales is taking his country to the semi-finals of a major tournament. By scoring in each of the group games against Slovakia, England and Russia, the forward carried his team into the knockouts, where they then beat Northern Ireland and Belgium, before falling to eventual champions Portugal.

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6. A hat-trick to break Rush’s record

Bale is the all-time top scorer for the Welsh national team, currently on 36 goals from his 100 caps. The previous record was held by Ian Rush, who had 28, but Bale hit a hat-trick in a 2018 friendly win over China to move clear of that tally.

7. Captaining the team for the first time

Of his 100 caps, 21 of these have seen Bale captain the team. The very first time he did so was on September 9th 2018 in a Nations League game against Denmark. Although that was a 2-0 defeat, it was an immensely proud moment for the forward to wear his national team’s armband.

8. Wales, Golf, Madrid

One of the most iconic moments of Bale’s entire career was his celebration with the “Wales, Golf, Madrid” flag after qualifying for Euro 2020. The banner was inspired by a quote from Real Madrid legend Predrag Mijatović and became the main talking point in the Spanish sports press for several days.

9. The win over Turkey

While Wales didn’t go quite as far in Euro 2020 as they had done at Euro 2016, this was another successful tournament appearance for the country as they made it out of a group that featured eventual champions Italy and France’s conquerors Switzerland. After an opening round draw with the Swiss, Wales defeated Turkey 2-0 in Baku as Bale assisted both goals. Although he missed a penalty, this was still a dominant performance.

10. His 100th cap

Reaching 100 Wales caps is an achievement in itself as only one other player had managed this before, with Chris Gunter reaching 106 matches for the country. Gunter is still adding to his tally, but Bale will hope to eventually overtake his teammate.