Gareth Bale praised Wales’ tenacity as they rallied from a goal down to tie the USA 1-1 in their World Cup debut.
Robert Page’s team appeared to be a different team in the second half after Timothy Weah’s goal gave the Stars and Stripes the lead before halftime.
And 33-year-old talisman Bale made sure Wales’ first World Cup match since 1958 ended on a high note by scoring a penalty in the 82nd minute to spoil the shares.
Bale said: “It was not a good first half, to be honest. They played really well and we played poorly.
“[It was a] great talk by the gaffer at half-time, we changed a few things around and the boys came out fighting, battling like we always do, and we looked like we were going to win the game from the start of the second half.
“It’s a great point from where we were, [we] showed character like we did in 2021 at the Euros [against Switzerland] and we go again.”
What Rob Page said to the Wales team at halftime
Wales’ all-time leading scorer was reluctant to divulge what manager Page said during the break, but he is aware that his teammates will be very confident going into their upcoming match against Iran on Friday.
He added: “Just a few tweaks. Nothing I want to share, but we just had to regroup and do what good teams do, come back stronger.
“We showed our character like we always do. From the second half our performance was fantastic so a lot of confidence and things to work on also. Now it’s about recovering and going again.”
What Bale said after scoring first his World Cup goal
And the Los Angeles FC star admitted it was a special moment to score his first goal in the World Cup.
Bale said: “Incredible — but I would rather the three points, to be honest.
“I feel like I have to step up and always happy to do so.”
At halftime, Boss Page substituted Kieffer Moore for Daniel James in a move that drastically improved Wales’ performance.
The 48-year-old also praised Bournemouth forward Moore for his impact in Qatar.
He said: “That was nothing against Daniel James at all, it just suited a Kieffer [Moore] to get us up the pitch.
“We couldn’t play over their press, we couldn’t get through. For us to make that little tweak and to get it over to Kieffer to get us up the pitch made a big difference. It was tactical.”
Wales’ second Group B match against Iran is in less than four days, and Page is aware that his team has a lot of resting to do.
Page added: “The medical team have got quite a bit of work to do. We’ve got players that are not playing week-in, week-out at a competitive level, so they’re cramping up in the last five minutes.
“The medical team have got a big job to get us ready for Friday.”
