Wales football

He does not dominate matches as he once did but Bale was instrumental in the goal that sent his country to their first World Cup finals in 64 years.

How can the outcome of a football match compete with news about the counterattack in Sievierodonetsk? How can these things occupy the heads and hearts of the same people at the same time? The Ukrainian fans were remembered at the final whistle, both by the Wales players who applauded them, and by Welsh fans who joined in their thunderclap: moving gestures that should not be forgotten. There is a sense of togetherness, of fresh peaks being scaled together, that is extremely rousing. And there we run straight into the awkwardness of the occasion. When Bale lined up a free-kick 11 minutes before half-time, minds inevitably went back to the free-kick he had swept into the same goal against Austria in March. This time, on the other side of the pitch, Bale stood on the tee and assessed the conditions: 25 yards, slight left to right breeze, heavy rain. Bale is a player these days who plays in snippets.