Gareth Bale was once again the star of the show for Wales as they opened their World Cup 2018 qualification campaign with a 4-0 home win over Moldova. The Welsh were supremely comfortable against the minnows and appeared to be suffering no hangover the highs of their exploits at Euro 2016 during the summer when they went to the semi finals against all of the odds.
Bale netted a brace against Moldova taking his tally to 24 for Wales so while he looks well on track to break Ian Rush’s goalscoring record of 28 goals for the country, the question is, can Bale do it before the end of 2016? Online betting site Ladbrokes are offering a price of 10/1 on Bale equalling Rush’s record before Christmas 2016 and they have stumped up a price of 25/1 on Bale to break the record before Christmas 2016.
So what is ahead for Bale? Well, he will get three more chances between now and Christmas to net the four goals to equal and five to break the record. He will line up, all being well, against Georgia (like Moldova another of their qualifying group’s minnows) as well as Serbia. The Welsh will also take a trip out to Austria. So will there be enough chances in all of that?
A Ladbrokes spokesperson said: “It’s purely a matter of if, not when, Bale breaks the 22-year-old record as far as we’re concerned, and we wouldn’t be surprised if he did so before the year is out.”
Well, Bale has scored international goals against both Austria and Serbia in his career, and he should have a good chance of a couple against the lowly ranked Georgia. But five goals in three games? It looks like a bit of a tall order still, even for a man of his quality and stature. One banker here is one Bale, who is still only 27, to become the most capped Wales player ever. He earned his 62nd cap against Moldova on the weekend and he needs to collect another 30 to match current record holder Neville Southall and Ladbrokes have Bale at 8/11 to claim the record.
You have to think that will all the qualification games for lets say, the World Cup 2018 and 2022 and Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 (at a stretch) then he should easily land that record.
Ladbrokes Gareth Bale Betting Specials
Gareth Bale to equal Ian Rush’s goalscoring record for Wales before Christmas (three fixtures: away to Austria, home to Georgia, home to Serbia) – 10/1
Gareth Bale to break Ian Rush’s goalscoring record for Wales before Christmas – 25/1
Gareth Bale to become most-capped Wales player – 8/11
Gareth Bale to win a major tournament with Wales – 33/1
Gareth Bale to be top goalscorer in qualifying – 8/1
Gareth Bale to score in every qualifying game – 100/1
