Wales' Preparations For The World Cup, Gareth Bale: We Have To Learn Black Magic To Take Down Opponents

JAKARTA - Wales national team captain Gareth Bale says he and his team-mates must learn "black magic" to prepare for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar at the end of the year.

The "black magic" in question is the ability to prevent opposing players from having a chance to score in the last minute of the game, after Wales suffered a tragic 1-2 defeat against the Netherlands in the UEFA Nations League Division A Group 4 match in Cardiff on Wednesday.

Wales, who had fallen behind early in the second half, were able to equalize in the second minute of added time, but two minutes later had to end the game empty-handed thanks to Wout Weghorst's dramatic goal for the Netherlands.

The goal came from the creation of Frenkie de Jong's attack who waltzed past a number of Welsh players in midfield before sending a pass that was converted through Weghorst's header.

Bale felt that one of his colleagues should have prevented the Dutch opportunity by deliberately breaking De Jong's fall to stop the opponent's attack situation.

"After struggling to equalize only to concede again is definitely suffocating, but we have to learn black magic to bring down opponents," said Bale, who was sent off in the 77th minute, in a post-match interview with S4C.

"We have to take this as a lesson. If it happens again at the World Cup, we have to do what is needed ... when facing top-level teams, don't let the opponent punish us," he added.

Wales interim coach Rob Page admitted that his team did have a lack of "street mentality" so they were trapped in naive behavior that led to defeat.

"Actually there was a big opportunity but we showed naivety in trying to secure a result. This is clearly a valuable lesson for the team," he said.

Wales have reached the World Cup finals for the first time in 64 years after eliminating Ukraine in a qualifying playoff.

In Qatar, Wales will be in Group B with the United States, England and Iran.