Gareth Bale reveals how he convinced England-born Ben Woodburn to play for Wales before youngster became World Cup hero
Teenager Woodburn scored stunning winner for the Welsh against Austria on Saturday to keep Dragons in Russia hunt
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GARETH BALE famously said it took him one second to make his mind up between Wales and England.
The £86million Real Madrid superstar could have played for the Three Lions due to an English grandparent.
Yet, when a former agent asked the Cardiff-born star if he fancied switching allegiance, the answer came easily.
Bale has been around long enough to know such decisions do not come so easily to others.
So, when he saw young Ben Woodburn watching a Wales friendly against Holland in November 2015, he went for a quiet word.
Bale had heard all the talk about the Chester-born teenager who was coming through the Liverpool ranks and playing for the Welsh youth teams.
And he wanted to make sure he could one day fill his boots for the Dragons and not slip away back across the border.
The former Tottenham man, 28, said: “I was injured for the Holland game and he sat in the box next to me.
“I had a little chat with him and obviously I wanted to get him on board because we knew he was a great player. We’re delighted to have him — he’s Welsh anyway so he’s ours.”
There are no doubts about that now after the 17-year-old’s stunning winner on his debut against Austria on Saturday.
It was the kind of script Bale — who hit the big time with Southampton and Wales at a similar age — could barely have dreamed up.
Now he will be around to make sure Woodburn keeps his feet on the ground.
Bale smiled: “I was playing left-back when I was that age.
“But he’s a typical winger — likes to take on a player, likes to shoot, likes to cross.
“We don’t want to put too much pressure on him because he’s still young.
“I’ve been in that position before, as a youngster it’s a lot to come in, so we don’t want to put pressure on his shoulders.
“I know he’s scored a great goal and done great on his debut, but we want him to feel comfortable.
“We’re not a big nation and when good players come along we want them to produce and perform well. Ben’s done that and we are all proud of him.”
Boss Chris Coleman confirmed there has been no obvious change to young Woodburn around the squad since his heroics in Cardiff clinched a vital 1-0 Group D win.
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And Bale says the tight-knit Wales squad will ensure he keeps his feet firmly on the ground.
He said: “We haven’t had to have a word with him. He’s a good lad and doesn’t need to be looked after in that respect.
“He knows it was a great goal and knows what he did was amazing for us all.
“He’s just got his head down. He’s a quiet lad and got on with it. I know he won’t get too carried away — I’m sure if he does we’ll all let him know! He’s been great since he came in to the squad, kept his head down and worked hard.
“When you do that you get the rewards and we’re happy for him.”
Woodburn’s reward for his dream debut is likely to be a place on the bench again in Moldova tonight.
Wales know there is no margin for error against the group’s whipping boys with three wins needed to keep their World Cup dreams going.
Bale added: “We had four finals to keep our hopes alive.
“If we win all four we’ll have a great chance of top spot and if not we’ll get into the play-offs. After Saturday, it’s one down, three to go.
“This is important, too, but if I didn’t believe we could do it we wouldn’t be here. We know they’ll make it difficult but, we’ll go into the match confident and very well prepared.”
At his age Bale might have to make the most of this chance to reach a World Cup finals.
For so long, Wales have relied on the likes of Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen.
But now the signs are good a crop of youngsters is coming through who could shoulder some of the burden.
Bale added: “When we came in it was the start of a transition period when John Toshack was bringing through a lot of younger players to build for the future.
“Ben and Ethan Ampadu are coming into a steady squad that’s done well and with the characters to really help them as well. It’s a good recipe and hopefully they can help us.”
Boss Coleman’s only previous game in Moldova still sends a shiver down his spine.
And that is not just because the Dragons slumped to one of their worst-ever defeats here back in 1994.
Mike Smith’s side crashed 3-2 in the minnows’ first competitive fixture in a Euro 96 qualifier.
But players were forced to share rooms with cockroaches and sleep in wetsuits because the beds were so damp, according to Coleman. He feared the worst when he came for a look around last month but was pleasantly surprised by the progress the former Soviet republic has made.
He said: “It was unbelievable. The country was in a lot of trouble at the time.
“It was a tough, tough place but we let Wales down that night.
“We were sleeping in our wetsuits because the beds were so damp, they were wet. And there were cockroaches.”
Coleman travelled with his assistant Kit Symons — who also played that night — and they agreed the current Welsh crop will have nothing like that to worry about as they look to keep their World Cup hopes alive.
He added: “Kit and I were out there a few weeks ago and it’s a new stadium, a new structure and it’s really improved.
“They’re working hard. It doesn’t compare to where we stayed in 1994.
“It’s very small, a tight and narrow pitch, but a lovely little stadium.”
WALES: Hennessey, Chester, A WIlliams, B Davies, Gunter, Allen, Edwards, Taylor, Bale, Ramsey, Vokes.