Wales put in a remarkable performance to beat Belgium 3-1 and their goal scoring hero Hal Robson-Kanu was bullish about his side's chances in the semi-final against Portugal. Robson-Kanu scored the second of Wales’ 3 goals and although Bale did not find the net for the second game running, he was influential throughout the game.
Wales led by Bale will now face Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the semi-final and when asked about the prospect of facing Ronaldo, Robson-Kanu believed that Bale was a better player than both Ronaldo and Messi:
When asked about Messi and Ronaldo he told reporters: "They are both world-class players. But we have a world-class player who is better.
"Obviously he has been important and it will be a big game for both of them. But we have players who will affect the game throughout and hopefully we’ll get a positive result.
"He’s [Bale} definitely on his way [to becoming the world's best]."
Wales’ other big star Aaron Ramsey is set to miss out on the semi-final against Portugal after picking up a yellow card in the quarter-final against Belgium and the loss of the Arsenal midfielder could prove to be a big loss for the Dragons.
However, Robson-Kanu was confident that his side could cope without the Arsenal midfielder:
"Obviously he’s a world-class player. You don’t want to lose your world-class players but we have a squad here and that’s the whole point of having a squad at a championship, so I’m sure the players who step in will perform.
"They have been training hard and waiting for this moment, so I’m sure it will be a positive game."
Bale has been getting high praise from all quarters with even Belgium defender Jordan Lukaku praising Bale before Wales went on to beat Belgium:
"Bale is for me perhaps slightly higher than Hazard. He's been playing longer at that level. At key moments at club level Bale is the man and he stands there, while Hazard is still not consistent," Lukaku was quoted as saying by goal.com.
Cristiano Ronaldo has had a mixed tournament so far, but Wales will be wary of the Portugal superstar’s ability to change the game almost single-handedly. Gareth Bale and Wales have captured the imagination of football fans with their brave and attractive style of football and they are now just one step away now from creating more history and booking a place in the final.
