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Gareth Bale says qualifying for Euro 2016 would mean the world to him

Gareth Bale celebrates after scoring against Belgium
Image: Gareth Bale celebrates after scoring against Belgium

Gareth Bale is determined to finish the job after scoring the goal which gave Wales a 1-0 over Belgium and put them in the driving seat for Euro 2016 qualification.

The Real Madrid star marked his 50th international cap with one of the most crucial goals of his career to take his country one step closer to their first major tournament in over half a century.

Wales are now firmly in the driving seat in Group B as they moved three points clear at the top with just four games remaining against Cyprus, Israel, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Andorra.

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Former Wales international Danny Gabbidon has called for Wales to focus on their remaining Euro 2016 qualifying fixtures.

Bale admitted helping Wales secure qualification will be one of the highlights of his career but was keen to stress the job is not done yet and said the team must now move on from the win over Belgium.

"I think everybody knows how much I want to get to a major tournament with Wales," Bale said. "It's top of my list now. It's on, so we'll keep working hard to do it.

"We know what position we're in and we're going to enjoy this.

"We know there's still a long way to go. We can enjoy now, but when the next camp comes around we will be straight back on the floor.

"We will be working hard on the training field and ready to do the business."

Bale settled the contest at the Cardiff City Stadium when he pounced on Belgium midfielder Radja Nainggolan's ill-conceived header towards his own goal after 25 minutes.

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Gareth Bale's goal on his 50th cap gave Wales a famous 1-0 victory over Belgium in Cardiff and now sit three points clear at the top of Group B.

After that Wales had to dig in against opponents ranked second in the world by FIFA, and survived a siege at times with the players willed on by a passionate sell-out crowd.

"I think that was definitely the most important goal I've scored," Bale said. "It was our biggest international game and we rose to the occasion and got the win we needed.

"At the start of the campaign, if you'd offered us the chance to be top of the group after six games we'd have bitten your hand off.

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Wales manager Chris Coleman believes his players gave everything he asked of them as his side beat Belgium 1-0.

"We prepared well, we worked hard together we played good football. We were under the cosh at times but we battled in every area and I felt we deserved the win in the end."

Wales' victory not only moved them to within touching distance of qualifying for Euro 2016 in France, but also confirmed their place among the top seeds for next month's World Cup draw in Russia.

It has completed a remarkable rise as Wales were in the bottom band of European seeds for the 2014 World Cup qualifying draw when they were ranked 112 in the world - 90 places below their current position and manager Chris Coleman could not be more proud of his players.

"It seems to be two things working at the same time," Coleman said. "We're trying to do well in the campaign and get as high as we can in the rankings.

"The lower you are, the harder the group you are in, so that's good for us and it will be interesting to see what comes out of that.

"But this (Euro 2016 qualification) is obviously our main objective and we've got to put this to bed.

"We've got to do something that other teams have unfortunately not managed to do, and our eyes are on the next game."

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