Belarus 2 Wales 3: Gareth Bale scores stunning hat-trick and wins World Cup qualifier in final seconds
GARETH BALE ended his international goal drought with a dramatic hat-trick to keep Wales’ World Cup dream alive.
The Dragons looked set to end the game red-faced by dropping points against minnows Belarus – despite two penalties from the Real Madrid superstar.
But deep into stoppage time he got on the end of a low cross by Dan James to get in a shot which squirmed through the grasp of the home goalkeeper.
Bale, 32, had billed this as a ‘must win’ game beforehand and once again he came to the rescue of his country – just when they needed him most.
Such a dramatic finish looked unlikely when Wales took the lead inside the first five minutes.
Ben Davies lobbed a ball into the area and Bale was too quick for keeper Syarhey Chernik, who clattered into him and got nowhere near the ball.
The former Tottenham ace missed from the spot during the Dragons famous win over Turkey at the Euros – sending his effort high over the bar.
But he had no hesitation grabbing the ball again here and this time he made no mistake - sending Chernik the wrong way to score his 34th international goal.
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