List of international goals scored by Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale is a Welsh professional footballer who has represented the Wales national football team as a forward since 2006. He made his debut appearance for Wales in May 2006, during a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago; Bale was the youngest ever player to represent the side at the time.[1] In October 2006, during his third appearance for Wales, he scored directly from a free-kick in a 5–1 defeat over Slovakia at a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier match and became the nation's youngest goal-scorer.[2] As of November 2020, he is the country's all-time top goalscorer with 33 goals in 87 appearances.[3]

Bale playing for Wales in 2016

On 13 October 2015, Bale scored his 19th international goal in a 2–0 victory over Andorra during Wales' final qualifying match for UEFA Euro 2016, helping secure the nation's first appearance at a major international tournament since the 1958 FIFA World Cup.[4] The goal was his seventh and final tally during the qualifying campaign; he finished the group stage as Wales' top goalscorer.[5] Bale scored in all three group matches at the tournament, with Wales defeating Slovakia, Russia, and England, to reach the semi-finals.[6] His goal in the opening game against Slovakia was the first goal at a major international tournament by a Welsh player since Terry Medwin's goal against Hungary in 1958.[7] He became the Welsh national team's all-time top goalscorer on 22 March 2018 after scoring a hat-trick in a friendly against China at the China Cup.[8] Bale entered the match on 26 goals, two short of fellow countryman Ian Rush's record tally, having not scored an international goal in 18 months since November 2016.[9] He scored twice in the first half of the game to equal Rush's record, before surpassing it with his third goal in the second half. He also became the first Welsh player to score a hat-trick at international level since Robert Earnshaw in 2004.[10]

Bale has played for Wales in the qualifying campaigns of every FIFA World Cup and European Championship since UEFA Euro 2008, and in the finals of one tournament: Euro 2016. The side reached the Euro 2016 semi-finals before being knocked out by eventual champions, Portugal.[11] Bale has scored more times in qualifying matches than in any other type with 22 goals. His other goals include six in friendly matches (including three in the China Cup), three in the Euro 2016 finals, and two in the UEFA Nations League.[6] He has scored more times against China and Andorra than any other opponent with three goals each against them.[6]