Gareth Bale showed all the signs of his old self with an impressive free kick in Wales’s World Cup playoff qualifier against Austria.
In the 25th minute of the UEFA playoff semifinal, the 32-year-old forward stepped to a free kick from about 20 yards and whipped the ball into the top corner of the net for the opening goal. The Real Madrid star then ran off to the corner to celebrate in front of a raucous home crowd in Cardiff.
For Bale, who has played in as many games for Real Madrid as he has for Wales since the start of the season, it was his 37th goal in 101 appearances for the country.