Euro 2016: No love lost between Bale, Ronaldo – Coleman

Wales manager, Chris Coleman, says there will be ‘no love lost’ between Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo when they face off for a place in the Euro 2016 final.

Bale and Portugal’s Ronaldo, the world’s most expensive players costing a combined £166million, have won two Champions League titles in three years together at Real Madrid and much is expected of them in Wednesday’s semi-final in Lyon.

Coleman said: “They are two of the best players on the planet who know each other very well. There won’t be any love lost on the evening for both teams, not just Gareth and Cristiano.

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“I don’t think Bale will look at this and think he has to impress anyone just because of who the opposition is. We have to remember where Gareth has been, the games he has played, the stages he has performed on. He will see this as another big test. Whoever is on the pitch is in our way, and we have to find a route past them.”

Coleman will not implement any specific plan to stop Ronaldo, other than his team’s usual approach to defending as a group, which proved so successful when they beat Belgium on Friday night in Lille.

Coleman added: “I could work my defenders for the next month, drilling them about Cristiano Ronaldo, but he has the capability to do something unstoppable. That’s the danger. But we have one in our team, too. It balances itself out. We will just concentrate on what we’re good at and stick to our game plan.”

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