GARETH BALE has hit back at Italy manager Roberto Mancini after he compared Wales to Stoke City.
Wales visit Rome on Sunday and a win over Italy will see them top Group A.
And though the Azzuri are unbeaten in 25 games and beat both Turkey and Switzerland 3-0, Mancini is still expecting a tough game against Wales.
In his pre-match press conference he said: “Stoke had a very tough style of play, they were a very tough nut to crack.
“It will be a very difficult match from a physical perspective because they are a powerful side like Stoke, but they are also very technical.
“Wales have players like [Joe] Allen, [Gareth] Bale and [Daniel] James. They have got some quality and skilful players.”
Bale was alerted to the comments, which brought a smile to his face.
And he responded: “I never knew Stoke were that good.”
Wales dominated Turkey for large spells on Sunday and Aaron Ramsey missed two good chances before he opened the scoring in the first half.
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Bale also blazed a penalty over the bar before assisting Connor Roberts’ late second, and is seemingly confident ahead of the trip to Italy.
The Wales skipper delivered a rousing speech to his team-mates on the pitch in Baku after the full-time whistle, and is full of energy and optimism after Wales all but secured qualification.
He and his team-mates will hope to repeat their heroics of 2016, when they reached the semi-final after beating Belgium and Northern Ireland in the knock-out rounds.
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