EURO 2016 QUALIFYING GROUP B
ISRAEL 0 WALES 3
Gareth Bale fired a deadly double as Wales handed Israel their first defeat of the qualifying stages with an emphatic victory at the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa.
Israel looked a shadow of the team who had taken the group by storm in their opening three matches. They offered little in the attacking third in a tight first half and it was Wales who grew in confidence, with defender James Collins missing a gilt-edged chance early on, failing to connect in front of an unguarded goal.
It was Wales who broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time, when Real Madrid star Bale headed the ball back into the path of Aaron Ramsey who placed a looping header into the top corner.
With the bit between their teeth, Wales surged forward at the start of the second half and Israel's chances were dealt another blow when Eytan Tibi was sent off following his second cautionable offence on Bale. And to make matters worse, Bale curled a glorious free-kick into the top corner to make it 2-0.
It was game over soon after as Bale scored completed the scoring with a powerful close-range effort to wrap up a deserved victory.
Match-winner Gareth Bale expressed delight at the final whistle. He said: "It was a top-of-the-table clash, so to come out on top is amazing. We'd like to dedicate this to Dai Williams, the kit man who passed away.
"The first half was very hard, we did a lot of running, but we showed in the second half what a good team we are.
"We've put ourselves in a great position, but there's a lot of work to do yet, and all we can do is keep fighting and keep working hard."
"We could have had more, but 3-0 is a terrific result," said James Collins. ""It was a great performance, a great victory.
"In years gone by, I've come to places like this and got a tonking, so it's great to come here and get a convincing win. We're top of the group, but we don't want to get too carried away."
Israel will be looking for a major improvement when they host Belgium in Jerusalem on Tuesday night.
But they will be missing Tibi and top-scorer Omer Damari looks a major doubt after limping off.
Belgium moved to within a point of Israel after crushing Cyprus 5-0 on Saturday night. Marouane Fellaini (2), Christian Benteke, Eden Hazard and Michy Batshuayi eased them to victory.
ISRAEL: Marciano, Tibi, Dgani, Ben Haim (capt), Tibi, Ben Harush, Natcho, Yeini, Zahavi (sub: Sahar 71), Refaelov, Damari (sub: Hemed 44), Ben Haim (sub: Bitton 60)
Booked: Tibi (x2), Refaelov
Sent off Tibi
WALES Hennessey, Collins, Williams, Davies, Gunter, Allen, Ledley (sub: Vaughan 48), Taylor, Bale, Ramsey (sub: MacDonald 86), Robson-Kanu (sub: Vokes 69)
Scorers: Ramsey 44, Bale 50, 77
GROUP B
1. Wales Pl. 5, Pts. 11
2. Israel Pl. 4, Pts. 9
3. Belgium Pl. 4, Pts. 8
4. Cyprus Pl. 5, Pts. 6
5. Bosnia Pl. 4, Pts. 2
6. Andorra Pl. 4, Pts. 0
