Tuesday 6 September 2016 15:29, UK
Wales skipper Ashley Williams insists their World Cup qualifying opponents will not intimidate talisman Gareth Bale.
Bale was singled out for some rough treatment during Monday's 4-0 victory over Moldova at the Cardiff City Stadium.
The Real Madrid forward's response was to score twice after setting up the opening goal for Sam Vokes, with Joe Allen also on target with his first international strike.
Bale is now in second position on the all-time Wales scoring list with 24 goals, four short of Ian Rush's record.
And Everton defender Williams believes Bale will be instrumental throughout the Group D campaign as Wales look to qualify for their first World Cup finals since 1958.
"Gareth is normally the difference and we are going to need him to come up with a bit of magic," Williams said.
"We saw a lot of tackles in the last campaign, but it's international football and we've got enough caps to know that's coming.
"We've got a lot of quality players and big names in the team and that's going to happen. But we kept our heads against Moldova and we're more than capable of dealing with it.
"We've got some tough boys who can deal with it and we didn't pick up any silly yellow cards as well. We can look after ourselves.
"Gareth is an important player for us obviously. You saw that on the cross for the first goal.
"We needed something a little bit special. We had to patient, which we were, and he unlocked it and the game was a little bit open after that.
"With us being the top seeds, I am guessing that teams will look at us a little bit differently. Maybe, they will not be so adventurous and a little bit more cautious."
