England have been branded “the enemy” by Gareth Bale who claims Three Lions stars lack “passion and pride” in an astonishing blast.
Superstar Bale and Wales open their Group B campaign on Saturday against Slovakia before a crunch game against England on Thursday.
Real Madrid ace Bale insists he and his Welsh compatriots will be much more motivated to do well in France than England’s deluded players.
Bale, who has 55 caps, said: “England big themselves up before they have done anything. We have a lot more passion and pride about us than them.
“We will definitely show that. We believe we can beat them. It is like any derby, you don’t want to lose – especially to the enemy.
“Even in the rugby we feel more pride and passion – our national anthem everyone sings.
“We know we are a smaller nation so we have to do everything in our power to get to the levels of other nations because they have a lot more players to choose from.”
Bale scored seven of Wales’ 11 goals in qualifying and had two assists to help the nation to their first major finals since 1958.
He added: “To be here now I think we appreciate it more than other countries.”
Cardiff-born and bred Bale was eligible to play for England through his grandmother. But he added: “I wouldn’t care if I never qualified with Wales, I would never play for England. Being here doesn’t vindicate anything.”
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