Lallana: Bale is a good friend of mine, but England can't just focus on him
Adam Lallana is looking forward to coming up against his friend Gareth Bale when England meet Wales in the European Championship on Thursday – but insists Chris Coleman’s side have plenty of other players capable of doing damage.
The teams go head-to-head in Lens with Group B finely poised and the Three Lions eager to pick up three points after being held to a 1-1 draw by Russia in their tournament opener on Saturday.
Wales, however, began with a victory as they defeated Slovakia 2-1 – a game in which Bale opened the scoring for the Red Dragons.
Nevertheless, Lallana feels Wales have several other stars capable of deciding the outcome of the contest, including Liverpool teammate Joe Allen.
He said: “Wales have lots of talented players so it's not just Gareth we have to concentrate on.
“Joe Allen was man of the match the other day [in Wales' win over Slovakia], and obviously Aaron Ramsey.
“Is he [Bale] one of the top five players in the world right now? Yes. He's a good friend of mine and a very good player, we all know that. But we can't focus on Gareth, that would be naive.
“For us we are focusing on ourselves. We have to respect Wales' strengths, and look at their weaknesses, but if we play like we did the other night we have a great chance of winning any game we play.”
England looked to be on course to collecting a win against Russia, but a last-gasp header from Vasili Berezutski ensured the contest ended all square.
Nevertheless, Lallana insists the Three Lions remain optimistic about their chances of progression.
He said: "People might say it is a must-win game. We will be looking for a win against Wales, that’s for sure.
"It is a pivotal game in the group. We know we need a good result. But we have big players in our team who are used to dealing with pressure. We thrive on that.
"The Russia match is definitely out of our system. You get over the disappointment quickly and take the positives from the game - we had plenty of them.
"The belief in the camp is huge. You could see our intent and focus right from the start the other night. But we do have to be more ruthless and sharpen up a couple of things."