WALES star Gareth Bale aims to land a knockout blow on Northern Ireland at Euro 2016 today, after being taunted by boxer Carl Frampton in the build-up to the tournament’s second Battle of Britain.

Belfast boy Frampton, who is training to fight Léo Santa Cruz for the WBA super-featherweight title in New York on July 30, took to Twitter to suggest that Bale would struggle against goalkeeper of the tournament Michael McGovern today.

McGovern made a series of spectacular saves to deny Germany the big win that would have knocked his side out on Tuesday.

And Frampton, a big Northern Ireland fan, wrote: “Here @GarethBale11 let's see you try and put one of them free kicks past a decent keeper @mcgov12.”

Asked about McGovern’s heroics, Bale said: “He has performed very well, especially the last game that we watched.

“The whole team they fight and they have a very good team spirit, I can see that.

“We know it is going to be difficult and know they don't concede many goals.

“But hopefully if we create the chances we can be clinical and take them.”

Bale is confident that Wales can win in Paris to progress to the quarter-finals but he is not expecting a repeat of the romp against Russia.

“We have seen Northern Ireland play in their qualifying and obviously in the games here,” said the Real Madrid star, who has three goals in France so far – two of them free-kicks.

“We know they are quite defensive as a team. I think in their qualifying they won a lot of games 1-0 and scored quite a few from set pieces.

“It says about the style they play which we all know anyway. It is going to be a different task and a difficult game but one we are ready for.”

Having put defeat to England behind them and stormed into the last 16 with that 3-0 win over Russia, confidence is high in the Welsh camp but Bale knows they can’t get ahead of themselves in France.

“We are in a great moment but you really do have to take one game at a time,” he said.

“If you are thinking of the quarter-finals you have to get through the round of 16 first so all our focus will be on Northern Ireland

“I think with every goal we achieve we set a new one,” he added. “That is what we have been doing.

“It is once in a lifetime opportunity if you look how many times we have been in a tournament before.

“We are trying to grab it with both hands and at the same time are trying to enjoy every moment of it.

“We are trying to ride that wave and do everything for the fans and give themselves something to cheer.”

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