COMMENT: At this point in time, Gareth Bale is arguably the Player of the Tournament at Euro2016.

Apart from new French hero Dimitri Payet, the Wales winger has been the most dynamic performer in France thus far.

Now there's never been any doubt regarding Bale's ability - apart from the Spanish press soon after his £85million transfer from Tottenham to Real Madrid three years ago - so it is not really a shock to see him produce what he has done for the Dragons in their three group stage matches.

It is no surprise to see the likeable 26-year-old Southampton academy graduate galloping around the pitches in France, pinging dangerous balls into the path of his Welsh teammates, and banging home free-kicks with apparent ease.

What some may be curious about is that Bale is completely upstaging his more fancied, higher profile Real colleague Cristiano Ronaldo who has been well, well, well below his best for Portugal.

Ronaldo has laboured away for his Seleccao in their lacklustre draws with Iceland and Austria whereas Bale has worked tirelessly alongside his more modest teammates to finish top of Group B and set up a knockout stage clash with either Northern Ireland or Turkey.

For Ronaldo to experience something similar, he will need to return to his absolute finest in their final Group F fixture against Hungary.

The Magyars have performed well above themselves to already have secured four points, and Ronaldo and co. will need to win to book a spot in the next stage, with fear that Austria may finally show up and beat Iceland in Paris.

The question is: 'Can Cristiano break the shackles and shine for his country in France?'

While there may be the element of exhaustion to factor in, considering Ronaldo played 48 times as opposed to Bale's 31 outings for Madrid in 2015/16, the 31-year-old has the chance to finally take the onus and help Portugal shake the tag that they are suspect at major tournaments.

But I'm afraid it's a little deeper than that.

Bale is a proud Welshman who will never forget his roots and while I doubt Ronaldo has ever forgotten his humble upbringing in Madeira, it appears as though one values representing his country much more than the other.

There is a feeling of individualism when you think of Ronaldo strutting around in his maroon/red and green national team kit while Bale exudes togetherness when delivering the goods and duly celebrating with unbridled passion in the vibrant red strip of the Welsh.

It's evident that Fernando Santos' side relies on Ronaldo for inspiration, which of course they have not experienced yet, as he has misfired shockingly in Games 1 and 2.

His arrogance and petulance during the opening game against plucky little Iceland was not the behaviour of an inspiring captain and left a lot to be desired regarding his emotional attachment to his country, as opposed to his deep love for himself.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a Ronaldo fan. But as perfect as he may seem, he has some enormous flaws, and of the one that glares back at me most glowingly is his inability to fire for Portugal when the chips are down.

I mean, you wouldn't hear any of his Portuguese teammates say what Welsh defender James Chester said about Bale this week: "I'm not sure there's a better player individually than Gareth in the tournament

"Gareth is very passionate about playing for the national team.

"He turns up pretty much every time we have a game, which some of the top players maybe don't do.

"As big a superstar as he is, he's still one of the lads."

'One of the lads' alright.

You just have to look at this reaction to understand what playing for Wales means to Gareth.

Gareth Bale may more often than not be overshadowed by Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid but he has showed his more storied teammate just what national pride really means.

Bale's willingness to work tirelessly for his country and ability to be on a human level with his teammates is heartening and admirable.

It seems as though Ronaldo's self-importance has to outweigh the priority of national team success.

There was the possibility of some synchronism had there been a Wales v Portugal Round of 16 clash, provided Bale's side finished second in their group. But now it could be the English that face possible Group F runners-up the Portuguese in Nice on Monday.

Now wouldn't that attract fireworks!

Think penalty wins by Portugal at Euro2004 and the 2006 World Cup.

Think Rooney's red and Ronaldo's wink…

…But I digress.

The fact of the matter is, Bale simply wants it more than Ronaldo at Euro2016. He senses an opportunity to do something great for his country and despite being part of a squad that many would describe as 'hard-working' and 'honest', he has helped create history for a nation of just over 3 million.

He certainly has epitomised the qualities of 'little old Wales'.

On the other hand, Ronaldo seems to take it for granted that he is the star attraction for Portugal - a team expected to cruise through to the knockout stages - and does not have the same zest for the game as he does when there are trophies on offer with Real Madrid.

If he doesn't step up now, he will rub the gloss off what has been another remarkable season at club level.

Let's hope for the good of the tournament, and Ronnie's reputation, that he proves me wrong in Lyon on Wednesday.