Gareth Bale put Real Madrid's success ahead of his personal achievement after starring from the left wing with a hat-trick at the Club World Cup.

Defending champions Madrid booked their place in the final against Al Ain by seeing off Kashima Antlers 3-1 in the last four on Wednesday, with Bale scoring all three goals.

The Wales international has largely played on the right or in a central role during his time at Madrid, having initially broken through at Southampton and Tottenham as a left-wing-back, but he was back on the flank and linking up with Marcelo to good effect in the semi-final.

Bale insisted he would play any role asked of him by coach Santiago Solari as he looks towards clinching yet another trophy with the Spanish giants.

"Throughout my [early] career, I played from the left wing," Bale said. "I'm comfortable playing in that position.

"But I can play on the right, on the left or in the centre. I will play wherever the coach needs me to."

He added: "It's great to score, but the most important thing is to help the team and reach the final.

"It's an important victory. We knew that it would be a difficult game against a team that's going to make it difficult for us. We just had to be professional and get the victory and get to the final.

"This is another trophy. It's important to me because it's important to the club to win trophies. It's what all the players work for."