Craig Bellamy reacts passionately to heart-breaking Wales defeat to Belgium
Craig Bellamy was full of pride in his Wales team despite a painful 4-3 defeat to Belgium in a dramatic World Cup qualifier on Monday night.
The amazing game saw the home team race into a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Romelu Lukaku, Youri Tielemans and Jeremy Doku before the half-hour mark.
There was a scrap of hope for Wales when Harry Wilson scored a penalty just before the break and the visitors were sensationally level by 69 minutes thanks to goals from Sorba Thomas and Brennan Johnson.
It looked set to be a famous draw for the Welsh but an 88th minute Kevin De Bruyne winner broke their hearts and ultimately left them unrewarded for their efforts.
Bellamy was only looking at the positives, though, and was thrilled with the fight his players showed after a nightmare start.
'Since September when I first came in, I've felt immensely proud to be their coach,' he told the BBC. 'Every training session, every game they've left me with that.
'To come here, I hope second half they've seen what they can do. They have to understand how good they are. That was pleasing. I hope this gives us the belief to be the team we want to be. We move on from here.'
He added: 'To come to a top eight team in the world and play that well, that's going to give us so much.
'I don't like the defeats and I don't feel like 'unlucky Wales.' No, we need to win these games. But after being 3-0 down when we could have gone the other way, for them to believe in themselves, I believe that will give us so much going forward.'
Fulham's Wilson took a similar stance and knows there is plenty more football to play in Group J after picking up seven points from the first four matches.
'It's a tough one to take,' he said. 'We didn't start great giving them a three-goal lead, but we have to take positives from the way we reacted.
'We felt we were always in the game and once we got the goal before half-time we just kept believing and kept being patient.
'We showed we can go toe-to-toe with a top-10 team and we're just gutted at the end.
'It shows what we're about, we've pulled it back before. We'd rather not give a team like Belgium a three-goal lead, but we scored three goals and we probably should be leaving with something.
'The group is far from done and if we perform like the second half we will still have a big say in this group, and if we win every game it's still in our hands.'
Wales are second in Group J, one point behind North Macedonia with Belgium in third place but having only played two matches while the two teams ahead of them have played four.
MORE: Retired Chelsea icon favourite for major international job ahead of World Cup
MORE: England v Senegal odds: Three Lions must respond to Thomas Tuchel's criticism after poor show against Andorra
MORE: Why Bukayo Saka is not playing for England against Andorra
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
42 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Socceroos embrace Saudi challenge with World Cup spot tantalisingly close
The reputation he has cultivated may be austere, but Tony Popovic isn't made of stone. So when Aziz Behich scored what will go down as one of the more famous goals in Socceroos history last week, there was scope to celebrate and enjoy the moment amid a late night back at the team hotel. Players and coaches stayed up to see if Bahrain would do them a favour by taking points off Saudi Arabia, but when the Green Falcons secured a 2-0 win in Riffa, focus shifted to getting to bed, recovery and the task that awaited them in Jeddah. As Neil Warnock once said: 'By all means enjoy it, but enjoy it by being fucking disciplined.' Five days on, as Australia's men prepare to face Saudi Arabia at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium with a spot in the World Cup on the line, there are scant signs of any kind of physical or mental hangover from that evening in Perth. Largely restricted to their accommodations overlooking the Red Sea due to the fierce June heat buffeting the city – a heat that feels amplified when bouncing off the vast network of concrete highways and construction sites dotting around – there has been little to distract players from the task at hand. Their lives have become a cycle of rest, recovery, media for the unlucky few, and training. Given they maintain a three-point buffer on Saudi Arabia as well as a healthy advantage in goal difference and goals scored, all they need to do to punch their tickets to North America is to avoid conceding five goals or more. Not a crazy expectation for the equal-second most miserly defence in Asia playing against the equal-second most toothless attack. Yet almost as soon as this fixture was confirmed, none within the Australian camp have been willing to countenance any kind of narrative of complacency, damage limitation, parking of buses, or rearguard actions. The message is that qualification is not yet secured, and that means they're not in Jeddah to manage a draw or narrow loss. The Socceroos are out to win. 'We're going to be just as desperate as they are,' Riley McGree said. 'We want to win, we want to play our best football, and we want to put it beyond doubt as soon as possible. Their desperation will be matched just as much with our desperation and our performance.' Saudi coach Hervé Renard, for his part, knows the scale of the task at hand and that, in all likelihood, his side will be forced into a fourth stage of qualification in October. The swelling of the World Cup to 48 teams has removed some of the existential dread that defeat in a game like this – as the Socceroos experienced against the Saudis just over three years ago – may have once carried. 'For a lot of people, we are already in the playoffs in October. This, I feel, is what 99% of the people are thinking,' said Renard. 'So we don't have anything to lose. We just have to be ready to enjoy it and to satisfy our fans.' But this safety net means there is also little to disincentivise his side coming out of the blocks breathing fire, seeking an early goal that would bring the crowd into the game, heap pressure on the Australians, and potentially set the stage for a miraculous turnaround. It's something Socceroos players have noted – the intense pressure they'll likely be under in the opening stages. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion It is here, perhaps, where the biggest danger lies. The fear is they don't try and play the game but, with the potential reward (or disaster) so significant, get caught up in the sense of occasion. Saudi authorities have made tickets free for the fixture, ensuring the stands will be packed with partisan support and, if there is an early breakthrough, the already cauldron-like stadium could begin to reach boiling point. 'That's always challenging. But when you come to this level of football and you're representing your country, these are the challenges that you must face,' said Popovic. 'We've faced many together since I've become the coach… and we have one more now. I'm sure that young boys will embrace it. We have good, experienced players who can help them be ready. 'These are the moments that you want as a footballer. These are moments you want as a nation. We're excited. We embrace the challenge. We want to go to the World Cup. We're in a very good position. And tomorrow night, we understand we have to work extremely hard, but we have an opportunity to go directly to the World Cup, and we're confident that we can finish the job.'
Leader Live
an hour ago
- Leader Live
Craig Bellamy: Wales World Cup qualification hopes alive despite loss to Belgium
Wales lost a seven-goal thriller in Brussels after fighting back from a 3-0 deficit, only for Kevin De Bruyne to deliver a gut punch two minutes from time. It was Bellamy's first defeat in 10 games in charge and Wales were also knocked off top spot in Group J by North Macedonia, 1-0 winners in Kazakhstan. Until the end. Yma o Hyd ♥️ — Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) June 9, 2025 Belgium are three points behind Wales with two games in hand, and will visit Cardiff in October for the return fixture. The group winners will qualify automatically for next summer's finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States, with Wales almost certainly guaranteed a play-off place through their Nations League results. Wales manager Bellamy said: 'I think I read something from the Belgium media – 'an easy way to the USA'? 'There's a lot of life in this group and today I saw a lot of life in this team. We aren't going anywhere. 'I will have a couple of weeks now of recharging but I'm beyond proud and really excited about the future.' Belgium led 3-0 inside 27 minutes through Romelu Lukaku – a controversial penalty awarded after De Bruyne's shot hit the hand of Brennan Johnson – Youri Tielemans and Jeremy Doku. Harry Wilson gave Wales hope from the penalty spot ahead of the break before Sorba Thomas, with his first Wales goal, and Johnson put the visitors back on level terms. Bellamy said: 'I don't like losing. I understand the game but how you lose is more important. 'Who are you as a person? Who is your team? I see that and I'm beyond proud. We're a good team. 'To come to a top-eight team and can we play the way we want to play? I think the Belgium players saw it as well. I won't tell you what we discussed.' Bellamy had promised to go on the attack in Brussels before the game and not sit back and defend against opponents ranked eighth in the world. He said: 'I understand results, I really do. But football means more to me than that. It always has done. 'I'd rather try something great and fail than do nothing and succeed. I've always been that way. 'I might not be great at anything but I'll try to be. It means more. I liked that. 'I said I wasn't coming to sit back, it's not in my nature, don't do it … it's not our culture, it's not who we are. 'So for me it was, 'can we come to a top-eight team in the world then and come and play?'.'
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Craig Bellamy: Wales World Cup qualification hopes alive despite loss to Belgium
Wales lost a seven-goal thriller in Brussels after fighting back from a 3-0 deficit, only for Kevin De Bruyne to deliver a gut punch two minutes from time. It was Bellamy's first defeat in 10 games in charge and Wales were also knocked off top spot in Group J by North Macedonia, 1-0 winners in Kazakhstan. Until the end. Yma o Hyd ♥️ — Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) June 9, 2025 Belgium are three points behind Wales with two games in hand, and will visit Cardiff in October for the return fixture. The group winners will qualify automatically for next summer's finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States, with Wales almost certainly guaranteed a play-off place through their Nations League results. Wales manager Bellamy said: 'I think I read something from the Belgium media – 'an easy way to the USA'? 'There's a lot of life in this group and today I saw a lot of life in this team. We aren't going anywhere. 'I will have a couple of weeks now of recharging but I'm beyond proud and really excited about the future.' Belgium led 3-0 inside 27 minutes through Romelu Lukaku – a controversial penalty awarded after De Bruyne's shot hit the hand of Brennan Johnson – Youri Tielemans and Jeremy Doku. Harry Wilson gave Wales hope from the penalty spot ahead of the break before Sorba Thomas, with his first Wales goal, and Johnson put the visitors back on level terms. Bellamy said: 'I don't like losing. I understand the game but how you lose is more important. 'Who are you as a person? Who is your team? I see that and I'm beyond proud. We're a good team. 'To come to a top-eight team and can we play the way we want to play? I think the Belgium players saw it as well. I won't tell you what we discussed.' Bellamy had promised to go on the attack in Brussels before the game and not sit back and defend against opponents ranked eighth in the world. He said: 'I understand results, I really do. But football means more to me than that. It always has done. 'I'd rather try something great and fail than do nothing and succeed. I've always been that way. 'I might not be great at anything but I'll try to be. It means more. I liked that. 'I said I wasn't coming to sit back, it's not in my nature, don't do it … it's not our culture, it's not who we are. 'So for me it was, 'can we come to a top-eight team in the world then and come and play?'.'
