Tuesday's briefing: Bellamy defiant after Wales loss as Scotland bounce back
Meanwhile, Tottenham continue to close in on Brentford's Thomas Frank as their new boss and appear willing to meet the latter's £10million release clause to get their man.
England look to shrug off their struggle to sink minnows Andorra with head coach Thomas Tuchel aware there is plenty of room for improvement ahead of their clash with Senegal.
Bellamy's pride in Lions
⏰ FT | 🇧🇪 4-3 🏴
An enthralling encounter comes to an end in Brussels.
💻 https://t.co/529qAkQK2M pic.twitter.com/VWxdPq7nr4
— Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) June 9, 2025
Craig Bellamy refused to be downhearted after tasting defeat for the first time as Wales boss after an extraordinary seven-goal thriller in Belgium.
Wales clawed back from 3-0 down to draw level in a match blighted by lengthy VAR checks before Kevin De Bruyne broke the visitors' hearts by sealing a late 4-3 win for the hosts.
The defeat meant Wales were knocked off the top of World Cup qualifying group J by North Macedonia, following their 1-0 win in Kazakhstan.
But Bellamy said: '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.'
Clarke's delight as Scots get back on track
Che Adams was a hat-trick hero for Scotland in Liechtenstein (Steve Welsh/PA)
Scotland head coach Steve Clarke was satisfied with the way his side bounced back from their 3-1 defeat to Iceland at Hampden Park as they strolled to a 4-0 friendly win in Liechtenstein.
Having only scored once in his 19 previous internationals, Che Adams hit a hat-trick and George Adams grabbed his first international goal to restore a mood of optimism in the Scotland camp.
'Our players had a little bit of anger in the performance at the start of the game – they knew that they'd let themselves down in the previous match,' said Clarke.
'So, to start well and get the early goal makes it more comfortable and it's nice to build on that with another three goals. Teams maybe win here but not too many come and score four goals.'
Tuchel wants England improvement
Thomas Tuchel watched England labour to beat Andorra (Bradley Collyer/PA)
Thomas Tuchel has conceded England still have plenty of improvements to make as they prepare to face Senegal in a friendly at Wembley.
The new head coach was far from pleased with the way his side laboured to a 1-0 win against minnows Andorra in their World Cup qualifier at the weekend.
Ahead of their clash with the African side, Tuchel said: 'We need to improve, for sure. We need to improve in connections, in support, in interactions in the group.
'I feel we are too isolated on the pitch. We have not clicked yet. I don't see it has clicked between the players.
'We haven't done that yet, but it's also not the moment to look only on the negative side. We have a lot of positives to take away in training and in the sessions I see a lot of it, and it will obviously take a little bit to translate it to the pitch.'
Spurs close in on Frank
Thomas Frank is set to become Tottenham's new manager (Bradley Collyer/PA)
Tottenham are closing in on making Brentford boss Thomas Frank their next head coach, the PA news agency understands.
Spurs sacked Ange Postecoglou on Friday, despite Europa League success, and quickly set their sights on Frank – who has gained admirers for his work over an impressive seven-year period at the west London club.
After positive discussions over the weekend, there is a growing confidence that Frank – whose contract contains a release clause reported to be in the region of £10million – will be the man to replace Postecoglou.
What's on today?
England face Senegal in a Wembley friendly as Thomas Tuchel continues to survey his options for their continuing World Cup qualifying campaign.
The Republic of Ireland are in friendly action in Luxembourg while Northern Ireland host Scotland's recent conquerors Iceland at Windsor Park.
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Reuters
26 minutes ago
- Reuters
World Cup dream is still alive despite loss to Belgium, Wales manager Bellamy says
BRUSSELS, June 10 (Reuters) - Wales manager Craig Bellamy said his side are still on track to qualify for the World Cup despite slipping from top spot in their group following a 4-3 defeat in Belgium on Monday. The clash in Brussels would have been marked down as Wales' toughest test in Group J and it looked like the writing was on the wall when they were three goals down inside the first half-hour. But Bellamy's side fought back to level at 3-3 and looked good for a surprise point before Kevin De Bruyne snatched a late winner for the hosts. "To come to a top-eight team and play the way we want to play. I think the Belgian players saw it as well," said Bellamy, who lost his first game as Wales manager after 10 matches in charge. "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." Wales have seven points from four matches in their group and are at the halfway stage of their campaign. North Macedonia top the standings with eight points, but Belgium, on four points, have played only two fixtures. The group winner qualifies automatically for next year's finals in North America, while the runners-up go into a playoff competition. Wales next travel to fourth-placed Kazakhstan in September and then have a return clash with the Belgians in Cardiff in October. Sorba Thomas, who scored his first international goal for Wales on Monday, said their second-half performance showed what kind of a team they are. "Even though we lost the game, I feel like we won it in our own heads," he added. "Against countries like this, you'll be punished. I can't wait to play these when we get back to Cardiff." Wales reached the quarter-final of the 1958 World Cup and did not qualify again until the last finals in Qatar in 2022, where they finished bottom of their group.
Wales Online
39 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Wales fan falls from upper tier of stadium during Belgium match
Wales fan falls from upper tier of stadium during Belgium match Eyewitnesses reported a 'loud thud and huge commotion' during the second half of Wales' late defeat to Belgium in Brussels on Monday night Wales fans at the UEFA World Cup Qualifying match at the Stade Roi Baudouin in Brussels, Belgium (Image: PA ) A Welsh football fan has been injured in an incident during Wales' World Cup qualifying match against Belgium. Late in the second half of the game at the Stade Roi Baudouin in Brussels reports emerged that a fan had fallen from the top tier of the stadium into the tier below. One group of fans said an ambulance at the stadium was treating the injured supporter who has been taken to hospital. They added some fans were 'clearly emotional' and in tears as concern grew for the injured person. Wales had more than 4,000 fans inside the stadium when the supporter fell from a higher tier into another group of supporters who were situated in the section below. Ian Hamer, who was at the game as a fan, told BBC Radio Wales that just after Wales scored their third goal "there was a loud thud just to our right and huge commotion in the lower tier. "Police, stewards, paramedics rushed into that area and three, four rows were cordoned off. "Word got around quickly that a Wales fan had fallen from the front of the top tier into the lower tier of the stadium and had landed, had sort of clipped some fans as he fell. Article continues below "The next sort of 15 minutes the paramedics were treating the man and eventually they took him out on a stretcher and brought an ambulance to the back of the concourse, blue lights flashing from where he was taken to hospital after the game. "Everyone's relieved to know that the man who fell is ok." The incident was not captured by TV crews covering the match, which Craig Bellamy's side dramatically lost 4-3 having come back to 3-3 from being 3-0 down inside the opening 27 minutes. You can read more about the game itself here. The Football Association of Wales said in a statement: "We can confirm that one male fan fell from the upper to lower tier during the match at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels this evening. "He was conscious and speaking and has now been taken to hospital for further checks." Article continues below Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here .
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Wales suffer dramatic World Cup qualifying defeat to Belgium
Kevin De Bruyne was the Belgium match-winner two minutes from time to deny Wales a precious point in Brussels. Belgium had seized complete control inside 27 minutes as Romelu Lukaku, with a controversial penalty, Youri Tielemans and Jeremy Doku silenced the loud 4,500-strong following from Wales. But Harry Wilson gave Wales hope from the spot on the stroke of half-time, and cool finishes from Sorba Thomas and Brennan Johnson turned the tie on its head. Almost every goal had a laborious VAR check and a late Lukaku effort was chalked off – resulting in both Wales manager Craig Bellamy and his Belgium counterpart Rudi Garcia being booked – but there was no saving the visitors as De Bruyne volleyed home at the far post. Wales had lost top spot in Group J before kick-off courtesy of North Macedonia's win in Kazakhstan. Bellamy's unbeaten record would also disappear – exactly a year to the day since Wales had lost for the last time – in his 10th game in charge. It was a duel between familiar foes with this being their 11th meeting in 13 years. Neco Williams was absent after being taken off on a stretcher in Friday's victory over Liechtenstein, and Bellamy made three changes with Chris Mepham, David Brooks and Jordan James recalled. Aston Villa midfielder Tielemans led a Belgian team who featured several faces well known to Premier League fans. Bellamy had promised a bold approach and Thomas was positive in the first minute to deliver a cross into the six-yard box that no-one in the middle could get on the end of. But Wales crumbled in the space of 12 minutes after Johnson was adjudged to have handled De Bruyne's powerful shot. It appeared a harsh decision as Johnson's arm was close to his body, but Lukaku rolled the penalty home with ease. Belgium worked an overload down the right four minutes later and Maxim De Cuyper found Tielemans, who stroked the ball high past Karl Darlow in the Wales goal. Matz Sels instantly denied David Brooks one-on-one at the other end, and the Nottingham Forest goalkeeper shovelled aside Ben Davies' follow-up effort. But Belgium menaced with every attack and Doku broke clear to set up De Bruyne, who was inches away from adding another. Doku's footwork had dazzled and Wales had no answer when the Manchester City winger cut inside Davies. Darlow got a hand to the low shot, but could not prevent it from crossing the line. De Cuyper and Leandro Trossard were booked for cynical fouls on Johnson as Wales revived, and the visitors were given hope in first-half stoppage time. Sels made contact with Mepham's head as he attempted to fist away a Thomas corner and Wilson claimed his 14th international goal from the penalty spot. ⏰ FT | 🇧🇪 4-3 🏴 An enthralling encounter comes to an end in Brussels. 💻 — Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) June 9, 2025 Dodi Lukebakio missed a sitter within seconds of his half-time arrival and Belgium were punished when Wilson spotted Thomas unmarked on the left. The new Stoke signing kept his composure to fire under Sels for his first Wales goal. Wales wanted more and substitute Mark Harris sent a golden chance wide. Johnson nodded the leveller after Thomas had headed Wilson's cross back across goal, but De Bruyne had the final word to break Welsh hearts.
