Bellamy’s Wales end poor run with Nations League win over Norway in Cardiff
Craig Bellamy's Wales beat Norway in Cardiff on Thursday in the Nations League, ending a run of seven games without a victory and registering the nation's first-ever win in Nations League A. The result featured goals from Neco Williams and Dan James and prevented Erling Haaland from scoring.
Craig Bellamy has won nine of his 23 games in charge of Wales since replacing Rob Page in July 2024, and the win came after a challenging period that included missing out on the World Cup in March and a high-profile summer incident involving Burnley in June. The start of this Nations League campaign had carried lingering doubts following the manner of the defeat in Denmark, and supporters had voiced frustration both in person and on social media ahead of the Cardiff fixture.
Neco Williams and Dan James were the scorers in a match in which Wales also kept Haaland quiet, delivering the country's first victory at Nations League A level. The performance represented only the second time Wales have beaten a side ranked higher than them in a competitive fixture since reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2016.
Supporters gathered at the Canopi venue before the game to debate where things had gone wrong under Bellamy, with views ranging from calls for change to concerns over tactics and identity. "I think people were down on him after Bosnia, the way the game panned out and seeing mistakes we made on the night we'd made earlier in the campaign," said Ryan March, fan and editor of Alternative Wales, who had organised the pre-match meet. "He didn't really come out and say he'd made an error, and then when the Burnley thing happened, perhaps people thought it might be good for a change and we could move on. When it didn't, I expected a reaction – and we haven't had it." March added: "Are we a better side than we were at the end of his first year in charge? I don't think we are. We have less of a style, less of an identity, and we've not been better than the sum of our parts, which the best Welsh sides always tend to be."
Bellamy accepted scrutiny ahead of the match, saying: "We need to improve; I need to improve." After the Norway game he told S4C: "If they wanted to turn, that was their chance. But they didn't, they drove players on." He also revealed holding an "identity meeting" with players to try to restore the characteristics of his early tenure, and Wales displayed increased tempo, aggression and resilience in closing out the match — areas flagged as weaknesses during the World Cup campaign.
Several squad absences were noted going into the game, including a four-game window without first-choice goalkeeper Karl Darlow, first-choice centre-back Joe Rodon and attacking option Harry Wilson, forcing reliance at times on players outside the usual Premier League contingent. Individual positives cited after the win included Liam Cullen's performance and Neco Williams' decisive free-kick following a difficult night in Denmark, with commentators noting this was Wales' first win over a top-20 nation since beating Croatia in Cardiff in October 2023 under Rob Page.
Former Wales midfielder Joe Ledley said: "I think people have wanted to see it back but they saw it here. Fans don't always have patience, decision-makers don't always have patience so I think everyone knew we needed to see a result – but we also saw the performance and things we've not seen for a while. That's a Craig Bellamy side." Robert Earnshaw added: "I hope so. Craig needed it, the team needed it, I think the whole nation needed it," and continued: "Our levels dropped after the disappointment of the World Cup and it was about how could we bounce back - and here we felt that energy and excitement again. They had to give the crowd things to be cheerful about, because they were missing that for a while. Against Denmark we were miles away from what we've seen. This was a statement win."
Wales' next match is against Denmark in Cardiff on Sunday, 4 October, 19:45 BST, live on BBC iPlayer, BBC Two Wales, BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru and 5 Live, and with coverage on the BBC Sport website and app including live text commentary.