Craig Bellamy didn't waste his words when asked for his thoughts on Wales' opening four games of their return to the top tier of the Nations League. It is hard to argue after a window that saw Wales lose three of their four fixtures, beaten in Portugal and Denmark and – following the lift of an eye-catching win over Norway – beaten again by the Danes. That said, Wales' hopes of staying in League A – and the possibility of securing a Euro 2028 seedings boost – remains in their own hands going into next month's final pair of fixtures.
But what lessons can Wales take from the two-week test of their credentials? In the immediate aftermath of the Denmark defeat, Bellamy had the new four-game window on his mind. The former striker insisted the idea made "no sense" and suited the bigger nations, some of whom – such as Jurgen Klopp's Germany – named two squads for the four games.
Any hopes of extended time with the squad to make a coaching impact on the training pitch evaporated amid the reality of the travel and recovery between games. And the fear that an untimely injury to a key player would see them miss four games rather than the two they would have previously was proven to have foundation when Harry Wilson and Joe Rodon were deemed unfit before a ball was kicked. It would have been a problem in the past during the peaks of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey and the like, but is even more so now.
Throw in the intensity with which Bellamy wants to play, and the drop off in energy was evident after a relatively promising start against Denmark. "I felt we were a little bit flat, not as intense as we wanted it to be," reflected midfielder Jordan James. "That was expected after a really tough game the other day." The issue goes beyond the pitch with a few too many empty seats on Sunday night's game for anyone's liking.
There was some hope among Football Association of Wales officials that the additional fixtures would create further momentum in the window, but the draining impact of cost and travel for fans seemingly took its toll – and will hit the revenue. Wales' issue in all aspects is that they have no option but to get used to it. Euro 2028 qualifying – and the chance of playing in a major tournament on home soil – will adopt the same format for games next September and October.
Bellamy bemoans new schedule after Denmark loss Hojlund penalty condemns Wales to Denmark defeat It has highlighted a problem for Bellamy that seems difficult to solve. "I look at the players who came off the bench; Wes Burns plays in League One, Mark Harris plays in League One and Josh Sheehan has played for years in League One," summed up former Wales striker Iwan Roberts. "That is the problem: when the starting 11 is not working, Craig Bellamy looks over his shoulder, and it's not nice to say, but he's looking at League One players to try to make the difference." He added: "We just haven't got the strength in depth to make the impact that you need in games when we haven't got the players that were out injured in this international break." Already without several key figures, David Brooks - who has not started a league game for Bournemouth this season - was also forced to withdraw midway through the camp due to injury to further limit Bellamy's options.
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