Wales’ opening UEFA Nations League match of the season against Turkey will mark the start of the Craig Bellamy era at
Cardiff City Stadium on Friday night.
Although Wales was previously relegated from League A, its guests advanced from the third division and made it to the final eight of the 2024 European Championship.
Wales seemed to have lost their way after an embarrassing group-stage loss at Qatar
2022. They finished bottom of their most recent Nations League group with only one point from six games and were subsequently unable to qualify for the European Championship.
The era of previous manager Rob Page ended in disgrace after his team lost a penalty shootout to Poland in the Euro 2024 playoffs, after two painful defeats in summer friendlies.
Page’s tenure as Wales’ head coach came to an end when his team lost 4-0 to Slovakia, and Craig Bellamy was appointed in July despite having no prior senior management experience. This was just after a humiliating goalless draw with Gibraltar.
The former Newcastle United striker has set his sights on qualifying for the 2026
World Cup after missing out on appearing at a major finals during his 78-cap Wales career. However, he must first contend with a doubleheader to begin a new
Nations League season.
The Dragons will play their second straight
Group 4 match in Montenegro on Monday.
Their opponents in the battle for promotion back to the top division-or possibly avoiding relegation -are Iceland.
According to UEFA’s current structure, group winners advance directly, second place earns a promotion playoff, third place earns a relegation playoff, and last place automatically advances to League C.
As Turkey returns to the capital of Wales, the stakes are already high. Head coach Vincenzo Montella will be facing some familiar faces elsewhere but a new man in
the dugout.
In their two most recent encounters as
Euro qualifiers, Wales and Turkey have met.
In those four meetings, the Crescent-Stars have recorded two victories and one defeat, with their most recent draw coming less than a year ago in Cardiff (1-1).
After a thrilling escape from the group stage and a 2-1 victory over Austria in the round of 16, Montella’s team is rejuvenated after an incredible journey at the European Championship. The ever-present dark horses are expected to challenge well into the competition.
But Turkey was ultimately sent home after blowing a lead in their quarterfinal match and falling to the Netherlands 2-1, despite enjoying strong support from German expatriates.
With a good group of attackers to assist him, Montella has stayed on to manage qualification for the next World Cup. Kenan Yildiz and Arda Guler both proved their mettle at Euro 2024 and are expected to be major players in this season’s Nations League.